Azure Hosted Server Pricing: A Comprehensive Guide for Devs

Hello Dev, if you’re looking for information on Azure hosted server pricing, you’ve come to the right place. Azure offers a range of pricing options, and it can be challenging to understand which one is right for you. In this article, we’ll break down the different Azure pricing tiers and provide you with a clear understanding of the costs associated with each one.

Understanding Azure Pricing Tiers

Azure offers a range of pricing tiers to meet the needs of different users. The four primary pricing tiers are:

Free Tier

The free tier is an excellent option for developers who want to experiment with Azure services without incurring any costs. However, it does come with some restrictions that you should be aware of.

Resource Constraints

With the free tier, you’re limited in the amount of compute, storage, and network resources that you can use. For example, you’re limited to:

• 750 hours of compute time per month
• 5 GB of storage
• 250,000 function executions per month

If you exceed these limits, you’ll need to upgrade to a higher pricing tier to continue using Azure services.

Unsupported Services

The free tier also doesn’t support some of Azure’s services, such as:

• Load Balancer
• Virtual Machine Scale Sets
• Auto Scaling

If you need access to these services, you’ll need to upgrade to a higher tier.

Basic Tier

The basic tier provides more resources than the free tier, making it an excellent option for developers who are building small- to medium-sized applications. It’s also a cost-effective option, with prices starting at just $0.012 per hour.

Resource Limits

With the basic tier, you’re still limited in the amount of compute, storage, and network resources that you can use. However, the limits are higher than the free tier. For example, you’re limited to:

• 14 GB of storage
• 10 instances per deployment
• 50 GB of data transfer

If you exceed these limits, you’ll need to upgrade to a higher pricing tier to continue using Azure services.

Supported Services

The basic tier supports a broader range of services than the free tier, including the Load Balancer, Virtual Machine Scale Sets, and Auto Scaling. However, some advanced features are still only available on higher pricing tiers.

Standard Tier

The standard tier is a scalable option that provides more resources than the basic tier. It’s ideal for larger-scale applications with higher resource requirements. Prices start at $0.040 per hour.

Resource Limits

With the standard tier, you have access to more compute, storage, and network resources than the basic tier. For example, you have access to:

• 50 GB of storage
• 100 instances per deployment
• 250 GB of data transfer

However, you’re still limited in the amount of resources you can use, and you’ll need to upgrade to a higher pricing tier if you exceed those limits.

Advanced Features

The standard tier provides access to advanced features, such as:

• Virtual Network Integration
• Auto Scaling and Virtual Machine Scale Sets
• HTTPS Load Balancing

If you need these advanced features, the standard tier may be the right choice for you.

Premium Tier

The premium tier is the most expensive option, but it offers the highest level of performance and resources. It’s designed for mission-critical applications that require high levels of reliability, availability, and scalability. Prices start at $0.439 per hour.

Resource Limits

With the premium tier, you have access to the most compute, storage, and network resources. For example, you have access to:

• 500 GB of storage
• 250 instances per deployment
• 5 TB of data transfer

However, you’re still limited in the amount of resources you can use, and you’ll need to upgrade to a higher pricing tier if you exceed those limits.

Enterprise-Grade Features

The premium tier provides access to enterprise-grade features, such as:

• Active Directory integration
• Advanced threat detection
• Advanced analytics

If you need these features, the premium tier may be the right choice for you.

FAQ

What’s the difference between the free and basic tiers?

The free tier is designed for developers who want to experiment with Azure services without incurring any costs. It provides limited access to Azure services, with restrictions on the amount of compute, storage, and network resources that can be used. The basic tier provides more resources than the free tier, making it an excellent option for developers who are building small- to medium-sized applications.

What’s the difference between the basic and standard tiers?

The basic tier is a cost-effective option for developers who are building smaller-scale applications with low resource requirements. The standard tier is a scalable option that provides more resources than the basic tier. It’s ideal for larger-scale applications with higher resource requirements.

What’s the difference between the standard and premium tiers?

The premium tier offers the highest level of performance and resources, and it’s designed for mission-critical applications that require high levels of reliability, availability, and scalability. It provides access to enterprise-grade features not available on the lower tiers.

Conclusion

Choosing the right Azure pricing tier can be challenging, but it’s essential to ensure that you have the resources you need to build and run your applications. Whether you’re a small-scale developer or an enterprise-grade application builder, Azure has a pricing tier that’s right for you.