Module 1 Beginner AZ-900 15 min read

Azure Pricing & Free Tier

Understand exactly how Azure charges you, what you get for free, how to estimate costs before deploying, and how to make sure you never get an unexpected bill.

What you'll learn: How Azure pricing works · Azure free account benefits · Always-free services · Pricing models · Azure Pricing Calculator · Cost saving tips · AZ-900 exam tips

In this tutorial

How Azure pricing works

Azure free account benefits

Always-free Azure services

Azure pricing models

Azure Pricing Calculator

Cost saving tips

AZ-900 exam tips

How Azure pricing works

Azure uses a pay-as-you-go model — you only pay for the resources you use, for as long as you use them. There are no upfront costs and no termination fees. If you delete a resource, you stop being charged for it immediately.

Costs are calculated based on several factors — the type of service, the size/tier you choose, the region it's deployed in, and how long it runs. Azure measures usage by the second, minute, or hour depending on the service.

⚠️ Important: Always delete resources you no longer need! Even if a Virtual Machine is stopped (not running), you may still be charged for the storage disk attached to it. Deleting the resource completely stops all charges.

Azure free account benefits

When you sign up for a new Azure account, you get a generous free package to start learning and building without spending any money:

$200 free credits — Valid for the first 30 days. Use these to try any Azure service without paying. Once credits run out or 30 days pass, whichever comes first, pay-as-you-go begins.

12 months of popular free services — After your 30-day trial, you still get 12 months of selected services for free, including 750 hours of B1s Virtual Machine, 5 GB Blob Storage, and Azure SQL Database.

55+ always-free services — These services are free forever regardless of when you signed up. Includes Azure Static Web Apps, Azure Functions (1 million executions/month), Azure DevOps, and more.

Always-free Azure services

These services are permanently free — perfect for learning and small projects:

        Always-free Azure services (selected):

        Azure Static Web Apps    → 100 GB bandwidth/month

        Azure Functions          → 1 million executions/month

        Azure DevOps             → 5 users, unlimited private repos

        Azure Cosmos DB          → 1,000 RU/s, 25 GB storage

        Azure Blob Storage       → 5 GB (LRS) — 12 months

        Azure App Service        → 10 web apps (F1 tier)

        Azure Monitor            → 5 GB logs/month

        Microsoft Entra ID       → Free tier with 50,000 MAUs

Azure pricing models

Pay-as-you-go — The default model. Pay only for what you use, billed monthly. No commitment. Best for beginners and variable workloads.

Reserved Instances — Commit to using a service for 1 or 3 years in exchange for up to 72% discount compared to pay-as-you-go. Best for stable, predictable workloads.

Spot Pricing — Use unused Azure capacity at up to 90% discount. The catch — Azure can reclaim the resource with 30 seconds notice. Best for batch jobs and fault-tolerant workloads.

Azure Hybrid Benefit — If your organisation already has Windows Server or SQL Server licences, you can reuse them on Azure and save up to 40%.

Dev/Test Pricing — Special discounted rates for development and testing environments. Available through Visual Studio subscriptions.

Azure Pricing Calculator

Before deploying anything on Azure, always estimate your costs using the Azure Pricing Calculator at azure.microsoft.com/pricing/calculator. It lets you configure any combination of services and see the estimated monthly cost before committing.

Go to azure.microsoft.com/pricing/calculator

Search for the service you want — e.g. Virtual Machines

Configure the options — region, size, hours per month, OS type

The calculator shows your estimated monthly cost instantly

You can add multiple services and export the estimate as a PDF to share with your team

💡 Also useful: The Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Calculator at azure.microsoft.com/pricing/tco/calculator helps you compare the cost of running workloads on-premises vs on Azure. Great for justifying cloud migration to management.

Cost saving tips

Delete unused resources — The single biggest way to save money. Set a reminder to clean up resources after learning or testing.

Set spending alerts — In Azure Cost Management, set a budget alert so you get an email when spending reaches a threshold (e.g. $10/month).

Use the right size — Don't over-provision. A B1s VM (1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM) is free for 12 months and perfect for learning.

Auto-shutdown VMs — Enable auto-shutdown on Virtual Machines so they turn off at a set time every day, avoiding overnight charges.

Use free tiers — Always check if a free tier exists for the service you need. Azure Static Web Apps, Functions, and App Service all have free tiers.

Choose the right region — Pricing varies by region. Running resources in Central India vs East US can have different costs — check the calculator first.

AZ-900 exam tips

✅ Know that Azure uses a pay-as-you-go pricing model
✅ Remember the free account includes $200 credits for 30 days
✅ Understand the difference between Reserved Instances, Spot Pricing, and Pay-as-you-go
✅ Know that the Azure Pricing Calculator estimates costs before deployment
✅ Know that the TCO Calculator compares on-premises vs cloud costs
✅ Understand that stopping a VM does not always stop all charges — deleting does
✅ Remember Reserved Instances save up to 72% vs pay-as-you-go