Azure Blob Storage Tier Calculator
Compare Azure blob access tiers on your real access pattern, including retrieval charges, operation rates and the per-GB early-delete fee that can wipe out the saving on short-lived data.
All tiers, fully costed
| Tier | Storage | Operations | Retrieval | Effective | vs Hot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hot | $955.00 | $15.00 | $0.00 | $970.00 | — |
| Cool30-day minimum | $750.00 | $33.00 | $15.00 | $798.00 | $172.00 |
| Cold90-day minimum | $180.00 | $136.00 | $45.00 | $361.00 | $609.00 |
| Archive180-day minimum | $49.50 | $6,520.00 | $30.00 | $6,599.50 | -$5,629.50 |
What this model assumes
- Retrieval and operations are charged, not just storage. Cool, Cold and Archive all charge per GB read on top of a lower storage rate, and their operation rates are higher. A “cold” container that is read weekly is not cold.
- Early-delete fees are modelled. Azure charges per GB when data leaves a tier before its minimum duration — 30 days for Cool, 90 for Cold, 180 for Archive. That is a published rate read from the price list, not an estimate.
- Archive is not readable. Rehydration takes hours and costs extra. If anything expects a synchronous read, Archive is not a candidate at any price — and that is a constraint rather than a cost.
- LRS redundancy, eastus. Not included: rehydration charges, index or metadata operations, blob inventory, or lifecycle-policy transaction costs.
Generated from the Azure Retail Prices API on 4 Aug 2026 for region eastus, LRS redundancy. Machine-generated rather than hand-transcribed — the date above is when the script ran. ZRS and GRS cost more.
Frequently asked questions
When is Azure Cool storage actually cheaper than Hot?
When the data is genuinely rarely read and kept at least 30 days. Cool has a lower storage rate but charges per GB retrieved and has higher operation rates, so a container read even weekly can cost more on Cool than on Hot. This calculator charges all three so the comparison is real.
What is the Azure early deletion fee?
A per-GB charge levied when data leaves a tier before its minimum duration — 30 days for Cool, 90 for Cold, 180 for Archive. Unlike S3, which pro-rates the remaining days, Azure publishes it as a flat per-GB rate. On short-lived data it can consume the entire storage saving that motivated the tiering.
What is the difference between Cool and Cold on Azure?
Cold is a newer tier sitting between Cool and Archive: cheaper storage than Cool, higher retrieval and operation rates, and a 90-day minimum instead of 30. It suits data you are fairly sure you will not read but need available immediately.
Can I read data in the Archive tier directly?
No. Archive is offline — an object must be rehydrated first, which takes hours and costs extra. If anything in your system expects a synchronous read, Archive is not a candidate at any price, and that is a constraint rather than a cost.
How much does Azure blob storage cost?
It depends heavily on tier and access pattern rather than on storage alone. This calculator uses rates generated from the Azure Retail Prices API for East US with LRS redundancy; ZRS and GRS cost more, and the comparison shape survives the change even though the absolute figures do not.
The hard part is knowing what is in the container.
Finitizer reads real access patterns per container and prefix, so the tiering recommendation fits each one rather than applying a single lifecycle rule to everything — and it does the same for S3 and Cloud Storage.