Azure SQL Database Cost Calculator
Compare Azure SQL Database serverless and provisioned on your usage, with reservations and Hybrid Benefit, in 13 regions.
Each one fills in the fields below for a typical workload of that kind. You can change any of them.
- Provisioned, pay-as-you-go
- $773.75/mo
- Serverless
- $265.54/mo
- 3-year reservation
- $529.28/mo
Storage, $37.38 a month, is in every figure.
Serverless or provisioned
A serverless vCore-hour costs $0.522, 2.1 times provisioned's $0.252. So serverless costs less than pay-as-you-go only while its billed load, averaged over the whole month, stays under 48% of the vCores, and less than a 3-year reservation under 32%. This database averages 15%, so serverless costs less than every provisioned option.
The month: 260 busy hours at 1.60 vCores, 30 idle hours online at the 0.70-vCore minimum (one auto-pause delay after each day's use) and nothing for the 440 hours it is paused.
Every option, cheapest first
| Option | Monthly | Saves |
|---|---|---|
| Serverless437 vCore-hours at $0.522 each, license included. Hybrid Benefit and reservations do not apply. | $265.54 | $508.21 |
| Provisioned, 3-year reservation55% off the compute for 3 years, billed every hour; the SQL license, $0.100 a vCore-hour, stays pay-as-you-go. | $529.28 | $244.47 |
| Provisioned, 1-year reservation35% off the compute for 1 year, billed every hour; the SQL license, $0.100 a vCore-hour, stays pay-as-you-go. | $618.28 | $155.47 |
| Provisioned, pay-as-you-go4 vCores every hour at $0.252 a vCore-hour, SQL license included. | $773.75 | n/a |
Own SQL Server licenses with Software Assurance? Hybrid Benefit would take $291.90 a month off provisioned and off each reservation; serverless pays the license either way.
What this model assumes
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- Serverless bills what it uses, per second. The larger of the vCores in use and the memory in use at 3 GB a vCore, never less than its minimum while online, and nothing while paused. The minimum here is the lowest Azure allows for the size, the cheapest serverless setup.
- One busy stretch a day. After each, serverless stays online for the auto-pause delay, billed at its minimum, then pauses. With auto-pause off it never pauses. Resuming takes a moment, so the first query after a pause waits.
- Provisioned bills every vCore, every hour. Compute plus the SQL Server license ($0.100 a vCore-hour on General Purpose), which Hybrid Benefit removes. Reservations discount the compute only and bill every hour of the term.
- Storage is the maximum size, plus 30% for the log. Billed whether used or not, the same on every option. Backups up to the maximum data size are free; more is billed separately and not included.
- Not included: Hyperscale (no SQL license, billed on storage used), the DTU model, elastic pools (often cheaper than serverless for many small databases), zone redundancy, extra backup storage, and the free serverless offer.
Generated from the Azure Retail Prices API by script on 29 Oct 2026, for 13 regions, standard-series (Gen5) hardware. Serverless minimums come from Microsoft’s vCore resource limits.
Prices verified 29 Oct 2026. Public list prices in USD for 13 Azure regions, before any discount you have negotiated.
Paying for databases that sit idle?
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Questions
How much does Azure SQL Database cost?
A General Purpose database is $0.2522 a vCore-hour in East US with the SQL license included, so 4 vCores running all month cost $736. Storage is $0.115 per GB a month on the maximum size you configure, plus 30% for the log: $37 for 250 GB. Business Critical costs twice as much for compute and $0.375 a vCore-hour for the license. Prices vary by region; this calculator reads 13.
Is Azure SQL serverless cheaper than provisioned?
Only for databases that are idle much of the time. A serverless vCore-hour costs $0.5218 in East US, 2.1 times provisioned's $0.2522, so serverless costs less than pay-as-you-go only while its billed load, averaged over the whole month, stays under 48% of the vCores, and less than a 3-year reservation under 32%. With Hybrid Benefit on provisioned, those fall to 29% and 13%. A 4-vCore database busy during weekday office hours at 40% averages about 15%, and costs about a third as much on serverless.
How is Azure SQL serverless billed?
Per second, for the larger of the vCores in use and the memory in use divided by 3 GB, and never less than the minimum vCores and memory configured, while the database is online. A paused database pays for storage only. It pauses after the auto-pause delay with no activity, 1 hour by default and 15 minutes at the least, and bills its minimum until then.
Does Azure Hybrid Benefit apply to Azure SQL Database?
To provisioned General Purpose and Business Critical databases, and to their reservations. It removes the SQL Server license: $0.10 a vCore-hour on General Purpose and $0.375 on Business Critical, about $73 and $274 a vCore a month. It does not apply to serverless, and new Hyperscale databases have no license to remove.
How much does an Azure SQL reservation save?
Reservations discount the compute, not the license. General Purpose in East US is 35% off for 1 year and 55% for 3 years, so 4 vCores with the license included drop from $736 a month to $581 and $492, before storage. A reservation bills every hour of its term, so it suits databases that run all month.
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