Direct answer: at Azure DevOps public list prices on 10 November 2026 (USD, excluding tax and discounts), Basic is free for the first 5 users and $6/user/month from the sixth; Basic + Test Plans is $52/user/month with no free tier (30-day trial only); Stakeholder is free and unlimited but cannot access code repositories. Pipelines: 1 free Microsoft-hosted parallel job with 1,800 minutes/month + 1 free self-hosted job; extra hosted jobs are $40/job/month (listed as unlimited minutes), extra self-hosted $15/job/month. Artifacts: 2 GiB free, then $2/GiB for 2–10 GiB, $1 for 10–100 GiB, $0.50 for 100–1,000 GiB and $0.25 above 1,000 GiB per GiB-month. GitHub Advanced Security: Code Security $30/committer/month, Secret Protection $19/committer/month. All public projects convert to private in 2027: anonymous access ends, search indexing stops, and the unlimited hosted pipeline minutes public projects enjoy become 1,800 minutes/month or the purchased amount.
This guide is for engineering leaders, platform teams, finance and procurement choosing or renewing Azure DevOps, evaluating a GitHub migration, or preparing for the 2027 public-project conversion. It separates official prices, editorial calculations and exclusions, covering user licences, parallel jobs, Artifacts, testing and security add-ons, the public-project policy, combined TCO and a 90-day checklist. Prices come from the Azure DevOps pricing page, Microsoft Learn billing/access-level docs and the public-project retirement notice (10 November 2026). This is not procurement advice.
(1) The 5 free users apply to Basic only; Basic + Test Plans is $52 from the first tester—do not budget testers at $6. (2) Pipelines are not bought by the minute: the free hosted job includes 1,800 minutes, and extra concurrency is $40/job; self-hosted jobs are $15/job, but servers cost extra. (3) The 2027 public-to-private conversion is a cost event: anonymous access and unlimited hosted minutes end together, and external code contributors must join the organization and may need Basic.
User licences: Stakeholder, Basic and Basic+Test
Azure DevOps has three main access levels: Stakeholder is free and unlimited for people who file work items, view boards/dashboards and approve releases, but it cannot access code repositories; Basic is free for the first 5 users per organization and $6/user/month from the sixth, including Boards, Repos (unlimited private Git repositories), the Pipelines free grant and 2 GiB of Artifacts; Basic + Test Plans is $52/user/month, adds Test Plans to Basic, and Microsoft states it is paid only with a 30-day free trial—there is no 5-user free tier. Visual Studio subscribers are detected automatically and do not count against the 5 free users; GitHub Enterprise Cloud customers who manage users with Entra ID can use Azure DevOps Basic at no additional cost according to the pricing page.
| Access level | Price | Free allowance | Key capabilities/limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stakeholder | $0 | Unlimited | Work items/queries/tags, boards and dashboards, approve releases; no Repos access |
| Basic | $6/user/month | First 5 users | Boards, Repos, Pipelines free grant, 2 GiB Artifacts |
| Basic + Test Plans | $52/user/month | None (30-day trial) | All Basic features + Test Plans/test execution/central reporting |
| Visual Studio subscription | With subscription | Does not use the 5 | Professional includes Basic; Enterprise includes Test Plans and self-hosted jobs; Test Professional/MSDN Platforms include Test Plans |
| GitHub Enterprise | With GitHub | Does not use the 5 | Official: GitHub Enterprise Cloud + Entra ID-managed users can use Basic at no extra cost |
Sources: Azure DevOps pricing page, Learn billing/access-level docs and Visual Studio benefits page (10 November 2026). USD list prices; subscription/enterprise-agreement entitlements follow the contract.
Team size: 10/25/50 people and testers
With Basic free for the first 5 and $6 thereafter: 10 users = 5×$6 = $30/month; 25 users = 20×$6 = $120/month; 50 users = 45×$6 = $270/month. If 5 testers need Test Plans at $52: 20 developers + 5 testers = 15×$6 + 5×$52 = $350/month. If 10 of 25 users already have Visual Studio Professional, those 10 do not use the free allowance; the remaining 15 still get 5 free, so only 10×$6 = $60/month is due. Never multiply everyone by $6: free seats, subscribers and testers move the effective unit price in both directions.
| Scenario | Paid Basic users | Test Plans | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 developers | 5 | 0 | $30 | $360 |
| 25 developers | 20 | 0 | $120 | $1,440 |
| 50 developers | 45 | 0 | $270 | $3,240 |
| 20 developers + 5 testers | 15 | 5×$52 | $350 | $4,200 |
| 25 users, 10 with VS Professional | 10 | 0 | $60 | $720 |
Editorial calculation: paid Basic = headcount − 5 free seats − users already covered by subscriptions; Test Plans has no free seats and is priced at $52/user. Excludes tax, discounts and the cost of the Visual Studio subscription itself.
Pipelines: 1 free job, 1,800 minutes and $40 each
Azure Pipelines includes 1 free Microsoft-hosted parallel job with 1,800 minutes/month and 1 free self-hosted job with unlimited minutes. For more concurrency, Microsoft sells parallel jobs: each extra Microsoft-hosted job is $40/month (listed as unlimited minutes) and each extra self-hosted job is $15/month. So 3 extra hosted jobs = $120/month, for 4 parallel jobs total; 2 extra self-hosted jobs = $30/month, plus VMs, networking and maintenance. Self-hosted looks cheap only when you already have idle, well-patched capacity and can absorb scaling and security work.
| Item | Official price | Free allowance | Editorial calculation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft-hosted parallel job | $40/job/month | 1 job, 1,800 minutes | 3 extra = $120/month |
| Self-hosted parallel job | $15/job/month | 1 job, unlimited minutes | 2 extra = $30/month |
| 5 extra hosted jobs | 5×$40 | Excludes the free job | $200/month, 6 jobs total |
| Hosted total (3 extra) | — | — | $120/month, $1,440/year |
| Self-hosted total (2 extra) | — | — | $30/month, $360/year |
Source: Azure DevOps pricing page (10 November 2026). Extra hosted jobs are listed as unlimited minutes; self-hosted excludes servers, storage, network, operations and security. Unlimited hosted minutes for public projects end at conversion.
Artifacts: 2 GiB free and four tiers
Azure Artifacts is 2 GiB free per organization, then tiered: $2/GiB for 2–10 GiB, $1/GiB for 10–100 GiB, $0.50/GiB for 100–1,000 GiB and $0.25/GiB above 1,000 GiB per GiB-month. That gives 100 GiB = 8×$2 + 90×$1 = $106/month; 1,000 GiB = $16 + $90 + $450 = $556/month; 2,000 GiB = $556 + 1,000×$0.25 = $806/month. Unit prices fall with volume, but the total keeps rising; deleting old versions and upstream caches usually beats buying more storage.
| Monthly storage | Calculation | Monthly | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 GiB | Free | $0 | Per organization |
| 10 GiB | 8×$2 | $16 | 2–10 GiB tier |
| 100 GiB | 8×$2 + 90×$1 | $106 | Enters 10–100 GiB tier |
| 1,000 GiB | $16 + $90 + $450 | $556 | Enters 100–1,000 GiB tier |
| 2,000 GiB | $556 + 1,000×$0.25 | $806 | Above 1,000 GiB tier |
Source: Azure DevOps pricing page Artifacts tiers (10 November 2026). Editorial calculation per GiB-month; excludes upload/download traffic, tax and discounts. Bills follow actual usage.
Testing and security: $52 and per-committer pricing
Test Plans is only available with Basic + Test Plans ($52/user/month); Stakeholder and Basic cannot create or manage Test Plans, and Stakeholder only provides feedback through the Test & Feedback extension. Five testers cost $260/month, with no 5-user free tier. Security add-ons are billed per committer, not per all users: GitHub Advanced Security for Azure DevOps lists Code Security at $30/committer/month (code and dependency scanning) and Secret Protection at $19/committer/month (secret scanning with push protection). For 25 committers, both = 25×$49 = $1,225/month; Code Security alone = $750/month.
| Item | Unit price | Billed per | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic + Test Plans | $52/user/month | Each test user | 5 users = $260/month |
| Code Security | $30/committer/month | Committer | 25 = $750/month |
| Secret Protection | $19/committer/month | Committer | 25 = $475/month |
| Both add-ons | $49/committer/month | Committer | 25 = $1,225/month |
| Test Plans trial | $0 | 30 days | Then $52 |
Source: Azure DevOps pricing page (10 November 2026). Security add-ons bill per committer; Copilot Autofix is billed separately through GitHub AI Credits, whose unit price the page does not publish, so this article does not estimate it.
The 2027 public-to-private conversion: access and cost change together
Official timeline: retirement announced in April 2026, new public projects can no longer be created, and all existing public projects convert to private in 2027 (exact dates via in-product banners). Conversion immediately: removes anonymous access, so non-members can no longer view code, work items, wikis, pipelines or artifacts; stops search indexing, and old public URLs ask for sign-in; shared links, status badges and package feeds require authentication; unlimited Microsoft-hosted minutes become 1,800/month or the purchased amount; public upstream sources are removed and webhooks/integrations relying on anonymous access may break. For external contributors, Stakeholder remains free but cannot see code; contributing code requires at least Basic (first 5 free, then $6).
| Area | Public project | After conversion | Cost impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anonymous access | Anyone can view | Ends; sign-in/organization membership required | External contributors may need Basic |
| Search engines | Indexed | Indexing stops; old URLs require sign-in | Traffic/community entry points fall |
| Hosted pipelines | Unlimited minutes | 1,800 minutes/month or purchased | Heavy users buy $40/jobs |
| Status badges/feeds | Anonymous | Authentication required | External dashboards/consumers need rework |
| Webhooks/integrations | May consume anonymously | May require auth | Integration rework and outage risk |
| Code access | Stakeholders can view | Members only; Stakeholder has no Repos | Contributors need at least Basic |
Sources: Learn "Public projects retirement in Azure DevOps" and "Stakeholder access quick reference" (10 November 2026). Exact conversion dates follow in-product banners; migration steps are in the official GitHub migration guide.
Combined TCO: 25 users + 3 jobs + 100 GiB + 25 committers
Stack the common items: 25 developers (20×$6=$120) + 3 extra hosted jobs (3×$40=$120) + 100 GiB Artifacts ($106) + 25 committers with both security add-ons (25×$49=$1,225) = $1,571/month, $18,852/year. If 10 users already have Visual Studio Professional, Basic falls from $120 to $60 and the total is $1,511/month, saving $720/year—but the Visual Studio subscription itself has a cost, so those 10 are not "free". Adding 5 Test Plans testers adds $260/month; security scanning covers committers, not everyone.
| Component | Calculation | Monthly | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 developers, Basic | 20×$6 | $120 | 5 free |
| 3 extra hosted jobs | 3×$40 | $120 | 4 jobs total |
| 100 GiB Artifacts | 8×$2 + 90×$1 | $106 | Includes 2 GiB free |
| 25 committers, both add-ons | 25×$49 | $1,225 | Code + Secret |
| Total | — | $1,571 | $18,852/year |
| 10 users with VS Professional | 10×$6 + $120 + $106 + $1,225 | $1,511 | Saves $720/year, excludes VS cost |
Editorial calculation: USD list prices, monthly; excludes tax, contract discounts, self-hosted servers, migration effort and Visual Studio subscription costs; security is per committer.
Selection matrix and 90-day checklist
Choose by role: stakeholders who only view work items/reports use Stakeholder ($0); engineers who commit code or run pipelines use Basic (5 free, then $6); testers who need Test Plans use Basic+Test ($52); Visual Studio subscribers should check their benefit before buying again; GitHub Enterprise Cloud + Entra ID customers should confirm Basic is already included. Eight hidden costs: Basic+Test has no free tier, duplicate subscription purchases, fixed monthly parallel jobs, Artifacts tiers, per-committer GHAS, external contributors after public-to-private conversion, self-hosted servers/operations, and migration/dual running. 90 days: weeks 1–2 inventory users/access levels/subscriptions; weeks 2–3 count pipeline minutes, concurrency and Artifacts; weeks 3–4 price licences + jobs + storage + security; weeks 4–6 audit public projects and anonymous dependencies; weeks 6–8 pilot private conversion or GitHub migration; weeks 8–10 remove inactive users and downgrade to Stakeholder; weeks 10–12 reconcile the bill and set budget alerts.
| Scenario | First choice | Check first |
|---|---|---|
| File work items/view boards only | Stakeholder | No Repos access |
| Day-to-day development | Basic | 5 free, VS subscription |
| Test management | Basic+Test | No free tier, 30-day trial |
| High-concurrency pipelines | Extra hosted jobs | $40/job, 1,800 minutes |
| Stable self-built capacity | Self-hosted jobs | $15/job + servers/ops |
| Code/secret scanning | GHAS | $30/$19 per committer |
| Public projects | Migrate or go private before 2027 | Anonymous access/unlimited minutes end |
Editorial summary, not a vendor recommendation; access-level capabilities, subscription benefits and policy dates follow Microsoft official docs.
FAQ
How is Azure DevOps billed?
By access level + pipeline parallel jobs + Artifacts storage + security add-ons: Basic free for 5 then $6/user/month; Basic+Test Plans $52/user/month; extra hosted job $40/month, self-hosted $15/month; Artifacts 2 GiB free then $2/$1/$0.50/$0.25 per GiB; GHAS $30/$19 per committer/month.
How do the 5 free users work?
Only Basic has 5 free users; the sixth costs $6/user/month. Visual Studio subscribers are detected automatically, do not use the 5 free seats and are not charged extra; GitHub Enterprise Cloud customers managing users with Entra ID may use Basic under the official terms.
Does Basic + Test Plans have free users?
No. Microsoft states it is paid only with a 30-day free trial; 5 testers at $52 each = $260/month and cannot use Basic's 5 free seats.
Are 1,800 pipeline minutes enough?
One free Microsoft-hosted job includes 1,800 minutes/month, and one free self-hosted job has unlimited minutes. When concurrency is short, buy extra jobs: hosted $40/job/month (unlimited minutes), self-hosted $15/job/month. Measure peak concurrency and queue time before choosing.
What do 100 GiB and 1 TiB of Artifacts cost?
100 GiB = 8×$2 + 90×$1 = $106/month; 1,000 GiB = $16 + $90 + $450 = $556/month; 2,000 GiB = $806/month. The first 2 GiB are free; deleting old packages and upstream caches is usually cheaper than expanding.
How is GHAS billed?
Per committer: Code Security $30/committer/month, Secret Protection $19/committer/month, both $49/committer/month. 25 committers with both = $1,225/month; Copilot Autofix bills separately through GitHub AI Credits.
How much will the 2027 public-to-private conversion cost?
There is no single increase; it depends on external contributors and pipeline usage. After anonymous access ends, external code contributors must join the organization and use at least Basic (5 free, then $6); unlimited public hosted minutes become 1,800/month or purchased capacity, with extra jobs at $40 each. External people who only file work items can use free Stakeholder.
How do I reduce cost?
Five steps: (1) downgrade report-only users to Stakeholder; (2) check Visual Studio/GitHub Enterprise benefits before buying Basic again; (3) use the 5 free Basic seats for non-subscribers; (4) buy jobs for peak concurrency, not headcount; (5) clean old Artifacts and enable GHAS only for committers who actually push code.
Research method and limitations
Official facts (pricing page, Learn billing/access-level/Stakeholder docs, public-project retirement notice, Visual Studio benefits page): Basic 5 free then $6; Basic+Test $52 with no free tier; Stakeholder free without Repos; $40/$15 parallel jobs and 1,800 minutes; four Artifacts tiers; GHAS $30/$19; retirement announced April 2026 with conversion in 2027; unlimited public hosted minutes end. Editorial calculations: team fees with 5 free seats and subscribers excluded from them; cumulative Artifacts tiers; combined TCO summed monthly, annual = monthly × 12.
Seven limitations: (1) USD list prices only, excluding tax, enterprise discounts and regional differences; (2) team size, concurrency, storage and committer counts are editorial assumptions; (3) excludes Visual Studio/GitHub Enterprise subscriptions, self-hosted servers/operations and migration effort; (4) no real measurement of pipeline minutes/queueing/storage growth; (5) the exact public-project conversion date is unpublished beyond 2027; (6) enterprise-agreement terms for Azure DevOps were not reviewed; (7) prices/benefits change—recheck official pages, contracts and bills before purchase.
Sources and basis
- Microsoft Azure, Azure DevOps Services Pricing: azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/details/devops/azure-devops-services. Basic/Basic+Test, parallel jobs, Artifacts, GHAS, Visual Studio/GitHub Enterprise benefits. Accessed 10 November 2026.
- Microsoft Learn, Buy Basic access or add users: azure/devops/organizations/billing/buy-basic-access-add-users. 5 free users, Basic+Test paid only/30-day trial, automatic subscriber detection. Accessed 10 November 2026.
- Microsoft Learn, Access levels: azure/devops/organizations/security/access-levels; Stakeholder access quick reference: stakeholder-access. Access-level capabilities and Repos limits. Accessed 10 November 2026.
- Microsoft Learn, Public projects retirement: public-projects-retirement. April 2026 announcement, 2027 conversion, anonymous access/indexing/unlimited minutes changes. Accessed 10 November 2026.
- Microsoft Learn, Azure DevOps benefits for Visual Studio subscribers: visualstudio/subscriptions/vs-azure-devops. Basic and Test Plans benefits by subscription level. Accessed 10 November 2026.
Data cut-off 10 November 2026; prices/benefits follow Microsoft official pages, contracts and bills; this is not procurement, commercial or legal advice.