Direct answer: at the Azure Retail Prices API on 9 November 2026 (eastus, USD, excluding tax/discounts), Azure SQL Database cost is vCore compute + storage + backup. General Purpose provisioned 1 vCore costs $0.152217/hour (about $111.12/month), 2 vCores $0.304434/hour (about $222.24/month); serverless costs $0.521758/vCore-hour when active (per-second billing), auto-pauses after 60 minutes of inactivity by default and bills only storage while paused; GP storage is $0.115/GB-month; Business Critical 2 vCores costs $0.60887/hour (about $444.48/month); DTU S0 is $0.4839/day (about $14.52/month), S1 about $29.03, S2 about $72.60, S3 about $145.16. Break-even: serverless costs about 3.43x provisioned per vCore, so on compute alone, serverless is cheaper when average active utilization is below about 29.2%; with long idle periods/auto-pause, the threshold is lower. Reservations: 1-year $867/vCore (about $0.099/hour, ~35% off), 3-year $1,800/vCore (about $0.0685/hour, ~55% off), compute only, excluding storage.
This guide is for application/data platform, SRE, DBA and FinOps teams using Azure SQL. It explains vCore provisioned, serverless, DTU, Hyperscale, storage/backup, Zone Redundancy and reservations; provides a 2 vCore/100GB TCO, serverless/reservation break-evens, hidden costs and a 90-day optimization checklist. Prices come from the Azure SQL Database pricing page, Azure Retail Prices API (eastus, 9 November 2026) and the official serverless/reservation docs. Official price facts, editorial calculations and exclusions are kept separate. This is not procurement advice.
(1) Watch active utilization: serverless costs about 3.43x provisioned per vCore, so it is cheaper below about 29.2% average active utilization; auto-pause lowers the threshold. (2) Reservations save compute only, not storage/backup; about 35% for 1 year and 55% for 3 years, but factor in growth/downsize/migration risk. (3) Storage, PITR/LTR backup, Zone Redundancy, Geo-Replica, idle Elastic Pool capacity and Hyperscale IO all change the bill—do not model vCores alone.
Billing models: provisioned, serverless, DTU, Hyperscale
Azure SQL Database has four common purchase paths. vCore provisioned bills vCore-hours and suits steady workloads. Serverless bills per second, lets you set min/max vCores and auto-pauses after inactivity (GP minimum 15 minutes, default 60 minutes, maximum 7 days), billing only storage while paused. DTU bundles compute/IO/storage into tiers for simple, small workloads. Hyperscale targets very large databases/fast scale, with compute, storage and IO billed separately. Storage is GB-month; PITR/LTR backup, Zone Redundancy, Geo-Replica and Elastic Pool are extra.
| Model | Billing unit | Best for | Watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| vCore provisioned (GP/BC) | vCore-hour + storage | Steady, predictable, higher utilization | No auto-pause; 1/3-year reservations |
| Serverless (GP/Hyperscale) | Active vCore-second + storage | Intermittent/unpredictable, low average utilization | Auto-pause/resume; min/max vCores; cold-start latency |
| DTU (Basic/Standard/Premium) | DTU-day/month | Simple, small, fixed budget | Bundled tiers; less flexible scaling |
| Hyperscale | Compute + storage + IO | Very large DB, fast backup/restore, read scale | IO billed separately; replicas/page servers |
Sources: Azure SQL Database pricing page, official serverless docs (9 November 2026). Editorial summary; availability/regions/features follow official documentation.
Unit prices: vCore, serverless, storage and DTU
Eastus list prices: GP provisioned $0.152217/vCore-hour; serverless active $0.521758/vCore-hour; BC $0.304435/vCore-hour; GP storage $0.115/GB-month; PITR backup ZRS $0.10/GB-month, RA-GRS $0.20/GB-month; DTU S0 $0.4839/day, S1 $0.9677/day, S2 $2.42/day, S3 $4.8387/day. Monthly equivalents use 730 hours/30 days.
| Item | Price (USD) | Monthly equivalent/note |
|---|---|---|
| GP provisioned vCore | 0.152217/hour | About 111.12/vCore-month |
| Serverless active vCore | 0.521758/hour (per second) | About 380.88/vCore-month at 100% active |
| BC vCore | 0.304435/hour | About 222.24/vCore-month |
| GP storage | 0.115/GB-month | 100GB about 11.50/month |
| PITR backup | 0.10/GB-month (ZRS); 0.20 (RA-GRS) | Billed beyond free allowance |
| DTU S0 / S1 / S2 / S3 | 0.4839 / 0.9677 / 2.42 / 4.8387 per day | About 14.52 / 29.03 / 72.60 / 145.16/month |
| GP reservation | 867/vCore-year; 1,800/vCore-3 years | About 0.099 / 0.0685 per hour (35%/55% off) |
Source: Azure Retail Prices API (eastus, 9 November 2026). Monthly prices use 730 hours/30 days; reservation prices use 8,760/26,280 hours, API unit is “1 Hour”; verify in the pricing calculator/bill.
TCO: several ways to buy 2 vCores + 100GB
For 2 vCores, 100GB and 730 hours/month: GP provisioned 222.24 + storage 11.50 = $233.74/month; 1-year reserved 144.50 + 11.50 = $156.00; 3-year reserved 100.00 + 11.50 = $111.50; serverless at 20% active 152.35 + 11.50 = $163.85; at 50% active 380.88 + 11.50 = $392.38; BC 2 vCores 444.48 + 11.50 = $455.98. Excludes backup, Zone Redundancy, Geo-Replica, networking and tax.
| Option (2 vCores/100GB) | Compute/month | Storage/month | Total/month |
|---|---|---|---|
| GP provisioned PAYG | 222.24 | 11.50 | 233.74 |
| GP 1-year reserved | 144.50 | 11.50 | 156.00 |
| GP 3-year reserved | 100.00 | 11.50 | 111.50 |
| Serverless 20% active | 152.35 | 11.50 | 163.85 |
| Serverless 50% active | 380.88 | 11.50 | 392.38 |
| BC provisioned PAYG | 444.48 | 11.50 | 455.98 |
Editorial calculation: GP 0.152217×2×730; reserved 867/8760×2×730 and 1800/26280×2×730; serverless 0.521758×2×active ratio×730; BC 0.304435×2×730; storage 100×0.115. No free allowance/discount applied; the bill is authoritative.
Break-even: serverless vs provisioned vs reserved
On compute alone, the serverless/provisioned break-even is provisioned price ÷ serverless price = 0.152217 ÷ 0.521758 ≈ 29.2%: below 29.2% average active utilization, serverless is cheaper; above, provisioned is cheaper. Auto-pause lowers the threshold because idle time bills only storage. Reservations: 1-year $867/vCore vs PAYG $1,333.42/vCore-year is about 35% off; 3-year $1,800/vCore vs $4,000.26/vCore-3 years is about 55% off. DTU suits small/fixed-budget workloads; vCore is better when you need BC/Hyperscale or finer scaling.
| Comparison | Formula/price | Conclusion |
|---|---|---|
| Serverless vs provisioned | 0.152217 ÷ 0.521758 | Active utilization < about 29.2% → serverless |
| Serverless + auto-pause | Compute $0 while paused; storage only | Better for intermittent/overnight idle; watch resume latency |
| 1-year reservation vs PAYG | 867 ÷ (0.152217×8760) | About 35% off; compute only |
| 3-year reservation vs PAYG | 1,800 ÷ (0.152217×26280) | About 55% off; longer commitment |
| DTU vs vCore | Benchmark at the same workload | DTU for small/fixed budget; vCore for BC/Hyperscale |
Editorial calculation based on eastus GP prices; excludes storage/backup/Zone Redundancy/Geo-Replica; reservation prices use the API 1/3-year reservation meters; actual discounts follow the calculator and bill.
Hidden costs: six items beyond the monthly fee
Common add-ons: storage beyond (the main table bills 100GB in full, no free allowance applied), PITR/LTR backup (PITR $0.10/GB-month ZRS, $0.20 RA-GRS; LTR separate), Zone Redundancy (separate meters, higher availability cost), Geo-Replica/failover groups (readable replicas billed as separate databases), idle Elastic Pool (per-database min vCore/eDTU still billed), serverless cold start/connection retries (resume latency may force a higher min vCore or disabling pause) and Hyperscale IO ($0.20/million IO).
| Cost item | Trigger | Control |
|---|---|---|
| Storage beyond | Data/index growth | Clean/archive, compress, right-size |
| PITR/LTR backup | Retention/recovery points | Set retention by RPO; clean up |
| Zone Redundancy | Cross-AZ HA | Tier by business criticality |
| Geo-Replica | Cross-region read/DR | Size to RTO/RPO; remove after failover |
| Elastic Pool idle | Shared pool, min vCore | Consolidate DBs; tune min vCore/eDTU |
| Serverless cold start | Resume after pause | Raise min vCore, shorten/disable pause, retry |
| Hyperscale IO | High IO workload | Query/index tuning; monitor IO |
Editorial summary; billing/availability follows the Azure pricing page, docs and bill.
How to choose: workload shape and budget
Start with workload shape: intermittent/unpredictable, low average utilization or dev/test → serverless; steady high utilization or many databases → provisioned + Elastic Pool + reservations; simple small workloads → DTU; low latency/high availability → BC; very large DB/fast restore/read scale → Hyperscale. Then commitment: buy reservations only with predictable 1–3-year usage; otherwise keep PAYG flexibility. Finally include hidden items: backup retention, Zone Redundancy, Geo-Replica, IO and cold start in TCO.
| Scenario | Prefer | Check first |
|---|---|---|
| Intermittent/unpredictable/dev-test | Serverless | Active ratio, cold start, min vCore |
| Steady high utilization/many DBs | Provisioned + Elastic Pool + reservations | 1/3-year commitment, scaling plan |
| Simple small/fixed budget | DTU Basic/Standard | Tier limits, storage/IO |
| Low latency/high availability | Business Critical | Zone Redundancy, replicas |
| Very large DB/fast restore/read scale | Hyperscale | IO, page servers, replicas |
| Cross-region DR | Geo-Replica/failover group | Replica billing, RTO/RPO |
Editorial selection framework, not a vendor recommendation; specifications/availability/compliance follow the business and official docs.
90-day optimization checklist
Use the first 90 days to establish active ratio, storage/backup, commitment and hidden items. Weeks 1-2: pull vCore/DTU, CPU/IO, active hours, storage/backup bills; weeks 2-4: calculate serverless vs provisioned break-even; weeks 4-6: test serverless pause/resume and connection retries; weeks 6-8: evaluate 1/3-year reservations and Elastic Pool; weeks 8-10: review Zone Redundancy/Geo-Replica/backup retention; weeks 10-12: set budget alerts and monthly reviews. The most common waste: provisioning for peak all year, excessive backup retention, forgotten Geo-Replicas and a serverless min vCore set too high.
FAQ
How is serverless billed?
Per active vCore-second; GP active price $0.521758/vCore-hour. You set min/max vCores (default min 0.5 vCore); it auto-pauses after inactivity (GP minimum 15 minutes, default 60 minutes, maximum 7 days), with zero compute cost while paused and storage only; the next connection/activity resumes it.
Is serverless always cheaper?
No. Serverless is about 3.43x provisioned per vCore; on compute alone it is cheaper below about 29.2% average active utilization. Long idle periods/auto-pause lower the threshold; steady high utilization is cheaper on provisioned.
How much is 1 vCore per month?
GP provisioned $0.152217/hour × 730 ≈ $111.12/month; 2 vCores about $222.24/month; add storage, backup and optional HA. BC 1 vCore is about $222.24/month.
How are storage and backup billed?
GP storage $0.115/GB-month; PITR backup beyond the free allowance $0.10/GB-month (ZRS), $0.20 (RA-GRS); LTR is separate. Longer retention/larger data costs more; set retention by RPO.
How much do reservations save?
Using the API reservation meters, GP 1-year $867/vCore (about 35% off) and 3-year $1,800/vCore (about 55% off), compute only, excluding storage/backup. Actual discounts/scope follow the pricing calculator and bill.
DTU or vCore?
DTU bundles compute/IO/storage for simple small workloads and fixed budgets; vCore is more flexible, supports BC/Hyperscale, serverless, reservations and finer scaling. Benchmark the same workload before choosing.
Does auto-pause hurt performance?
Yes. The first connection after pause needs resume time (cold start), and the app must retry; latency-sensitive systems may raise min vCores, shorten the pause or disable it. Serverless fits intermittent workloads that tolerate cold starts.
When should we use Hyperscale?
For very large databases, fast backup/restore, read scale or frequent scaling. Compute, storage and IO are billed separately (IO $0.20/million), so model actual IO/replicas, not just vCores.
Research method and limitations
This article separates "official price facts" from "editorial calculations." GP/BC/serverless prices, storage, PITR, DTU and reservation meters come from the Azure Retail Prices API (eastus, 9 November 2026). Per-second billing, auto-pause/resume, min/max vCores and the default 60 minutes come from Microsoft Learn serverless documentation; the 1/3-year reservation mechanics come from the Azure SQL reservations documentation. TCO, break-even, hidden costs and the 90-day checklist are editorial.
Eight limitations: (1) only eastus list prices, excluding tax/discounts/enterprise agreements; (2) 730 hours/30 days, 8,760 hours/year and 26,280 hours/3 years; (3) no free storage/backup allowance applied; (4) not all Zone Redundancy, Geo-Replica, Elastic Pool or Hyperscale IO combinations are included; (5) no real workload benchmark or cold-start measurement; (6) SQL Managed Instance, SQL Server on Azure VMs and adjacent products (Fabric/Synapse) are out of scope; (7) reservation prices are converted from API meters, actual discounts/scope follow the bill; (8) prices/products change, so recheck official pages and the bill before purchase.
Sources and basis
- Microsoft Azure, Azure SQL Database Pricing: azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/details/azure-sql-database/single. vCore/DTU/storage/backup/reservations. Accessed 9 November 2026.
- Azure Retail Prices API (productName contains SQL Database, eastus): prices.azure.com/api/retail/prices. 0.152217/0.521758/0.304435, 0.115/GB, 0.10/GB backup, DTU, reservation meters. Accessed 9 November 2026.
- Microsoft Learn, Serverless compute tier: learn.microsoft.com/azure/azure-sql/database/serverless-tier-overview. Per-second billing, auto-pause/resume, min/max vCores, default 60 minutes. Accessed 9 November 2026.
- Microsoft Learn, Azure SQL reservations: learn.microsoft.com/azure/azure-sql/database/reservations-discount-overview. 1/3-year reservations and compute scope. Accessed 9 November 2026.
Data cut-off 9 November 2026; prices/availability follow the Azure official page and bill; this is not procurement, commercial or legal advice.