Azure Backup Pricing: The Basics and 6 Pricing Examples

How Is Azure Backup Priced?

Azure Backup is a centralized backup service provided by the Microsoft Azure cloud. It is secure and easy to use, and can help protect against ransomware attacks. You can use Azure Backup for a range of Azure resources, including VMs, Azure Files, Azure Blob Storage, and Azure Disks.

Azure Backup pricing uses a scalable, pay-as-you-go model, making it affordable for businesses of all sizes. The pricing model is based on the type and number of resources being backed up, and the Azure resources used for backup, such as storage space and data transfer. We’ll discuss each of these components in more detail and provide examples of Azure Backup pricing for different Azure resources.

This is part of a series of articles about Azure pricing

In this article:

Azure Backup Components Affecting Pricing

The Azure Backup Pricing is determined by the following components:

Fixed Service Cost

The fixed service cost is a monthly fee that covers the management and operation of the Azure Backup service. This fee remains the same regardless of the amount of data you backup or restore in a given month. It includes the cost of software updates, maintenance, and other operational expenses.

Although the fixed service cost is a constant, it represents a small proportion of the total cost. Most of the Azure Backup Pricing is variable, depending on the other components we will discuss next.

Storage Space

Storage space is the most significant component of Azure Backup Pricing. The amount of data you store in Azure directly impacts your costs. To minimize the cost of storage, it’s crucial to implement an effective data retention policy. This involves determining how long your backups need to be stored and deleting older backups that are no longer needed.

Bandwidth

Bandwidth refers to the data transfer capacity used when backing up and restoring data. It is a significant factor in Azure Backup Pricing. The more data you backup and restore, the more bandwidth you will consume. Therefore, it’s essential to optimally manage your data transfer to control your costs. 

Number of Protected Instances

If you are backing up VMs, databases, or other compute resources, the number and type of protected instances also affects Azure Backup Pricing. A protected instance refers to the computer, server, or database that is being backed up.

Learn more in our detailed guide to azure database pricing.

Azure Backup Pricing Examples 

1. Azure Virtual Machines (VMs)

Azure VMs are one of the most commonly used services in Azure. The pricing for Azure VM backup is determined by the size of the backup data and the type of storage used. The cost is divided into two main components: instance cost and storage cost. It is also possible to use the cheaper archive tier, rather than the standard storage tier.

The instance cost is based on the size of your VM. For example, if you have a VM with a size of up to 50 GB, you are charged a certain amount per month. The price increases as the size of the VM increases (up to 500GB and then again for over 500GB). 

The storage cost, on the other hand, depends on the kind of storage you opt for – locally redundant storage (LRS), zone-redundant storage (ZRS), geo-redundant storage (GRS), or read-access geo-redundant storage (RA-GRS).

To give you an idea, for a VM of size up to 50GB, you might be charged around $5 per month as the instance cost. For the storage, if you opt for LRS, you might be charged around $0.02 per GB per month, and for GRS, it might be around $0.05 per GB per month.

Learn more in our detailed guide to Azure VM pricing 

2. SQL Server on Azure VMs

SQL Server on Azure VMs is another popular service. The pricing for this service is similar to Azure VMs, with the instance cost and storage cost being the two main components. Pricing also depends on the model, such as pay-as-you-go, reserved, Spot, or savings plans.

It’s worth noting that if you have multiple databases in a single SQL Server VM, you will be charged only once for the VM, and not for each individual database. This can potentially lead to significant cost savings if you have a large number of databases.

3. SAP HANA on Azure VMs

Azure also supports SAP HANA on Azure VMs, with its own specific pricing structure. The pricing is based on the database size. Options range from 192 GB to 6TB for a single instance. 

For example, backup storage using SAP HANA on Azure VMs is $0.0224 per GB per month for LRS, based on the standard tier, and $0.0448 per GB for GRS. This pricing model also works in increments of 500 GB, with each increment costing $98.94 per month.

4. Azure Files

Azure Files is a cloud-based file share service provided by Microsoft Azure. It allows you to create, share, and manage files in the cloud, just as you would on your local system. 

The pricing of Azure Files backup is calculated based on the total amount of data stored in your file shares, as well as charges for snapshot storage. As of today, the cost of backing up over 250GB is $5 per month. For less than 250GB, there’s a 60% reduction. It’s important to note that these prices are for the backup service only and do not include the cost of storage, which is billed separately.

5. Azure Blobs

Azure Blob storage is a service that stores unstructured data in the cloud as blobs or objects. This service is ideal for storing large amounts of unstructured data, like documents, images, videos, and log files.

The pricing for Azure Blob backup is slightly different from Azure Files. Here, you are charged based on the total aPremium, Hot, Cool, Cold, and Archive. Hot storage is for data that is accessed frequently, Cool storage is for data that is infrequently accessed, and Archive storage is for data that is rarely accessed.

The cost for Hot storage starts at $0.018 per GB for the first 50 TB per month. Cool storage starts at $0.01 per GB for the first 50 TB per month, and Archive storage is the cheapest, starting at $0.002 per GB for the first 50 TB per month (for the Central US region). However, it’s important to note that the costs for data retrieval and early deletion are higher for the Cool and Archive tiers.

6. Azure Disks

Azure Disks is a service that offers high-performing, durable block storage for Azure Virtual Machines. Azure Disks come in four types: Ultra Disk, Premium SSD, Standard SSD, and Standard HDD. Azure charges for snapshots and bursting.

The pricing for Azure Disks backup depends on the type of disk you choose, the size of the disk, and the redundancy options. For example, the cost for Premium SSD starts at $0.132 per GB per month for a P4 disk with a size of 32GB, if stored on Premium SSD Managed Disk storage. The cost for Standard SSD starts at $0.04 per GB per month for an E1 disk with a size of 4 GB. And the cost for Standard HDD starts at $1.54 for an S4 disk with a size of 32 GB.

Azure Cost Optimization with Spot by NetApp

Spot by NetApp has everything enterprises need to optimize their compute spend, no matter which resources they have deployed. Spot Elastigroup allows Azure customers to reliably use Azure spot instances (VMs) for even fault-sensitive workloads and save up to 90% on their compute costs. Spot also offers solutions like Spot Eco, which helps you to manage your commitment purchases, including Azure Reservations and Savings Plan.

Learn more about Spot by NetApp for Azure.