# Azure SQL Database Pricing — vCore, Every Service Tier

> On-demand and reserved monthly pricing for every Azure SQL Database vCore configuration, across General Purpose, Business Critical, and Hyperscale, in every region.

Source: https://www.bytebase.com/dbcost/azure-sql-database-pricing/

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## How Azure SQL Database pricing works

This prices the vCore purchasing model - a single database, provisioned compute, on Gen5 (standard-series) hardware, roughly 5.1 GB of memory per vCore. You pay per vCore-hour, shown as a monthly figure (hourly rate x 730), and the rate is License-Included (the SQL Server license is bundled in). Reserved capacity commits you to a tier for one or three years for a lower rate, amortized over the term.

Three service tiers set the per-vCore rate. General Purpose is the balanced default; Business Critical costs about double for local-SSD performance and built-in HA replicas; Hyperscale targets very large databases (up to 100 TB) with independent compute/storage scaling. The interactive table at https://www.bytebase.com/dbcost/azure-sql-database-pricing lets you switch region and service tier and sort by any column.

The price covers compute only. Data and backup storage, long-term retention, and networking are billed separately and vary by region. This is the vCore model - the legacy DTU tiers, serverless, elastic pools, and Managed Instance are priced separately.

## Azure SQL Database pricing FAQ

### How much does Azure SQL Database cost?

On-demand Azure SQL Database starts around $222/month for a 2-vCore General Purpose database and scales to tens of thousands per month for the largest 80-vCore Business Critical configuration (East US). The vCore price is License-Included and covers compute only; storage, backups, and networking are billed separately.

### What is the difference between General Purpose, Business Critical, and Hyperscale?

General Purpose is the balanced, most economical tier. Business Critical costs roughly double per vCore for local-SSD performance and built-in HA replicas. Hyperscale is built for very large databases (up to 100 TB) with fast, independent scaling of compute and storage.

### Does the price include the SQL Server license?

Yes. Azure SQL Database vCore prices are License-Included - the SQL Server license is bundled into the compute rate. If you already own licenses with Software Assurance, Azure Hybrid Benefit can reduce the cost.

### What is the difference between on-demand and reserved pricing?

On-demand has no commitment and is billed per hour. Reserved capacity commits you for 1 or 3 years and cuts the effective monthly cost by roughly 35% and 55%.

### Does the price include storage?

No. The price is for the database compute (vCores) only. Data storage, backup storage, long-term retention, and networking are billed separately by Azure.

### Does this cover the DTU model or serverless?

No. This covers the vCore purchasing model with provisioned compute on Gen5 hardware. The legacy DTU tiers (Basic, Standard, Premium), serverless, elastic pools, and SQL Managed Instance are priced separately.

### Is Azure SQL Database pricing the same in every region?

No. Rates vary by Azure region; East US is usually among the cheapest.

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