Azure storage is a great, inexpensive solution for storing your data in the cloud. There are many types of Azure storage options, but I wanted to list here the pricing of the most common type: block blob.
The pricing below is based on the East US region (most other regions have very similar pricing). The pricing comes from the Azure pricing calculator. The data redundancy options LRS, ZRS, GRS, and RA-GRS are explained at Redundancy Options in Azure Blob Storage, but here is a review:
| LOCALLY REDUNDANT STORAGE (LRS) | ZONE REDUNDANT STORAGE (ZRS) | GEOGRAPHICALLY REDUNDANT STORAGE (GRS) | READ-ACCESS GEOGRAPHICALLY REDUNDANT STORAGE (RA-GRS) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Makes multiple synchronous copies of your data within a single datacenter | Stores three copies of data across multiple datacenters within or across regions. For block blobs only. | Same as LRS, plus multiple asynchronous copies to a second datacenter hundreds of miles away | Same as GRS, plus read access to the secondary datacenter |
Here is the pricing:
Storage, LRS, 1GB = $.02/month
Storage, LRS, 10GB = $.24/month
Storage, LRS, 100GB = $2.40/month
Storage, LRS, 1TB = $24/month
Storage, LRS, 10TB = $242/month
Storage, LRS, 100TB = $2,396/month
Storage, LRS, 1PB = $23,572/month
Storage, ZRS, 1GB = $.03/month
Storage, ZRS, 10GB = $.30/month
Storage, ZRS, 100GB = $3.00/month
Storage, ZRS, 1TB = $30/month
Storage, ZRS, 10TB = $302/month
Storage, ZRS, 100TB = $2,995/month
Storage, ZRS, 1PB = $29,466/month
Storage, GRS, 1GB = $.05/month
Storage, GRS, 10GB = $.48/month
Storage, GRS, 100GB = $4.80/month
Storage, GRS, 1TB = $49/month
Storage, GRS, 10TB = $484/month
Storage, GRS, 100TB = $4,793/month
Storage, GRS, 1PB = $47,145/month
Storage, RA-GRS, 1GB = $.06/month
Storage, RA-GRS, 10GB = $.61/month
Storage, RA-GRS, 100GB = $6.10/month
Storage, RA-GRS, 1TB = $62/month
Storage, RA-GRS, 10TB = $614/month
Storage, RA-GRS, 100TB = $6,083/month
Storage, RA-GRS, 1PB = $59,852/month
The other cost to note is you are charged for the number of storage transactions, but this is extremely cheap (transactions include both read and write operations to storage):
100k, .01/month
1M, .04/month
10M, .36/month
100M, $3.60/month
Each and every REST call to Windows Azure Blobs counts as one transaction (see Understanding Windows Azure Storage Billing – Bandwidth, Transactions, and Capacity).
Data going into an Azure storage is free (“Inbound data transfers”). Data going out of an Azure storage is free (“Outbound data transfers”) if within the same Azure data center (“region”), otherwise there is a small cost (see Data Transfers Pricing Details):
| OUTBOUND DATA TRANSFERS | ZONE 1 | ZONE 2 | ZONE 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| First 5 GB /Month | Free | Free | Free |
| 5 GB – 10 TB /Month | $0.087 per GB | $0.138 per GB | $0.181 per GB |
| Next 40 TB (10 – 50 TB) /Month | $0.083 per GB | $0.135 per GB | $0.175 per GB |
| Next 100 TB (50 – 150 TB) /Month | $0.07 per GB | $0.13 per GB | $0.17 per GB |
| Next 350 TB (150 – 500 TB) /Month | $0.05 per GB | $0.12 per GB | $0.16 per GB |
- Zone 1: US West, US East, US North Central, US South Central, US East 2, US Central, Europe West, Europe North
- Zone 2: Asia Pacific East, Asia Pacific Southeast, Japan East, Japan West, Australia East, Australia Southeast
- Zone 3: Brazil South
So in summary, your total cost depends on how much you store, the volume and type of storage transactions and outbound data transfers, and which data redundancy option you choose.
Note that there is a new feature for Azure blob storage: hot access tier and cold access tier (see New Azure storage account type). The hot access tier pricing is as listed above. The cold access tier has greatly reduced pricing (ZRS is not yet supported). For example:
Storage, LRS, 100GB = $2.40/month (hot), $1.00/month (cold)
Storage, GRS, 100GB = $4.80/month (hot), $2.00/month (cold)
Storage, RA-GRS, 100GB = $6.10/month (hot), $2.50/month (cold)
Finally, there is a Azure Speed Testing site that you can use to determine the closest data center to your location to provide the fastest network latency.
More info:
Windows Azure Storage Transaction | Unveiling the Unforeseen Cost and Tips to Cost Effective Usage
Understand your bill for Microsoft Azure
