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Azure FinOps Essentials
Running Azure SQL Databases for Free: What You Need to Know
Michiel van Oudheusden
February 24, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes
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Hi there, and welcome to this week’s edition of Azure FinOps Essentials! 🎉
This time, we’re looking at Azure SQL Database’s new free tier, which allows you to run up to 10 fully managed databases at no cost. This makes SQL Server a more cost-effective option for many workloads, especially for small applications or development environments.
We’ll break down what’s included, discuss the limitations, and explain how to monitor usage to avoid unexpected charges. While this offer provides a great way to reduce costs, it’s important to understand when it makes sense to use and when other solutions might be a better fit.
Let’s take a closer look at how this free tier can help optimize costs in Azure SQL Database.
Cheers, Michiel
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Azure SQL Database: Now Free for Up to 10 Databases!
A while back, I wrote about Azure free services and how they provide not only a great way to get started but also a way to run cost-optimized solutions in production. Microsoft has now made Azure SQL Database even more accessible by offering up to 10 free databases per subscription—a significant change that makes SQL a much more attractive option for developers and businesses alike.
There are plenty of ways to persist data in Azure—from Storage Accounts (Table Storage), CosmosDB, MongoDB, PostgreSQL, and more. SQL Server has long been a solid choice due to its robust feature set and scalability. While SQL databases in Azure have traditionally come with a price tag, this new offer lowers the barrier significantly, making it possible to host structured data without incurring additional costs.
In this edition, I’ll break down what’s included in the free tier, the limitations, and how you can take advantage of it to optimize costs while maintaining performance.
What’s Included in the Free Azure SQL Database Offer
With this new free offer, Microsoft provides fully managed SQL databases without upfront costs. Unlike time-limited trials, this offer remains free for the lifetime of your subscription—as long as you stay within the provided limits.
What’s Included?
Each Azure subscription can have up to 10 General Purpose Azure SQL Databases, each receiving:
100,000 vCore seconds per month (compute)
32 GB of data storage per database
32 GB of backup storage
This means that if your workloads fit within these constraints, you won’t pay anything. The databases run on serverless compute, meaning they automatically scale based on usage.
You also get built-in database management features, including:
✔ Automated patching and upgrades
✔ Backup & restore capabilities
✔ Monitoring and performance insights
What Are the Limitations?
Like any free offer, there are some trade-offs:
Limited Compute & Storage: Each database is capped at 4 vCores and 32 GB in size.
Backup Restrictions: Long-term backup retention isn’t available, and point-in-time restores are limited to seven days.
No Elastic Pools or Failover Groups: You can’t pool multiple free databases together for resource sharing.
No Advanced Features: Features like Elastic Jobs, DNS Aliases, and Data Sync aren’t available.
Region Locking: Once you create a free database in a region, all free databases must be in that same region for that subscription.
What Happens If You Hit the Limits?
Microsoft offers two ways to handle usage beyond the free limits:
1️⃣ Auto-Pause Until Next Month: The database will become inaccessible until the next calendar month.
2️⃣ Continue and Pay for Overages: You will be charged at standard General Purpose tier serverless rates for any extra vCore seconds or storage used.
⚠ Be Careful! If you opt into paid overages, you cannot switch back to the auto-pause option later.
How to Monitor and Control Costs
Even though Azure SQL Database now has a free tier, it’s crucial to monitor your usage to avoid unexpected charges. If your database exceeds the 100,000 vCore seconds or 32 GB storage limit, and you’ve opted to continue usage, you will be charged at standard rates. Here’s how to stay in control:
1️⃣ Track Your Free Allowance in the Azure Portal
Azure provides built-in metrics to monitor your usage.
Navigate to your Azure SQL Database in the Azure Portal.
Under the Overview tab, look for the Free Monthly vCore Amount.
Click the remaining seconds amount to launch the Metrics chart, where you can track:
Free amount remaining (how much of the free tier is left).
Free amount consumed (how much has been used).
2️⃣ Set Up Alerts to Avoid Overages
The Azure Monitor service allows you to set alerts when your usage is approaching the free limit.
Under Metrics, create an alert rule (at no extra cost).
Use the “Free amount remaining” metric and set an alert when it drops below 10,000 vCore seconds (or another threshold you prefer).
This ensures you get a notification before hitting the limit, giving you time to decide if you want to continue usage or pause the database.
3️⃣ Reduce Unnecessary Compute Usage
Even if you’re under the free vCore limit, inefficient usage could consume your allowance faster. Here’s how to optimize:
✅ Disconnect Unused Sessions: Tools like SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) and Azure Data Studio can keep idle sessions open, preventing auto-pause. Close them when not in use.
✅ Tune Query Performance: Inefficient queries increase vCore usage. Use Azure SQL Query Performance Insights to optimize slow queries.
✅ Use Auto-Pause if Possible: If your database isn’t needed 24/7, consider using the auto-pause setting to stop consumption until the next month.
4️⃣ Keep an Eye on Storage Usage
If your database approaches 32 GB, you will start paying for extra storage.
Regularly archive or clean up old data to stay within limits.
Consider using compression or partitioning to optimize storage usage.
5️⃣ Enable Cost Management Reports
In Azure Cost Management, you can create custom dashboards to:
📊 Track SQL Database costs (even if currently at $0).
📊 Identify trends in vCore or storage usage over time.
📊 See projected overages before they happen.
Conclusion: A Great Opportunity with Some Caveats
The introduction of Azure SQL Database’s free tier is a great addition for cost-conscious users. Having up to 10 fully managed databases at no cost makes Azure SQL much more accessible—whether for development, testing, or even production use cases with light workloads.
However, while this offer is compelling, it does come with limitations. The 100,000 vCore seconds and 32 GB storagecaps mean that not every workload will fit within the free tier. If your database exceeds these limits, you must either accept additional charges or let it auto-pause until the next month. Additionally, backup retention and advanced features like Elastic Pools or Failover Groups are not available.
For those who carefully monitor their usage and optimize their queries, this free offering can significantly reduce costs—especially for small databases or infrequent workloads. However, as always with FinOps, it’s crucial to understand the limitations and track consumption to avoid surprises.
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