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Microsoft Azure VPS Review

Azure

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Microsoft Azure was founded in 2008.
It is headquartered in the USA.
It offers VPS, Database, Storage and Networking hosting products.

It has datacenters in:
  • Australia
  • Brazil
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Norway
  • Singapore
  • Singapore
  • South Africa
  • South Korea
  • Switzerland
  • United Arab Emirates
  • United Kingdom
  • United States

Features included with VPS

Features not included in the VPS price are marked as missing below.

Feature Value Comment
Hourly Billing  Yes
DDOS Protection  No
Backups  No
Control Panel  Custom
SSH Keys Setup  Yes
Total Number of Datacenters  40
Number of Datacenter Continents  5
Monitoring Charts  Yes
Admin REST API  Yes

URL: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/rest/api/azure/
Upgrade VPS from admin console  No
Mobile Friendly UI  No
Reverse DNS  Yes
Accepted Forms of Payment  Credit cards
Hidden CPU Model  No
Affiliate Program  No
Firewall  Yes
Shelving  Yes

You will only be charged for storage for instances that are stopped (need to be turned off through portal or API).
Compare Features

Pros and Cons

Strengths

  • Large choice of cloud services.
  • Numerous datacenter locations across the world.

Weaknesses

  • Very heavy management UI.
  • Resources tied to a an instance are not released automatically when the instance is destroyed.

Microsoft Azure Extra Services

In addition to features included in the VPS plan, Microsoft Azure also offers the following services (possibly for a fee):

Backups   Block storage   Object storage   Load balancer   Floating IP addresses  
Team Management   Managed databases   Serverless   DDoS protection   Kubernetes  
GPU instances  

CPUs

These are all the CPU types we have seen in Microsoft Azure instances per plan and time period.

Microsoft Azure CPUs

VPS Instance Provisioning Time

For each Microsoft Azure VPS trial, we measured how long it took to provision the server.

See also VPS provisioning times for all providers.

Average Provisioning Time Min Provisioning Time Max Provisioning Time Number of VPS Samples
112s 60s 230s 8

Cloud Storage Prices

For a comparison of storage features and prices from all providers, please check the Cloud Storage Prices page.

Storage Type Price / GB / month Restriction Description
Object $0.021 First 50TB, Hot, General purpose v2, LRS Called "Azure Storage Blobs".
Also available as Cool or Archive storage at lower prices.
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/details/storage/blobs/
Block $0.156 Prices decrease with disk size. LRS (locally redundant). Called "Managed disks".
Throughput increases with disk size: 25MB/second for 32GB disk.
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/details/managed-disks/

Compare all Microsoft Azure plans in the Screener

The Screener shows all Microsoft Azure plans side by side with their grades in 5 categories.

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Microsoft Azure Plans


Plan Specifications

URL https://azure.microsoft.com/en-au/pricing/details/virtual-machines/linux/
Price per month $15.11
Warning: storage costs are not included in this price.
Warning: network bandwidth costs are not included in this price.
Discount or Surcharge for
long or short term use		 Discount
Discounted monthly price: $9.83
Minimum continuous use for discount: 365 days
Disk GB 4
Num Cores 1
Memory GB 2.0
Hourly Billing Yes
Virtualization Hyper-V
Data Transfer GB 1000
Burstable CPU Per core CPU allocation: 20%
Dedicated CPU No

Plan Grades

Screen Microsoft Azure VPS Plans

Grades are calculated by combining results from web, sysbench, endurance and remote timing tests. Grade A is best, grade F is worst.

Follow the letter links to find the test results backing the grade.

More details about grades calculation

Overall Score: 42

Web Performance Raw CPU Power Performance Stability Disk IO Performance Network Performance
C E D F B
Show Price Weighted Grades   

Note: A low grade on a low price VPS does not necessarily mean the VPS is underperforming, the server may still perform better than other servers at the same price. Use the Price Weighted Grades or the Best VPS 2021 rankings to find the best VPS in each price range.


Performance Test Results

We conducted 6 different types of tests during the latest trial for Microsoft Azure - B1MS. Review the results and compare this plan to its competitors.

Web Runs Live Web Network Transfers Remote Timings Sysbench Endurance
Review Review Review Review Review Review
Compare Compare Compare Compare Compare Compare

Performance trials run on the B1MS plan

This plan was tested 3 times at vpsbenchmarks.com. The table below shows all trials run on the B1MS plan with its grade and CPU type.

Start of Trial CPU Datacenter Overall Grade
Mar 21 2020 Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5-2673 v4 @ 2.30GHz East US D
Oct 11 2018 Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5-2673 v4 @ 2.30GHz East US D
Mar 10 2018 Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5-2673 v3 @ 2.40GHz East US D

Plan Specifications

URL https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/introducing-b-series-our-new-burstable-vm-size/
Price per month $30.37
Warning: storage costs are not included in this price.
Warning: network bandwidth costs are not included in this price.
Discount or Surcharge for
long or short term use		 Discount
Discounted monthly price: $17.75
Minimum continuous use for discount: 365 days
Disk GB 8
Num Cores 2
Memory GB 4.0
Hourly Billing Yes
Virtualization Hyper-V
Data Transfer GB 100
Burstable CPU Per core CPU allocation: 40%
Dedicated CPU No

Plan Grades

Screen Microsoft Azure VPS Plans

Grades are calculated by combining results from web, sysbench, endurance and remote timing tests. Grade A is best, grade F is worst.

Follow the letter links to find the test results backing the grade.

More details about grades calculation

Overall Score: 41

Web Performance Raw CPU Power Performance Stability Disk IO Performance Network Performance
C D D F C
Show Price Weighted Grades   

Performance Test Results

We conducted 4 different types of tests during the latest trial for Microsoft Azure - B2s. Review the results and compare this plan to its competitors.

Web Runs Network Transfers Sysbench Endurance
Review Review Review Review
Compare Compare Compare Compare

Performance trials run on the B2s plan

This plan was tested 3 times at vpsbenchmarks.com. The table below shows all trials run on the B2s plan with its grade and CPU type.

Start of Trial CPU Datacenter Overall Grade
Mar 13 2021 Intel(R) Xeon(R) Platinum 8171M CPU @ 2.60GHz us-east D
Nov 25 2019 Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5-2673 v4 @ 2.30GHz East US 2 C
Aug 06 2018 Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5-2673 v4 @ 2.30GHz East US C

Plan Specifications

URL https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/details/virtual-machines/linux/#a-series
Price per month $31.39
Warning: storage costs are not included in this price.
Warning: network bandwidth costs are not included in this price.
Discount or Surcharge for
long or short term use		 No
Disk GB 10
Num Cores 1
Memory GB 2.0
Hourly Billing Yes
Virtualization Hyper-V
Data Transfer GB 200
Burstable CPU No
Dedicated CPU No

Performance Test Results

We conducted 5 different types of tests during the latest trial for Microsoft Azure - A1 v2. Review the results and compare this plan to its competitors.

Live Web Remote Timings Network Transfers Sysbench Endurance
Review Review Review Review Review
Compare Compare Compare Compare Compare

Performance trials run on the A1 v2 plan

This plan was tested 1 times at vpsbenchmarks.com. The table below shows all trials run on the A1 v2 plan with its grade and CPU type.

Start of Trial CPU Datacenter Overall Grade
Dec 27 2018 Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5-2673 v3 @ 2.40GHz East US E

Plan Specifications

URL https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/details/virtual-machines/linux/
Price per month $36.00
Warning: network bandwidth costs are not included in this price.
Discount or Surcharge for
long or short term use		 Discount
Discounted monthly price: $22.30
Minimum continuous use for discount: 365 days
Disk GB 16
Num Cores 1
Memory GB 2.0
Hourly Billing Yes
Virtualization Hyper-V
Data Transfer GB 1000
Burstable CPU No
Dedicated CPU No

Performance Test Results

We conducted 5 different types of tests during the latest trial for Microsoft Azure - F1. Review the results and compare this plan to its competitors.

Live Web Remote Timings Network Transfers Sysbench Endurance
Review Review Review Review Review
Compare Compare Compare Compare Compare

Performance trials run on the F1 plan

This plan was tested 1 times at vpsbenchmarks.com. The table below shows all trials run on the F1 plan with its grade and CPU type.

Start of Trial CPU Datacenter Overall Grade
Mar 19 2019 Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5-2673 v3 @ 2.40GHz us-east D

Plan Specifications

URL https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/details/virtual-machines/linux/
Price per month $36.50
Warning: storage costs are not included in this price.
Warning: network bandwidth costs are not included in this price.
Discount or Surcharge for
long or short term use		 Discount
Discounted monthly price: $22.58
Minimum continuous use for discount: 365 days
Disk GB 16
Num Cores 1
Memory GB 2.0
Hourly Billing Yes
Virtualization Hyper-V
Data Transfer GB 1000
Burstable CPU No
Dedicated CPU No

Plan Grades

Screen Microsoft Azure VPS Plans

Grades are calculated by combining results from web, sysbench, endurance and remote timing tests. Grade A is best, grade F is worst.

Follow the letter links to find the test results backing the grade.

More details about grades calculation

Overall Score: 49

Web Performance Raw CPU Power Performance Stability Disk IO Performance Network Performance
C E B F B
Show Price Weighted Grades   

Performance Test Results

We conducted 6 different types of tests during the latest trial for Microsoft Azure - F1s. Review the results and compare this plan to its competitors.

Web Runs Live Web Network Transfers Remote Timings Sysbench Endurance
Review Review Review Review Review Review
Compare Compare Compare Compare Compare Compare

Performance trials run on the F1s plan

This plan was tested 2 times at vpsbenchmarks.com. The table below shows all trials run on the F1s plan with its grade and CPU type.

Start of Trial CPU Datacenter Overall Grade
Feb 02 2020 Intel(R) Xeon(R) Platinum 8171M CPU @ 2.60GHz East US D
May 14 2018 Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5-2673 v4 @ 2.30GHz East US D

Plan Specifications

URL https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/details/virtual-machines/linux/
Price per month $60.73
Discount or Surcharge for
long or short term use		 No
Disk GB 16
Num Cores 2
Memory GB 8.0
Hourly Billing Yes
Virtualization Hyper-V
Data Transfer GB 0
Burstable CPU Per core CPU allocation: 30%
Dedicated CPU No

Performance Test Results

We conducted 5 different types of tests during the latest trial for Microsoft Azure - B2MS. Review the results and compare this plan to its competitors.

Live Web Network Transfers Remote Timings Sysbench Endurance
Review Review Review Review Review
Compare Compare Compare Compare Compare

Performance trials run on the B2MS plan

This plan was tested 1 times at vpsbenchmarks.com. The table below shows all trials run on the B2MS plan with its grade and CPU type.

Start of Trial CPU Datacenter Overall Grade
Sep 16 2019 Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5-2673 v4 @ 2.30GHz East US C

This VPS came with 28GB local disk + 16GB mounted.

Plan Specifications

URL https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/details/virtual-machines/linux/
Price per month $61.00
Warning: network bandwidth costs are not included in this price.
Discount or Surcharge for
long or short term use		 Discount
Discounted monthly price: $36.00
Minimum continuous use for discount: 365 days
Disk GB 16
Num Cores 2
Memory GB 4.0
Hourly Billing Yes
Virtualization Hyper-V
Data Transfer GB 0
Burstable CPU No
Dedicated CPU No

Plan Grades

Screen Microsoft Azure VPS Plans

Grades are calculated by combining results from web, sysbench, endurance and remote timing tests. Grade A is best, grade F is worst.

Follow the letter links to find the test results backing the grade.

More details about grades calculation

Overall Score: 53

Web Performance Raw CPU Power Performance Stability Disk IO Performance Network Performance
B C D F B
Show Price Weighted Grades   

Performance Test Results

We conducted 4 different types of tests during the latest trial for Microsoft Azure - F2s v2. Review the results and compare this plan to its competitors.

Web Runs Network Transfers Sysbench Endurance
Review Review Review Review
Compare Compare Compare Compare

Performance trials run on the F2s v2 plan

This plan was tested 2 times at vpsbenchmarks.com. The table below shows all trials run on the F2s v2 plan with its grade and CPU type.

Start of Trial CPU Datacenter Overall Grade
Dec 15 2020 Intel(R) Xeon(R) Platinum 8168 CPU @ 2.70GHz East US C
Jul 14 2019 Intel(R) Xeon(R) Platinum 8168 CPU @ 2.70GHz US East C

Plan Specifications

URL https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/details/virtual-machines/linux/
Price per month $69.12
Warning: network bandwidth costs are not included in this price.
Discount or Surcharge for
long or short term use		 Discount
Discounted monthly price: $41.74
Minimum continuous use for discount: 365 days
Disk GB 50
Num Cores 2
Memory GB 8.0
Hourly Billing Yes
Virtualization Hyper-V
Data Transfer GB 0
Burstable CPU No
Dedicated CPU No

Plan Grades

Screen Microsoft Azure VPS Plans

Grades are calculated by combining results from web, sysbench, endurance and remote timing tests. Grade A is best, grade F is worst.

Follow the letter links to find the test results backing the grade.

More details about grades calculation

Overall Score: 56

Web Performance Raw CPU Power Performance Stability Disk IO Performance Network Performance
C D B E B
Show Price Weighted Grades   

Performance Test Results

We conducted 4 different types of tests during the latest trial for Microsoft Azure - D2 v3. Review the results and compare this plan to its competitors.

Web Runs Network Transfers Sysbench Endurance
Review Review Review Review
Compare Compare Compare Compare

Performance trials run on the D2 v3 plan

This plan was tested 2 times at vpsbenchmarks.com. The table below shows all trials run on the D2 v3 plan with its grade and CPU type.

Start of Trial CPU Datacenter Overall Grade
May 10 2020 Intel(R) Xeon(R) Platinum 8171M CPU @ 2.60GHz East US C
May 16 2019 Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5-2673 v3 @ 2.40GHz East US C

Plan Specifications

URL https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/details/virtual-machines/linux/#dasv4-series
Price per month $69.12
Warning: network bandwidth costs are not included in this price.
Discount or Surcharge for
long or short term use		 Discount
Discounted monthly price: $41.18
Minimum continuous use for discount: 365 days
Disk GB 16
Num Cores 2
Memory GB 8.0
Hourly Billing Yes
Virtualization Hyper-V
Data Transfer GB 0
Burstable CPU No
Dedicated CPU No

Plan Specifications

URL https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/details/virtual-machines/linux/#dav4-series
Price per month $69.12
Warning: network bandwidth costs are not included in this price.
Discount or Surcharge for
long or short term use		 Discount
Discounted monthly price: $41.18
Minimum continuous use for discount: 365 days
Disk GB 50
Num Cores 2
Memory GB 8.0
Hourly Billing Yes
Virtualization HyperV
Data Transfer GB 0
Burstable CPU No
Dedicated CPU No

Plan Grades

Screen Microsoft Azure VPS Plans

Grades are calculated by combining results from web, sysbench, endurance and remote timing tests. Grade A is best, grade F is worst.

Follow the letter links to find the test results backing the grade.

More details about grades calculation

Overall Score: 64

Web Performance Raw CPU Power Performance Stability Disk IO Performance Network Performance
B C B F A
Show Price Weighted Grades   

Performance Test Results

We conducted 4 different types of tests during the latest trial for Microsoft Azure - D2a v4. Review the results and compare this plan to its competitors.

Web Runs Network Transfers Sysbench Endurance
Review Review Review Review
Compare Compare Compare Compare

Performance trials run on the D2a v4 plan

This plan was tested 1 times at vpsbenchmarks.com. The table below shows all trials run on the D2a v4 plan with its grade and CPU type.

Start of Trial CPU Datacenter Overall Grade
Jul 17 2020 AMD EPYC 7452 32-Core Processor East US C

The D2d series feature fast, large local SSD storage (up to 2,400 GiB) and are well suited for applications that benefit from low latency, high-speed local storage, such as applications that need fast reads and writes to temporary storage, or applications that need temporary storage for caches or temporary files.

Plan Specifications

URL https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/details/virtual-machines/linux/#ddv4-series
Price per month $81.36
Warning: network bandwidth costs are not included in this price.
Discount or Surcharge for
long or short term use		 Discount
Discounted monthly price: $48.02
Minimum continuous use for discount: 365 days
Disk GB 75
Num Cores 2
Memory GB 8.0
Hourly Billing Yes
Virtualization HyperV
Data Transfer GB 0
Burstable CPU No
Dedicated CPU No
Storage Root storage for this plan is local and not replicated.

Plan Grades

Screen Microsoft Azure VPS Plans

Grades are calculated by combining results from web, sysbench, endurance and remote timing tests. Grade A is best, grade F is worst.

Follow the letter links to find the test results backing the grade.

More details about grades calculation

Overall Score: 61

Web Performance Raw CPU Power Performance Stability Disk IO Performance Network Performance
B C D E A
Show Price Weighted Grades   

Performance Test Results

We conducted 4 different types of tests during the latest trial for Microsoft Azure - D2ds v4. Review the results and compare this plan to its competitors.

Web Runs Network Transfers Sysbench Endurance
Review Review Review Review
Compare Compare Compare Compare

Performance trials run on the D2ds v4 plan

This plan was tested 1 times at vpsbenchmarks.com. The table below shows all trials run on the D2ds v4 plan with its grade and CPU type.

Start of Trial CPU Datacenter Overall Grade
Sep 29 2020 Intel(R) Xeon(R) Platinum 8272CL CPU @ 2.60GHz East US C

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