Official-source provider dossier

Microsoft Azure

Raw cloud infrastructure · CLI / unmanaged

Microsoft Azure Virtual Machines provide on-demand Linux and Windows compute across a broad range of general-purpose, compute-, memory-, storage-, GPU- and HPC-optimized VM families.

Pricing modelVariableCalculated by configuration

Raw cloud infrastructureHosting modelCLI / unmanagedManagementVariableCalculated by configurationNot benchmarkedReason documented below

At a glance

What Microsoft Azure offers

Verified September 4, 2026

Best for teams that need global cloud infrastructure, Microsoft ecosystem integration, hybrid-cloud tooling, or granular control over enterprise workloads.

Billing modelPay as you goReservations, savings plans and Spot are also offered

Global reach60+ regionsMicrosoft’s published VM coverage

AvailabilityUp to 99.99%Published high-availability SLA; configuration requirements apply

Operating systemsLinux + WindowsMarketplace images and custom images supported

ScalingVM Scale SetsAutoscale by demand or schedule

MonitoringAzure MonitorApplication Insights integration available

StorageManaged DisksDisk type and capacity are billed separately

Independent benchmarkNot yet publishedNo normalized HostingHunt test has been completed

Pricing context

Azure does not publish one universal VPS starting price. The live total depends on VM size, operating system or image, region, runtime, disks, bandwidth and purchase option. Use Microsoft’s calculator for a like-for-like estimate before deployment.

Included capabilities

Features arranged by category

Official provider claims

Compute & performance

Multiple VM families for balanced, compute-, memory- and storage-heavy workloads
Virtual Machine Scale Sets for automatic scaling
Azure Boost for supported network and storage acceleration
GPU-enabled and HPC-optimized VM options
B-family burstable instances for intermittent CPU demand

Security

Azure confidential computing options
Encryption for data at rest
Network isolation through Azure Virtual Network
Microsoft Defender for Cloud integration
Identity and access control through Microsoft Entra ID

Operations & resilience

Azure Backup and Site Recovery integrations
Azure Monitor and Application Insights
Managed Disks with multiple performance tiers
Availability Zones and availability sets
Infrastructure automation through ARM, Bicep, CLI and APIs

Pricing & support

Pay-as-you-go billing
Reserved VM Instances and compute savings plans
Spot VMs for interruptible workloads
Azure Hybrid Benefit for eligible licenses
Pricing calculator for region- and configuration-specific estimates

Platform coverage

Infrastructure & supported workloads

Infrastructure options

General purpose VMsCompute optimized VMsMemory optimized VMsStorage optimized VMsGPU VMsHPC VMs

Applications and use cases

Linux and Windows serversMicrosoft workloadsWeb and application serversDatabasesVirtual desktopsAI and HPCHybrid cloud

Representative locationsAvailability varies by infrastructure provider

East USWest USCanada CentralBrazil SouthUK SouthWest EuropeUAE NorthCentral IndiaSoutheast AsiaAustralia East

Decision guide

Strengths and considerations

Why it may fit

Very broad workload and VM-family coverage
Deep integration with Windows Server, SQL Server and the wider Microsoft stack
Global deployment footprint across 60+ regions
Strong hybrid-cloud, governance and enterprise management tooling

Check before buying

There is no single representative monthly price; every comparison needs the same region, OS, disk and billing assumptions
Managed disks, outbound transfer, public IPs, support and marketplace software may add separate charges
B-series burstable VMs can be throttled to baseline after CPU credits are exhausted
No HostingHunt benchmark is shown because we have not completed a controlled, like-for-like Azure VM test