What are the differences between Burstable, General Purpose, and Business Critical tiers?

Burstable (B-series) provides a baseline CPU with the ability to burst above it — ideal for workloads that do not need full CPU continuously, like dev/test or small applications. General Purpose (Dds_v4/Dds_v5) offers balanced compute and memory for most production workloads. Business Critical (Eds_v4/Eds_v5) provides the highest performance with memory-optimized VMs and local SSD storage for low-latency I/O. Only General Purpose and Business Critical tiers support zone-redundant HA and read replicas.

How does storage IOPS pricing work?

Flexible Server includes 360 free IOPS plus 3 IOPS per provisioned GB (up to 20,000 from storage size). If you need more IOPS, you can pre-provision additional IOPS above the free tier at a per-IOPS monthly cost. Alternatively, enable IOPS auto-scaling, which dynamically adjusts IOPS based on workload demand — you pay for the IOPS actually consumed. For predictable workloads, pre-provisioned IOPS are more cost-effective. For variable workloads, auto-scaling avoids over-provisioning.

Azure MySQL Flexible Cost Estimator

StorageAzure

Estimate Azure Database for MySQL Flexible Server costs with HA and read replicas.

Last verified: May 2026

Azure MySQL Flexible Server Configuration

Compute Tier

Storage (GB)

$0.115/GB/month storage cost.

Backup Retention (Days)

Backup storage at $0.095/GB/month. Range: 1-35 days.

High Availability (Zone Redundant - doubles compute cost)

Raw Output

Output will appear here...

See It in Action

Your team's MySQL workloads currently on a self-managed VM cluster ($800/month + 10 hr/week of admin time). The estimator models migration to Flexible Server: General Purpose D4ds_v4 (4 vCores, 16 GB RAM) = $290/month, 100 GB storage = $12/month, zone-redundant HA = +$290/month for the standby = $592/month total. Cost is comparable to self-managed but operational burden disappears (no patching, no backup management, automatic failover). Net win: similar cost, ~10 hours/week reclaimed, plus higher availability.

What This Tool Does

Azure Database for MySQL Flexible Server is the recommended deployment option for MySQL workloads on Azure, offering granular compute and storage scaling, zone-redundant high availability, and a burstable tier for dev/test environments. Costs depend on the compute tier (Burstable, General Purpose, or Business Critical), vCores, memory, storage size, IOPS (pre-provisioned or auto-scale), backup retention, and high availability configuration. Additional costs include read replicas and network egress. This estimator helps you model monthly costs across all tiers with region-specific pricing for production planning.

Technical Details

The estimator computes Azure MySQL Flexible Server cost across components: compute tier (Burstable, General Purpose, Business Critical) × vCores × hourly rate × hours, storage GB × per-GB-month rate, IOPS (free tier + pre-provisioned IOPS at per-IOPS rate, or auto-scaling at consumed IOPS rate), backup retention beyond 7 days, HA premium (zone-redundant doubles compute), and read replica costs. Output presents per-component breakdown.

Common Use Cases

1Comparing costs between Burstable B1ms for development and General Purpose D4ds_v4 for production workloads
2Estimating the cost impact of enabling zone-redundant high availability for business-critical databases
3Calculating total costs including pre-provisioned IOPS, backup retention beyond 7 days, and read replicas

Common Questions

What are the differences between Burstable, General Purpose, and Business Critical tiers?: Burstable (B-series) provides a baseline CPU with the ability to burst above it — ideal for workloads that do not need full CPU continuously, like dev/test or small applications. General Purpose (Dds_v4/Dds_v5) offers balanced compute and memory for most production workloads. Business Critical (Eds_v4/Eds_v5) provides the highest performance with memory-optimized VMs and local SSD storage for low-latency I/O. Only General Purpose and Business Critical tiers support zone-redundant HA and read replicas.
How does storage IOPS pricing work?: Flexible Server includes 360 free IOPS plus 3 IOPS per provisioned GB (up to 20,000 from storage size). If you need more IOPS, you can pre-provision additional IOPS above the free tier at a per-IOPS monthly cost. Alternatively, enable IOPS auto-scaling, which dynamically adjusts IOPS based on workload demand — you pay for the IOPS actually consumed. For predictable workloads, pre-provisioned IOPS are more cost-effective. For variable workloads, auto-scaling avoids over-provisioning.

Expert Tips

TIP

Burstable B-series is dramatically cheaper than General Purpose for dev/test (~$30/month vs $150+/month for similar specs). The catch: CPU is throttled to baseline when burst credits are exhausted. Fine for dev/test workloads with intermittent load; problematic for sustained production traffic.

TIP

Stop the database when not in use for 100% compute cost savings during downtime. Flexible Server can be stopped for up to 30 days (longer requires manual stop+start). For dev databases that sit idle nights and weekends, automating stop/start via Logic Apps can cut costs 60-70%.

TIP

Pre-provisioned IOPS make sense ONLY for predictable, sustained high-IOPS workloads. For variable workloads, IOPS auto-scaling pays per actual consumption. Always run the workload at default IOPS first, monitor actual peak IOPS, then decide whether to pre-provision.

Related Learning Guides

Cost Management Guide24 min read

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