Calculate Azure SQL Database costs across DTU and vCore models with Elastic Pool, Serverless, and Azure Hybrid Benefit options.
Last verified: May 2026
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Azure Hybrid Benefit (AHB) lets you use existing SQL Server licenses with active Software Assurance to pay a reduced rate on Azure SQL. Each SQL Server Enterprise Edition core license entitles you to 1 vCore of Business Critical or 4 vCores of General Purpose. Standard Edition core licenses map 1:1 to General Purpose vCores. AHB is only available on the vCore purchasing model. DTU-based databases are not eligible.
The Azure SQL DTU Calculator helps you estimate costs for Azure SQL Database across both DTU-based and vCore-based purchasing models. It covers all service tiers including Basic, Standard, and Premium for DTU, and General Purpose, Business Critical, and Hyperscale for vCore. The calculator also models Elastic Pool pricing for multi-tenant scenarios and Serverless compute tier costs for intermittent workloads. Azure Hybrid Benefit savings for customers with existing SQL Server licenses are factored in, making it a comprehensive planning tool for any Azure SQL Database deployment.
A DTU (Database Transaction Unit) is a blended measure of CPU, memory, and IO. DTU tiers offer predefined bundles. vCore tiers let you independently select compute and storage, offering more flexibility. There is no exact DTU-to-vCore conversion, but Microsoft provides mapping guidance. The calculator shows costs for both so you can compare directly.
Elastic Pools are ideal when you have multiple databases with varying and unpredictable usage that peaks at different times. Instead of provisioning each database for peak, you share a pool of DTUs or vCores. The calculator helps you determine when a pool becomes cheaper than individual databases.
Serverless auto-scales compute within a configured min-max vCore range and bills per vCore-second of actual usage. When idle beyond a configurable delay, the database auto-pauses and you pay only for storage. It is perfect for dev/test, low-usage, or intermittent workloads.
Your team has 30 multi-tenant SQL databases averaging 50 DTUs peak each but only 5 DTUs average. Provisioning each at S2 (50 DTU) costs 30 × $30 = $900/month. The DTU calculator suggests an Elastic Pool with 200 eDTUs (~$220/month). All 30 databases share the pool — peaks are absorbed because they don't all peak simultaneously. Net savings: $680/month with no application changes.
The calculator computes Azure SQL cost across multiple purchasing models: DTU (per-tier per-hour rates × hours), vCore Provisioned (vCores × hourly rate, plus storage GB × per-GB rate), vCore Serverless (vCore-seconds × per-vCore-second rate during active periods, storage only when paused), and Elastic Pool (eDTU/vCore × pool rate). Azure Hybrid Benefit is applied as a multiplier on the compute portion when enabled.
Azure Hybrid Benefit (AHB) is the largest single discount available for Azure SQL. If you have any existing SQL Server licenses with Software Assurance, applying AHB reduces vCore costs by up to 55%. Many teams forget to toggle this on at provisioning time and pay the non-AHB rate for years.
Serverless tier auto-pause saves dramatic money for dev/test, but the auto-resume can take 30-60 seconds — long enough to break user-facing workloads. Use auto-pause for backend jobs and CI databases, NOT for anything where a user is waiting for a response.
Hyperscale tier has no max storage limit (unlike GP/BC capped at 4-16 TB) and uses log-based replication that supports near-instant scaling and cloning. The vCore price is similar to General Purpose, but storage and IO are billed separately. For databases growing past 4 TB, Hyperscale is usually cheaper AND faster than General Purpose.
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