Azure Table Storage Pricing
Understand the cost factors for Azure Table Storage, a NoSQL key-attribute store that lets you store and query a large amount of structured non-relational data. It's a cost-effective solution for many applications.
Key Pricing Components
Azure Table Storage pricing is primarily based on two main components:
- Transactions: The number of operations performed against your storage account (e.g., read, write, query).
- Data Stored: The amount of data (in GB) you store in your tables.
Transaction Pricing
Transactions are bundled into tiers. Each tier includes a certain number of free transactions per month, after which you are charged per million transactions. The number of free transactions varies by storage account type and region.
| Transaction Type | Cost Per 10,000 Transactions (after free tier) |
|---|---|
| Read Transactions (e.g., GET, QUERY) | $0.004 |
| Write Transactions (e.g., INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE) | $0.012 |
| Other Transactions (e.g., Create Table, Delete Table) | $0.012 |
Data Stored Pricing
The cost of storing data is calculated based on the total amount of data in your tables, measured in Gigabytes (GB). This includes entity data, indexes, and any overhead.
| Data Stored | Cost Per GB Per Month |
|---|---|
| Standard Storage | $0.023 |
| Geo-Redundant Storage (GRS) | $0.046 (varies slightly by redundancy option) |
Example Scenario
Consider a scenario where you have 100 GB of data stored and perform 50 million read transactions and 20 million write transactions in a month.
Estimated Monthly Cost:
Data Stored: 100 GB * $0.023/GB = $2.30
Read Transactions: (50,000,000 - Free Tier) * ($0.004 / 10,000) ≈ $20.00
Write Transactions: (20,000,000 - Free Tier) * ($0.012 / 10,000) ≈ $24.00
Total Estimated Cost: ~$46.30 (This is a simplified estimate; actual costs may vary based on free tier allowances and specific usage patterns).
Free Tier and Credits
Azure often provides a free tier for new accounts, which includes a certain number of free transactions and data storage for the first 12 months. Always check the latest Azure Table Storage pricing page for the most up-to-date information on free tiers and promotional credits.
Best Practices for Cost Optimization
- Optimize Queries: Design your tables and queries to be efficient, minimizing the number of transactions needed.
- Batch Operations: Use batch operations to combine multiple entity operations into a single request, reducing transaction count.
- Data Lifecycle Management: Archive or delete old or unused data to reduce storage costs.
- Choose the Right Redundancy: Select the appropriate data redundancy option (LRS, GRS, RA-GRS) based on your availability and durability requirements.