- For SQL Server: Azure SQL Database for new cloud applications, Azure SQL Managed Instance for migrations that need instance features, SQL Server on Azure VMs for full control.
- For open source relational databases: Azure Database for PostgreSQL or Azure Database for MySQL, both on the flexible server deployment option (Single Server has been retired for both).
- For NoSQL: Azure Cosmos DB (NoSQL, MongoDB, Cassandra, Gremlin and Table APIs) or Azure DocumentDB for MongoDB-compatible workloads.
- The lowest-cost ways in are the free offers: up to 10 free Azure SQL databases per subscription, a lifetime Cosmos DB free tier, and 12-month free offers for MySQL and SQL Managed Instance.
Azure database services at a glance
An Azure database usually means one of Microsoft's managed (platform as a service) database products, where Microsoft runs the servers, patching, backups and high availability and you pay for compute and storage. Azure groups them by data model: relational services built on SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL and Oracle, and NoSQL services for documents, key-value, wide-column and graph data. Azure also sells caching (Azure Managed Redis) and analytics platforms such as Microsoft Fabric, which are outside the scope of this page.
Microsoft's own product comparison lists the storage limit and availability SLA for each service. We have combined those figures with the intended use of each service into the decision table below. The SLA values are Microsoft's headline figures; each depends on configuration (for example zone redundancy or multi-region writes).
Decision table: which Azure database service to use
Start from the engine your application needs, then the amount of control you want. Prices for each service follow later on this page and in the linked guides.
| Service | Engine or model | Best for | Max storage | Headline SLA | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Azure SQL Database | SQL Server engine, database-scoped PaaS | New cloud applications, SaaS with elastic pools, serverless dev databases | 128 TB (Hyperscale) | 99.995% | Azure SQL Database |
| Azure SQL Managed Instance | SQL Server instance in your virtual network | Lift-and-shift migrations needing Agent, cross-database queries, CLR | 32 TB | 99.99% | SQL Managed Instance |
| SQL Server on Azure VMs | Full SQL Server with OS access (IaaS) | Full control, features the PaaS services lack | 64 TB per disk | 99.95% | See the Azure SQL Database guide |
| Azure Database for PostgreSQL | Community PostgreSQL, flexible server | Open source relational apps, pgvector, Citus scale-out (elastic clusters) | 64 TB | 99.99% | Azure PostgreSQL |
| Azure Database for MySQL | MySQL Community Edition, flexible server | LAMP and PHP apps, MySQL-based products | 16 TB | 99.99% | Azure MySQL |
| Azure Cosmos DB | NoSQL: NoSQL, MongoDB, Cassandra, Gremlin, Table APIs | Global, elastic, key-based workloads; IoT, personalisation, AI apps | Unlimited | 99.999% | Azure Cosmos DB |
| Azure DocumentDB | MongoDB-compatible documents (MQL) | Migrating MongoDB applications | 32 TB per shard | 99.995% | Covered in the Cosmos DB guide |
| Oracle AI Database@Azure | Oracle Database on OCI hardware in Azure data centres | Oracle workloads that must stay on Oracle | 64 TB per disk | 99.95% | Below |
Relational databases in Azure
SQL Server workloads have three homes, which Microsoft calls the Azure SQL family. Azure SQL Database is scoped to individual databases or elastic pools, runs on the latest stable engine and offers serverless compute and Hyperscale storage up to 128 TB. Azure SQL Managed Instance gives near-complete compatibility with SQL Server Enterprise Edition inside your virtual network, which is why Microsoft positions it for migrations. SQL Server on Azure VMs keeps 100% compatibility and operating system access, at the cost of managing the server yourself. Our Azure SQL Database vs Managed Instance and Azure SQL Database vs SQL Server comparisons cover the trade-offs.
Open source relational workloads go to Azure Database for PostgreSQL or Azure Database for MySQL. Both use the flexible server deployment option with Burstable, General Purpose and Memory Optimized compute tiers, optional zone-redundant high availability and the ability to stop a server to pause compute billing. The older Single Server options are gone: Microsoft retired MySQL Single Server on 16 September 2024 and PostgreSQL Single Server on 28 March 2025. For distributed PostgreSQL, Microsoft now recommends the elastic clusters feature of Azure Database for PostgreSQL rather than Azure Cosmos DB for PostgreSQL, which is on a retirement path.
Oracle Database on Azure is available as Oracle AI Database@Azure: an Oracle service running on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure hardware located in Microsoft data centres, managed in the Azure portal and billed through Azure. It is bought through a private offer from Oracle's sales team in the Azure Marketplace, so there is no public list price on Microsoft's pages; existing Oracle customers can bring their own licences. Microsoft's comparison also lists Azure HorizonDB as a relational service in preview, which we have not covered here.
NoSQL and graph databases in Azure
Azure Cosmos DB is Microsoft's NoSQL database. You choose an API per account (NoSQL, MongoDB, Apache Cassandra, Apache Gremlin or Table), pay in request units for throughput plus storage, and can replicate data to any Azure region. Microsoft advises against it for highly relational applications, suggesting Azure SQL or Azure Database for MySQL instead, and for analytical workloads, suggesting Microsoft Fabric.
Azure DocumentDB is a separate MongoDB-compatible service built on the open source DocumentDB engine, and Microsoft points MongoDB migrations to it. Azure Managed Instance for Apache Cassandra is also offered for teams that want a managed Cassandra cluster. If you need a graph database in Azure, the Cosmos DB API for Apache Gremlin handles operational graph queries; Microsoft directs analytical (OLAP) graph work to Graph in Microsoft Fabric.
Free Azure database options
- Azure SQL Database free offer: up to 10 General Purpose serverless databases per subscription, each with 100,000 vCore seconds, 32 GB of data and 32 GB of backup storage per month, with no end date. See Azure SQL Database free offer.
- Azure SQL Managed Instance free offer: one General Purpose instance per subscription for 12 months, with 720 vCore hours a month and 64 GB of storage.
- Azure Cosmos DB free tier: 1,000 RU/s and 25 GB of storage free for the life of one account per subscription (provisioned throughput only).
- Azure Database for MySQL: 12 months free on an Azure free account, up to 750 hours a month of a Burstable B1ms server with 32 GB of storage.
We did not find current free limits for Azure Database for PostgreSQL on the Microsoft Learn pages we checked, so we do not list them; check the Azure free account terms when you sign up.
What is the cheapest database on Azure?
Beyond the free offers, the cheapest paid entry points are small: the Azure SQL Database DTU Basic size, the MySQL Burstable B1s size and the PostgreSQL Burstable B1ms size all list at a few dollars to a little over ten dollars a month before storage (exact figures in the pricing table below). For workloads that are idle most of the time, Azure SQL Database serverless with auto-pause and Cosmos DB serverless charge mainly for what you use.
Cheap entry sizes have limits. DTU Basic provides less than one vCore and HDD-based storage, and Microsoft describes Burstable tiers as suited to development and low-concurrency work. For production, compare the General Purpose sizes in the Azure SQL pricing guide and the service guides, and remember that high availability, read replicas and multiple regions multiply compute and storage costs. To compare Azure with other clouds, see AWS RDS vs Azure SQL Database and Azure SQL vs Google Cloud SQL.
How to choose an Azure database
- Engine first. If the application is written for SQL Server, stay in the Azure SQL family; for PostgreSQL or MySQL, use the matching flexible server; for Oracle, Oracle AI Database@Azure.
- Relational or not. Data with many relationships, joins and multi-table transactions belongs in a relational service. Key-based access at global scale, flexible schemas or an existing MongoDB, Cassandra or Gremlin model point to Cosmos DB or DocumentDB.
- How much SQL Server you need. Instance features (Agent, cross-database queries, CLR, linked servers) mean Managed Instance; operating system access means a VM.
- Usage pattern. Intermittent workloads suit serverless options; steady workloads suit provisioned compute with reservations or savings plans.
- Tooling. Your existing clients keep working: see our guides to SQL Server GUI tools, PostgreSQL GUI tools and MySQL GUI tools.
Pricing
Prices from the provider's official pricing pages, checked 8 October 2026, region East US, in USD, excluding tax. List prices only; discounts, commitments and your actual usage change the bill.
Entry-level pay-as-you-go list prices from each service's Azure pricing page, to show where each service starts. Storage, backups beyond the free amounts, high availability and data transfer are extra; each linked guide has fuller tables and worked examples. Oracle AI Database@Azure is sold through private offers and has no public list price on Microsoft's pages.
| Service | Entry option | List price |
|---|---|---|
| Azure SQL Database | DTU Basic (5 DTUs, 2 GB included) | 4.8971 USD per month |
| Azure SQL Database | General Purpose serverless compute | 0.0001450 USD per vCore-second |
| Azure Database for MySQL | Burstable B1s (1 vCore, 1 GiB) | 6.205 USD per month plus storage |
| Azure Database for PostgreSQL | Burstable B1ms (1 vCore, 2 GiB) | 12.41 USD per month plus storage |
| Azure Cosmos DB | Serverless request units | 0.25 USD per million RUs plus storage |
| Azure Cosmos DB | Standard provisioned throughput | 5.84 USD per 100 RU/s per month plus storage |
| Azure SQL Managed Instance | General Purpose, 4 vCores (32 GB included) | 736.378 USD per month |
Frequently asked questions
What databases does Azure offer?
Managed services for SQL Server (Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Managed Instance and SQL Server on VMs), PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle (Oracle AI Database@Azure), NoSQL (Azure Cosmos DB, Azure DocumentDB, Azure Managed Instance for Apache Cassandra) and caching (Azure Managed Redis).
What is the cheapest database on Azure?
The free offers cost nothing within their limits: the Azure SQL Database free offer and the Cosmos DB free tier have no end date. Among paid sizes, the Azure SQL Database DTU Basic size listed at 4.8971 USD per month in East US on 8 October 2026, and the MySQL Burstable B1s size at 6.205 USD per month before storage.
Is Azure SQL Database relational?
Yes. Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Managed Instance, Azure Database for PostgreSQL, Azure Database for MySQL and Oracle AI Database@Azure are relational. Azure Cosmos DB and Azure DocumentDB are NoSQL.
Can I run Oracle Database on Azure, and what does it cost?
Yes, through Oracle AI Database@Azure, which runs Oracle's database service on OCI hardware inside Azure data centres. Microsoft's documentation says it is purchased through a private offer from Oracle's sales team and billed through Azure, with bring-your-own-licence options, so pricing comes from Oracle rather than a public Azure price list.
Does Azure have a graph database?
Yes. Azure Cosmos DB for Apache Gremlin stores property graphs and supports Gremlin queries for operational workloads. For analytical graph processing, Microsoft points to Graph in Microsoft Fabric.
Sources
- Azure databases: compare products
- Microsoft Learn: What is Azure SQL? (IaaS vs PaaS)
- Microsoft Learn: Azure SQL Database free offer
- Microsoft Learn: Try Azure SQL Managed Instance for free
- Microsoft Learn: Azure Cosmos DB overview
- Microsoft Learn: Azure Cosmos DB for PostgreSQL
- Microsoft Learn: Azure Database for MySQL overview
- Microsoft Learn: Azure Backup for PostgreSQL (Single Server retirement)
- Microsoft Lifecycle: Azure Database for MySQL Single Server
- Microsoft Learn: Oracle AI Database@Azure overview
- Microsoft Learn: Azure Cosmos DB for Apache Gremlin
- Azure SQL Database pricing
- Azure Database for MySQL pricing
- Azure Database for PostgreSQL pricing
- Azure Cosmos DB pricing: serverless
- Azure Cosmos DB pricing: standard provisioned
- Azure SQL Managed Instance pricing
Checked 8 October 2026.
How we research cloud database guides: our editorial method. CodeWithSQL earns nothing from the providers mentioned.