Azure Load Balancer cost: rules and data processed on Standard

Quick answer

Azure Standard Load Balancer bills a small hourly fee for the first five rules and per additional rule, plus about $0.005 per GB of data processed, plus outbound data transfer. The Basic tier is free but limited and being retired. The bill is rule count and data volume, so consolidate rules and account for processed data on high-traffic services.

Azure Load Balancer distributes traffic across backend instances. The Standard tier, which you should use since Basic is retiring, has two cost components: the load-balancing rules you configure and the data it processes.

Rules and data processed

Dimension	Rate (approximate)
First 5 rules	Small hourly fee (bundled)
Additional rules	Per rule, hourly
Data processed	~$0.005 / GB
Outbound data transfer	Standard egress

The first five load-balancing and outbound rules are covered by a small hourly base fee; beyond that each rule adds an hourly charge. Data processed is billed per gigabyte at a low rate, so it matters mainly for high-traffic services. Outbound data transfer is separate.

Standard vs Basic

Basic Load Balancer is free but limited (no availability-zone support, smaller scale, no SLA) and Microsoft is retiring it, so new deployments should use Standard. The Standard cost is modest for typical workloads and buys zone redundancy, larger scale, and an SLA.

Controlling Load Balancer cost

Keep the rule count lean, since each rule beyond the first five adds an hourly fee, consolidate where multiple rules could be one, and be aware of data-processed and outbound charges on high-traffic services. For layer-7 features (path routing, WAF), an Application Gateway is the alternative, priced differently, so match the tool to whether you need layer-4 or layer-7.

FAQ

How is Azure Load Balancer priced?

The Standard tier bills a small hourly base fee covering the first five load-balancing and outbound rules, an hourly charge per additional rule, about $0.005 per GB of data processed, and standard outbound data transfer. The Basic tier is free but limited and retiring.

Should I use Basic or Standard Load Balancer?

Standard, for new deployments. Basic is free but limited (no availability zones, smaller scale, no SLA) and Microsoft is retiring it. Standard's modest cost buys zone redundancy, larger scale, and an SLA that production needs.

How do I reduce Azure Load Balancer cost?

Keep the rule count lean since each rule beyond the first five adds an hourly fee, consolidate where multiple rules could be one, and account for data-processed and outbound charges on high-traffic services. The bill is rule count plus data volume.

Does Azure Load Balancer charge for data?

The Standard tier charges about $0.005 per GB of data processed, plus standard outbound data transfer. For typical workloads this is small, but on high-traffic services the data-processed and outbound lines become the larger part of the bill.

Load Balancer or Application Gateway for cost?

Load Balancer is a layer-4 distributor with a modest rule-and-data pricing model. Application Gateway is a layer-7 service with path-based routing and optional WAF, priced differently and generally higher. Use Load Balancer for simple layer-4 distribution and Application Gateway when you need layer-7 features.

Does C3X estimate Azure Load Balancer cost?

C3X prices the azurerm_lb resource and its rules from your Terraform, so the rule-based cost appears before deploy. Data processed and outbound transfer depend on traffic, which you provide as usage assumptions.

What to do next

Price your load balancing before you deploy. C3X reads your Terraform and prices Load Balancer and the rest of your stack against a live catalog. Start with the quickstart.