AzureAzure BackupStorage

azurerm_data_protection_backup_vault cost estimation

A vault for backups of disks, blobs, databases, and AKS, billed per GB of backup storage. 500 GB of vaulted LRS backup is ~$50/month — retention drives the bill.

An azurerm_data_protection_backup_vault holds backups managed by Azure Backup's Data Protection model — managed disks, blobs, PostgreSQL, and AKS. The vault itself has no standing fee; cost is the backup storage you accumulate, billed per GB-month. Vaulted LRS storage is ~$0.10/GB-month, so 500 GB of retained backups is ~$50/month.

As with every backup system, the bill is driven by retention. Backup policies create recovery points on a schedule, and without sensible retention they pile up — long retention on frequently-changing data accumulates storage indefinitely. The storage tier matters too: LRS is cheapest, ZRS and GRS (geo-redundant) cost more by replicating across zones or regions.

The levers: set retention to what compliance actually requires (not "keep everything"), choose the redundancy tier deliberately (don't pay GRS for easily-regenerated data), and use the operational tier for short-term snapshots where vaulted storage isn't needed.

c3x prices the vault from monthly_backup_storage_gb at the LRS rate, so projected backup-storage cost is visible — set the volume to model your retention.

Terraform example

A minimal but realistic configuration that C3X can estimate.

resource "azurerm_data_protection_backup_vault" "main" {
  name                = "backup-vault"
  resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.main.name
  location            = azurerm_resource_group.main.location
  datastore_type      = "VaultStore"
  redundancy          = "LocallyRedundant"
}

Pricing dimensions

What you actually pay for when you provision azurerm_data_protection_backup_vault.

DimensionUnitWhat's being charged
Vaulted backup storageper GB-monthBackup storage accumulated in the vault, billed per GB-month at the redundancy tier's rate. LRS is cheapest; ZRS/GRS cost more.
$0.10/GB-month (LRS) → 500 GB = $50/month
Restore / cross-regionper operation / per GBRestores and cross-region restore for GRS vaults can incur charges. Usage-based.

Sample C3X output

500 GB of vaulted LRS backup storage:

azurerm_data_protection_backup_vault.main
└─ Vaulted backup storage (LRS)   500 GB-month   $50.00
                                  Monthly        $50.00

Optimization tips

Common ways to reduce azurerm_data_protection_backup_vault cost without changing the workload.

Set retention to what compliance requires

Often the largest single backup saving

Backup storage grows with retention. Define retention per the actual policy need — not 'keep everything forever' — and let Azure Backup expire recovery points past it. The biggest backup-cost lever.

Choose the redundancy tier deliberately

Tier difference (GRS roughly doubles LRS)

LRS is cheapest; ZRS and GRS cost more by replicating across zones/regions. Use geo-redundancy only for backups that genuinely need regional durability — not for data you could regenerate.

Use the operational tier for short-term snapshots

Tier-dependent

For short-retention, frequently-accessed recovery points, the operational (snapshot) tier can be cheaper than vaulted storage. Reserve vaulted storage for longer-term retention.

Clean up backups of deleted resources

Full storage of orphaned backups

Backups outlive the resources they protect. Reconcile recovery points against live resources and remove orphaned backups still accruing storage.

FAQ

How is an Azure Backup Vault billed?

The vault has no standing fee; you pay per GB-month of backup storage accumulated. Vaulted LRS is ~$0.10/GB-month (500 GB = ~$50), with ZRS/GRS costing more. Restores and cross-region operations can add charges. Retention drives the bill.

Why is my backup vault cost growing?

Retention. Backup policies create recovery points on a schedule, and without expiration they accumulate — long retention on changing data grows storage indefinitely. Setting retention to the real compliance need is the main fix.

How does c3x estimate the cost?

From monthly_backup_storage_gb at the LRS rate, so projected backup-storage cost is visible. Set the volume to reflect your retention and data size; restores are usage-driven.

Related resources

Azure
azurerm_recovery_services_vault

The classic backup/site-recovery vault (the recovery items bill, not the vault)

Estimate this resource in your own Terraform

Free, open source, no API key. C3X parses your Terraform and shows line-item cost for every resource, including azurerm_data_protection_backup_vault.

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