I'm currently running three virtual machines in Azure US West, all on Ubuntu 20.04, which is reaching end-of-life this April. Our team is pretty hesitant about upgrading due to past experiences, so we're considering Ubuntu Pro for extended support until we can move off the app these VMs are running by the end of 2026. I noticed in the Azure marketplace that Ubuntu Pro is priced at only $0.002 per hour, which means it would cost around $0.006 for all three VMs. Does that mean I'd only be paying an extra $0.44 per month? That seems way off, especially since their online pricing states that on-prem licenses are $500 a year. How can cloud pricing be so much lower? I realized I added an extra zero earlier, so it's actually $4.46 per month, still a lot cheaper than $500 a month on-prem. Am I getting this right?
4 Answers
Actually, that pricing is a bit misleading! The $0.002/hour is typically per core, not per VM, so you should factor that in based on how many cores your VMs use. It might end up being more than you expect if you're running high-performance setups. Also, don’t just compare it like that—always consider the other Azure costs like infrastructure when calculating total expenses.
I find the cloud pricing strange as well! It's worth verifying that info with Canonical directly, but online documentation you mentioned seems legit. Just remember, even if cloud rates are low, sometimes there are catches or additional fees not immediately clear. It’s worth reaching out for clarification, especially regarding your business’s long-term needs.
I get why you're confused—it's definitely odd that on-prem support is so much more expensive if cloud options are this low. However, for your situation, LTS support for Ubuntu might be sufficient and covers you beyond 2026, so consider whether you really need that Pro support right now.
You should definitely use the Azure pricing calculator to confirm these costs. It’s super helpful for getting a precise estimate based on the specific configurations of your VMs. Just looking at the image cost alone can be misleading since it doesn’t include all the backend computing costs. Make sure you pick the correct VM SKU while checking.
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