What’s the best low-cost Azure option for a simple internal Node.js web app?

If the application is essentially a static site, Azure Static Web Apps would probably be simpler and potentially free. It works well for frontend code and can deploy directly from a source repository, but it has more limitations for server-side Node.js functionality.

If you need a Node.js backend but want to keep costs low, Azure Container Apps is another option. Configure it to scale to zero when idle, though you should still check the pricing and startup behavior for your organization’s needs.

An Azure App Service is generally a better fit than managing a virtual machine. You avoid maintaining the operating system and can use built-in authentication to restrict access to your staff. Just confirm whether the app actually needs Node.js running in production, or whether Node is only used to build a static frontend.

If the app is already hosted internally, Entra Application Proxy could expose it securely without moving the application. You can limit access to specific users or groups and apply Conditional Access policies.