Azure DevOps Licensing for Teams and Businesses

Azure DevOps offers a range of licensing options to suit the needs of teams and businesses. There are two primary licensing models: Azure DevOps and Azure DevOps Server.

For individuals and small teams, Azure DevOps offers a free tier with limited features, including 5 users, 1 project, and 1 GB of storage.

Azure DevOps Server, on the other hand, is designed for larger teams and businesses, offering advanced features and support for up to 1,000 users.

You get 5 basic users for free, which is a great starting point for your team.

Each additional basic user costs $6 per month, so it's essential to plan your user growth accordingly.

Stakeholders have access to most features, including Azure Boards, but are limited to basic functionality and can't access Azure Repos.

Visual Studio subscribers get an Azure DevOps Services license, which is a significant cost savings of $150 per month.

Here's a quick rundown of the user tiers and their associated costs:

If you're working on an open source project, you can choose from a few different plans on Azure DevOps.

You get 10 free parallel jobs with unlimited minutes per month, which is great for public projects.

Azure DevOps offers a range of services, including Azure Pipelines, Azure Boards, Azure Repos, and Azure Artifacts.

Azure Pipelines provides 10 free parallel jobs with unlimited minutes per month, as well as 1 free Microsoft-hosted CD/CI parallel job with up to 1800 minutes per month and 1 free self-hosted CD/CI parallel job with unlimited minutes per month.

Azure Boards offers work item tracking and Kanban boards.

Azure Repos provides unlimited private Git repos.

Azure Artifacts offers 2 GiB of free storage.

This is a low-cost way to be able to do code reviews and manage your project.

You get five basic users for free, which is a great starting point. These users can access all features except Azure Test Plan administration.

The tiers of users are clearly defined, and it's essential to understand the costs associated with each level. Basic users are the entry point, and they cost $6 per month for each additional user beyond the initial five.

Here's a breakdown of the user tiers:

If you're already a Visual Studio subscriber, you're in luck – your subscription includes an Azure DevOps Services license, essentially making you a Basic DevOps user.

Azure DevOps pricing is based on various parameters, including the type of service, necessary capacity, region, and managerial level. Azure has a free tier that allows you to utilize some services for free for the first twelve months.

Most Azure services are available on a “pay as you go” basis, meaning users are only charged for what they use. Azure also offers significant discounts for scheduled instances and spot cases. You can use the Azure Cost Calculator to estimate cloud expenses for new Azure DevOps deployments or variants of existing applications.

The cost of Azure Pipelines includes one free Microsoft-hosted CI/CD instance and one free self-hosted CI/CD instance. For Microsoft-hosted environments, it costs $40 for every additional parallel job with unlimited minutes, and for self-hosting, this costs $15 for every extra job.

Azure Artifacts includes two gibibytes (GiB) of storage. Usage beyond this threshold will cost $2 per GiB for two to 10 GiB, $1 per GiB for the next 10 to 100 GiB, $0.50 per GiB for the next 100 to 1,000 GiB, and $0.25 per GiB thereafter.

Azure DevOps offers a free plan, but it's limited. As your user base grows, the cost per user per month decreases, benefiting larger organizations. You can scale up to meet your needs without breaking the bank.

Here's a breakdown of the pricing tiers for Azure DevOps:

Note that these prices are subject to change, and you should check the Azure DevOps website for the most up-to-date pricing information.

Azure DevOps offers a range of features and services that cater to different needs and budgets. The free version, Stakeholders (Free), provides a basic set of features, including the ability to create and edit work items, search and query work items, and view backlog and boards.

Azure Boards is a key feature of Azure DevOps, allowing users to create and edit work items, including bugs, requirements, and tasks. It also includes agile tools, such as Kanban boards, backlogs, and sprint planning. In addition, Azure Boards provides a range of features, including the ability to set alerts and get notified about changing work items, provide feedback, and request feedback.

Here's a breakdown of the features available in each Azure DevOps pricing tier:

Azure Pipelines is another essential feature of Azure DevOps, offering continuous integration and deployment, as well as approval releases. Additionally, Azure Artifacts provides storage for 2 GiB of artifacts.

Azure Boards offers a range of features, including creating and editing work items, searching and querying work items, and viewing backlog and boards. All stakeholders, including those on the free plan, have access to these features.

You can also set alerts and get notified about changing work items, provide feedback, and request feedback on Azure Boards. However, requesting feedback is only available on the Basic, Basic + Test plans, and Open Source plans.

For more advanced features, you'll need to upgrade to the Basic or higher plans. These plans include agile tools like Kanban boards, backlogs, sprint planning, and portfolio management. You'll also get access to features like creating new work item tags, delivery plans, and centralized version control with Team Foundation Version Control.

If you're looking for specific features like unlimited Git repositories, connect to your code using various IDEs, or powerful semantic code search, you'll need to be on the Basic or higher plans.

Here's a summary of the features available on each plan:

Keep in mind that some features, like Azure Test Plans, have additional costs associated with them. It's worth noting that GitHub Enterprise is a more affordable option, with a price of $21 per user per month, compared to Azure DevOps' $6 per user per month for the Basic plan.

If you're looking to expand your features and services, you have two main options: using access extensions or creating your own.

One way to extend your features is to use pre-built access extensions, which can save you time and effort.

Some popular access extensions include user management and role-based access control, which can help streamline your workflow.

Creating your own custom features can also be a good option, especially if you have a specific need that isn't met by existing extensions.

For example, you might create a custom feature to integrate with a third-party service, such as a payment gateway.

Keep in mind that creating custom features can be more complex and time-consuming than using extensions, but it can also provide more flexibility and control.

Ultimately, the choice between using access extensions and creating your own features will depend on your specific needs and goals.

Artifacts is a valuable feature that offers a generous amount of free storage. You get 2 GiB of free space with Azure Artifacts.

With Azure Artifacts, you'll start to get discounts when you reach 10 GiB of storage, which is 2 GiB free plus 8 GiB paid.

Azure Artifacts includes sophisticated access controls, which is a big plus for teams that need to manage who has access to their packages.

It also integrates seamlessly with Azure Pipelines, making it easy to automate your workflows.

You can use Azure Artifacts to manage packages in popular formats like Maven, npm, and Python.

Upstream sources are also available to protect dependencies on open-source packages, which is a great way to ensure the integrity of your code.

Azure Artifacts is particularly strong when it comes to NuGet Servers, offering industry-leading support for .NET developers.

Azure DevOps has been around for a long time and is mature and feature-rich with enterprise tooling. It was first known as Visual Studio Online and later as Visual Studio Team Services.

Breaking out individual Azure DevOps services such as Azure Pipelines, Azure Repos, and Azure Artifacts has given organizations the flexibility to leverage these services or integrate with alternatives.

The rise of cloud computing has significantly impacted the way organizations approach development. In a recent LogicMonitor survey, analysts expect 41% of enterprise organizations to adopt cloud-first strategies.

Azure DevOps Server is available for on-premises use and comes in two forms: on-premises or Azure Server, and online or various Azure services. It's essentially a renamed version of Visual Studio Team Foundation Server.

You can use Azure DevOps Server Express for free if you're an individual developer or a team of five or fewer. This allows you to easily mount it on your desktop or laptop without needing a single hosting server.

Azure DevOps Server is available in two forms, on-premises or Azure Server, and online or the various Azure services. Microsoft rebranded Visual Studio Team Services (VSTS) to become Azure DevOps Services in September 2018.

Individual developers and groups of five or fewer can use Azure DevOps Server Express for free. This allows you to easily mount it on your desktop or laptop without the need for a single hosting server.

Many of the latest features from the cloud-hosted Azure DevOps Services have been added to the on-premises server solution in the last few years. You can integrate Azure DevOps Server with any IDE or editor you already have.

You can upgrade to Azure DevOps Server when your team has expanded to more than five employees, preserving all your data.

Support Plans are available for those who can't find the help they need on self-service pages.

Azure DevOps offers three levels of paid support, each with a different price point.

The lowest level starts at $29/month, a relatively affordable option for small projects or individuals.

As you scale up, the price increases to $500/month and $1,000/month for the top-tier plan.

These plans offer direct access to support experts who can help you troubleshoot and resolve complex issues.

In Azure DevOps, test and services are crucial for ensuring the quality and reliability of your software.

Azure DevOps offers a variety of testing services, including manual and exploratory testing, to help you identify and fix bugs early in the development cycle.

One of the key features is the ability to create and manage test plans, which allows you to organize and prioritize your testing efforts.

Test cases can be created and executed using Azure DevOps, making it easy to track and report on test results.

Azure DevOps also provides integration with popular testing frameworks and tools, such as Selenium and Appium, to support automated testing.

With Azure DevOps, you can also create and manage test environments, which allows you to simulate different scenarios and test your application in a controlled environment.

The platform also offers a variety of reporting and analytics tools to help you track and measure the effectiveness of your testing efforts.

By leveraging these testing services, you can ensure that your software is of high quality and meets the needs of your users.