Understanding Azure Synapse Cost Structure and Pricing Options

Azure Synapse is a cloud-based enterprise analytics service that combines enterprise data warehousing and big data analytics capabilities.

It offers a cost-effective way to manage and analyze large datasets, with pricing based on the amount of data stored and processed.

Data stored in Azure Synapse is billed based on the storage size, with prices starting at $0.025 per GB per month for hot data and $0.005 per GB per month for cold data.

This means that the more data you store, the more you'll pay, so it's essential to optimize your storage usage to minimize costs.

Optimizing costs is a crucial aspect of using Azure Synapse, and there are several strategies you can employ to minimize expenses.

Adjusting resources based on workload is a key strategy for optimizing Synapse cost, as it allows you to scale up or down depending on demand.

You can also optimize data storage by choosing cost-effective storage tiers, and implementing data compression for efficient data storage.

Monitoring and analyzing usage patterns is essential to identify opportunities for further optimization, and regularly reviewing and adjusting configurations will ensure a cost-effective and scalable Azure Synapse environment.

Some of the key strategies for optimizing Synapse cost include adjusting resources based on workload, optimizing data storage, tuning query performance, implementing monitoring, utilizing auto-pause/resumes, leveraging cost management tools, and committing to reserved capacity.

Here are some specific actions you can take:

By implementing these strategies, you can effectively balance performance and cost efficiency for the effective use of Azure Synapse while keeping expenses in check.

Azure Synapse offers a variety of pricing options, allowing you to customize your costs based on your needs. You can apply filters to the pricing calculator to see prices based on your current program or offer with Microsoft.

Prices are estimates only and may vary depending on your agreement with Microsoft, date of purchase, and currency exchange rates. The prices you see in the calculator are based on US dollars and are converted using London closing spot rates.

To get the best savings, consider pre-purchasing Azure Synapse Analytics Commit Units (SCUs). You can get up to 28% savings over pay-as-you-go prices when you pre-purchase SCUs, which can be used on any publicly available product under Azure Synapse except storage.

Here are the purchase tiers and discounts for pre-purchase plan Synapse Commit Units:

Pricing for hybrid data integration capabilities in Azure Synapse is calculated based on data pipelines activities and integration runtime hours, data flows cluster size and execution, and operation charges.

Operation charges kick in on February 1, 2021, for Data Pipeline operations such as create, read, update, delete, and monitoring.

Your first 1 million operations per month are free, after that, you'll be charged at $0.25 per 50,000 operations, which is the same pricing for both serverless and dedicated consumption models.

After the free 1 million operations, you'll be charged at ￥2.544 per 50,000 operations for Data Pipeline operations.

Here's a breakdown of the pricing details:

Data pipeline operations are charged starting on February 1, 2021. Your first 1 million operations per month are free.

The cost kicks in after the first 1 million operations, with prices varying depending on the consumption model. For serverless consumption, the price is $- per TB of data processed.

After the free 1 million operations, you'll be charged $0.25 per 50,000 operations. This is a standard rate that applies to all data pipeline operations.

The pricing details are as follows:

Note that storage pricing is separate and can be found on the Azure Data Lake Storage pricing page.

Flow charges can be a bit tricky to understand, but don't worry, I'm here to break it down for you.

You pay for Data Flow cluster execution and debugging time per vCore-hour, and it's prorated by the minute and rounded up. This means you'll only be charged for the actual time your Data Flow cluster is running.

The minimum cluster size to run a Data Flow is 8 vCores, so you'll need to consider this when designing your pipeline. You can choose from compute optimized, basic, or standard pricing plans, each with its own cost per vCore-hour.

Here are the pricing details for each plan:

Keep in mind that execution and debugging charges are prorated by the minute and rounded up, so you'll want to make sure you understand how this affects your overall cost.

Azure Synapse offers various compute options to suit different needs and budgets. You can purchase reserved capacity for Dedicated SQL pool, which is generally available today and can save up to 65 percent compared to pay-as-you-go rates.

One compute option is Azure Synapse data explorer, which decouples compute and storage, allowing you to scale independently and optimize for price-performance. The price for Azure Synapse data explorer compute is $- per vCore-hour.

Another option is SQL Server Integration Services Standard A-series V2 VM, which offers different instances with varying vCores, RAM, and temporary storage. For example, the A1 v2 instance has 1 vCore, 2 GB of RAM, and 10 GB of temporary storage, with a license-included price of about ¥2,328.72/month.

Here's a breakdown of the instances:

These are just a few examples of the compute options available in Azure Synapse.

You can analyze data stored in text files from Azure Synapse Analytics using the Serverless pool that is included with each workspace.

Azure Synapse Analytics offers a Serverless SQL pool that's perfect for querying data in text files. This pool is included with each workspace, making it a convenient option for many users.

With the Serverless pool, you can query data in near-real-time, which is ideal for applications that require up-to-the-minute insights. This feature is particularly useful for businesses that need to respond quickly to changing market conditions or customer needs.

Azure Synapse Link for Cosmos DB is another compute option worth exploring. This link enables near-real-time analytics and allows data teams to use Apache Spark or serverless SQL pools on Azure Synapse to gain insights.

The pricing details for Azure Synapse Link for Cosmos DB can be found on the Azure Cosmos DB pricing page, specifically under analytical storage transactions.

Dedicated Pool Compute is a great option for data warehousing workloads running on Azure. You can purchase reserved capacity for your Dedicated SQL pool (formerly SQL DW) resource, which is generally available today.

Save up to 65 percent compared to pay-as-you-go rates with reserved capacity pricing. This can be a game-changer for businesses with consistent data warehousing needs.

Azure Synapse data explorer allows you to scale compute and storage independently, optimizing for price-performance. This is a huge advantage for companies with fluctuating data needs.

Here's a breakdown of the pricing for Azure Synapse data explorer compute and storage:

I've seen businesses take advantage of this pricing model to reduce their costs and improve their data warehousing capabilities.

The Standard A-Series V2 VM is a great option for those who need a reliable and efficient compute solution. It's available in four different instances: A1 v2, A2 v2, A4 v2, and A8 v2.

Each instance comes with a specific amount of vCore, RAM, and temporary storage. For example, the A1 v2 instance has 1 vCore, 2 GB of RAM, and 10 GB of temporary storage.

The A2 v2 instance is a step up, with 2 vCores, 4 GB of RAM, and 20 GB of temporary storage. This makes it a good choice for those who need a bit more power.

The A4 v2 instance is the next level up, with 4 vCores, 8 GB of RAM, and 40 GB of temporary storage. This is a great option for those who need a lot of processing power.

The A8 v2 instance is the largest of the four, with 8 vCores, 16 GB of RAM, and 80 GB of temporary storage.

Here's a summary of the pricing for each instance:

Overall, the Standard A-Series V2 VM is a great option for those who need a reliable and efficient compute solution.

The Standard D-Series V2 is a great option for those who need a balance between performance and affordability.

You can choose from four different instances: D1 v2, D2 v2, D3 v2, and D4 v2, each with a different number of vCores and RAM.

The D1 v2 instance has 1 vCore and 3.5 GB of RAM, with a temporary storage of 50 GB. Its license-included price is about ￥2,799.672 per month.

Temporary storage increases with each instance, ranging from 50 GB for D1 v2 to 400 GB for D4 v2.

The D2 v2 instance has 2 vCores and 7 GB of RAM, with a temporary storage of 100 GB. Its license-included price is about ￥3,758.688 per month.

The D3 v2 instance has 4 vCores and 14 GB of RAM, with a temporary storage of 200 GB. Its license-included price is about ￥5,672.256 per month.

The D4 v2 instance has 8 vCores and 28 GB of RAM, with a temporary storage of 400 GB. Its license-included price is about ￥11,344.512 per month.

Azure Hybrid Benefit can save you up to 66% on the license-included price, depending on the instance you choose.

Here's a quick comparison of the Standard D-Series V2 instances:

The Enterprise E-Series V3 is a powerful compute option for SQL Server Integration Services. It's available in various sizes, each with its own set of specs.

The E2 v3 instance comes with 2 vCores, 16 GB of RAM, and 50 GB of temporary storage. This instance costs ￥11.824/hour, which translates to about ￥8,797.056/month.

The Enterprise E-Series V3 instances offer a significant price reduction with the Azure Hybrid Benefit, with savings ranging from 79% to 83%. For example, the E2 v3 instance costs about 83% less with the Azure Hybrid Benefit, bringing the price down to ￥2.525/hour.

Here's a summary of the Enterprise E-Series V3 instances:

Azure Synapse Link is a game-changer for near real-time analytics. You can connect Azure Synapse Analytics with an operational data store to enable this capability.

Currently, Synapse Link is available for Azure SQL database, SQL Server, Azure Cosmos DB, and Dataverse. Pricing for Synapse Link varies depending on the source, but Azure Synapse Link for SQL charges per vCore hour.

Here's a breakdown of the vCore hour pricing for Synapse Link for SQL:

Azure Synapse Link for Cosmos DB, on the other hand, is priced as analytical storage transactions on the Azure Cosmos DB pricing page.

Apache Spark Analytics is a powerful tool for big data processing tasks. It can be used for data engineering, data preparation, and machine learning directly in Azure Synapse using memory optimized Apache Spark pools.

These pools are billed by rounding up to the nearest minute, so be mindful of your usage to avoid unnecessary costs. The pricing for memory optimized Spark pools is ￥0.974 per vCore-hour.

You'll get 120 free vCore-hours per month until July 31, 2022, which is a great starting point for smaller projects or testing. This free quantity can help you get started without incurring immediate costs.