For most conventional production websites, start with Azure App Service Standard. Choose Free for experiments, Basic for a small production site that only needs dedicated compute and a custom domain, Premium V3 or V4 for demanding applications or containers, and IsolatedV2 only when network isolation or enterprise security requirements justify the cost.
That recommendation assumes you need a traditional managed web server. A static frontend may be better served by Azure Static Web Apps, while a containerized application that can scale dynamically may fit Azure Container Apps better.
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First, understand what you are buying
An Azure website runs as an App Service app inside an App Service plan. The plan is the important purchasing decision: it defines the operating system, Azure region, virtual-machine size, number of instances, pricing tier and available features.
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Azure App Service tiers compared
| Tier | Infrastructure | Best fit | Main trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Shared | Tutorials, experiments and temporary demos | Quotas, no scale-out and unsuitable for dependable production hosting |
| Shared | Shared | Testing and very low-traffic sites | No scale-out and no financially backed SLA |
| Basic | Dedicated | Small production websites with predictable traffic | No advanced autoscale or deployment slots |
| Standard | Dedicated | Most production websites | Higher fixed cost; additional instances increase cost |
| Premium V3/V4 | Dedicated, higher-capability hardware | High traffic, containers and larger applications | More expensive and easy to overprovision |
| IsolatedV2 | Dedicated and network-isolated | Regulated or enterprise-scale systems | Highest complexity and cost |
Feature availability can vary by operating system, region and SKU. Confirm the current matrix in Microsoft’s App Service limits documentation and in the Azure portal.
Free: development only
The Free tier is useful for learning, prototypes and personal experiments. It runs on shared infrastructure, has quotas and cannot scale out. It is not an appropriate choice for a business website that must remain dependable.
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Shared: a constrained low-cost option
Shared can make sense for a low-risk test site or a very small site where shared infrastructure is acceptable. It cannot scale out and does not provide a financially backed SLA, so it should not be treated as a normal production recommendation.
Basic: dedicated hosting for a small site
Choose Basic when you need dedicated compute, a custom domain, TLS support and more predictable performance, but do not need deployment slots, advanced autoscale or sophisticated traffic management. It is often a sensible starting point for a small business website with predictable demand.
Standard: the practical production default
Standard adds capabilities commonly needed for production operations, including deployment slots, autoscaling and backups. Microsoft’s current cost guidance recommends Standard or higher for production workloads; that is a baseline, not a guarantee of availability or performance.
A small site may need Standard because it requires staging slots or autoscaling. Conversely, a larger but simple internal site with predictable traffic might remain on Basic if those features are unnecessary.
Premium V3 or V4: more capacity and scale
Consider Premium when the application needs more CPU or memory, higher-capability hardware, larger scale-out limits, Windows or Linux containers, or enough capacity for several demanding applications in one plan. Microsoft describes Premium V3 as a cost-effective option at scale, but the result depends on utilization, region, operating system, instance count and any reservation commitment. Do not assume Premium is automatically cheaper or better.
Premium V3 availability is region-dependent; check the current availability and configuration guidance.
IsolatedV2: buy isolation only when you need it
IsolatedV2 is intended for dedicated infrastructure, network isolation, strict security boundaries and high-scale enterprise deployments using an App Service Environment. It is usually excessive for a small public website. Dedicated compute and network isolation are different: a dedicated Basic or Standard plan does not provide the same network boundary as IsolatedV2.
Choose the operating system from your application
Choose Windows or Linux based on runtime compatibility—not familiarity or the name of the company providing the service.
- Windows: ASP.NET Framework, IIS-specific behavior, Windows authentication, COM, registry or Windows Installer dependencies, and Windows containers.
- Linux: Node.js, Python, PHP, Java, Go, modern cross-platform .NET, Linux-native dependencies and Linux containers.
Linux App Service applications run in containers. Windows and Linux apps can coexist in an App Service Environment, but they cannot share the same App Service plan. Runtime versions change, so verify the selected stack in the portal and in the current App Service documentation before deploying.
Windows may cost more for a comparable configuration, but do not select Linux if the application requires legacy Windows behavior. Conversely, selecting Windows by default can create unnecessary cost and limit your available runtime choices.
Select the region carefully
An App Service plan belongs to a specific Azure region. Region affects user latency, data residency, regulatory obligations, proximity to databases and the availability of particular VM sizes and tiers.
- Meet legal, contractual and data-residency requirements.
- Choose a region near most users.
- Keep the application close to its database and major dependencies.
- Confirm that the required SKU, container option and VM generation are available.
- Consider whether a second region is needed for disaster recovery.
Moving an app to another region generally means deploying it into an App Service plan in that region; it is not merely a cosmetic setting change.
Match the plan to the website
- Personal project or tutorial: Free, provided quotas are sufficient.
- Marketing site or test deployment: Shared may be adequate for low-risk use; Basic is safer when dedicated compute or a custom domain is important.
- Small business production website: Basic for predictable traffic and modest requirements; Standard if you need backups, slots or autoscale.
- ASP.NET Framework application: Windows App Service, with the tier selected according to production features and capacity.
- Node.js, Python, PHP, Java or modern .NET: Linux is often a natural fit when the application and dependencies support it.
- CMS or e-commerce site: Basic may work for a modest, predictable workload; Standard or higher is more appropriate when releases, backups, scaling or availability matter.
- API: App Service is suitable for a conventional always-on API. Choose Standard or higher if autoscaling, slots or production operations require it.
- Containerized application: Premium App Service may fit when you want App Service deployment and scaling; compare Container Apps if event-driven scaling or scale-to-zero is more important.
- Regulated or private application: Evaluate IsolatedV2, private networking and the security design of every dependency—not only the web tier.
Scale up, scale out and autoscale are different
Scale up means moving to a larger VM size or higher tier. Scale out means adding instances. Autoscale adds or removes instances according to schedules or metrics.
Dedicated App Service pricing applies to each allocated instance. Moving from one to three instances can approximately triple the App Service compute portion of the bill, although the final amount depends on region, operating system, SKU, discounts and related services.
Tier names are not response-time guarantees. Performance also depends on application code, database latency, traffic patterns, external APIs and instance count. Load-test the application and monitor CPU, memory, HTTP response time, failed requests and dependency performance before committing to a larger tier.
Budget for the whole architecture
The App Service estimate is only one part of the bill. Include:
- App Service plan instances and any autoscaled capacity.
- Databases, storage and backups.
- Application Insights and other monitoring.
- Bandwidth and networking services.
- Domain registration and renewal.
- Certificates and IP-based TLS bindings.
- Traffic management or multi-region services.
SNI-based TLS connections are free. Certificates purchased through Azure and some IP-based TLS configurations can create separate charges. Check the current App Service pricing page rather than relying on an old monthly figure.
Prices vary by region, Windows versus Linux, VM generation, instance count, currency, subscription offer, Dev/Test eligibility and reservation terms. A calculator result such as the previously observed $54.75 monthly example for one Basic B1 configuration is not a universal price; it is meaningful only with its region, operating system, currency, date and subscription assumptions.
For cost control, begin with Free when suitable, use Shared only for constrained low-risk workloads, and set Azure Cost Management budgets and alerts. Watch for idle scaled-out instances. Premium V3 reservations can reduce eligible instance costs by up to 55% according to Microsoft, but a reservation is a financial commitment: unused reserved capacity is still paid for.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Decide whether applications should share a plan
Sharing a plan can reduce cost when applications have compatible traffic patterns and security requirements. It is a poor choice when applications have different scaling profiles, reliability expectations or trust boundaries.
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Best Value
“Unlimited” app counts in some dedicated-tier tables do not mean unlimited practical capacity. CPU, memory, storage, quotas and plan resources remain finite.
How to choose a plan in the Azure portal
- Sign in to the Azure portal.
- Open App Services, select Create, then choose Web App.
- Select or create a subscription and resource group.
- Enter the application name and choose the deployment type and runtime stack.
- Select the operating system and region.
- Under Pricing plans, select Explore pricing plans.
- Compare the tiers available for the selected operating system and region.
- Review the estimated price, instance assumptions and included capabilities.
- Create the app.
- After deployment, verify the runtime, custom domain, TLS, scaling, backups, monitoring and deployment settings.
The available tiers can change after you choose the operating system, region, runtime or container option. Treat the portal estimate as the final pre-deployment check.
When App Service is not the best choice
Azure Static Web Apps
Static Web Apps is often a better fit for static HTML, CSS and JavaScript sites, Jamstack applications and repository-driven React, Angular, Vue or Svelte frontends. It uses a separate pricing model and is less suitable when you need a traditional long-running backend, Windows-specific behavior or the full App Service feature set.
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Container Apps suits containerized applications, microservices and event-driven workloads. Applications configured with a minimum instance count of zero can scale to zero when idle, which may help intermittent workloads. It adds a different operational model and may be less convenient than App Service for a straightforward always-on website.
Azure Virtual Machines
A VM is appropriate when you need full operating-system control, custom Windows services, legacy software or specialized networking. It is not automatically cheaper: you also take responsibility for patching, hardening, backups, monitoring, scaling and availability.
AWS Elastic Beanstalk
Elastic Beanstalk is a reasonable alternative for teams already standardized on AWS. AWS says the service itself has no additional charge, but customers pay for EC2, storage, load balancing, bandwidth, databases and other underlying resources. It is less compelling when the application depends heavily on Azure SQL, Microsoft identity, Visual Studio or Azure governance.
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