azure-pricing

name	azure-pricing
description	Guidance for estimating and reasoning about the cost of Azure security services — using the Azure Pricing Calculator, understanding key cost drivers (Sentinel ingestion, Defender plans, Key Vault operations), and cost-optimization levers. WHEN: Azure security pricing, estimate cost, Sentinel cost, Defender for Cloud pricing, pricing calculator, cost drivers, optimize security spend, ingestion cost, licensing vs consumption, budget for security.
license	MIT
metadata	{"author":"Microsoft","version":"0.1.0"}

Azure Security Pricing & Cost Estimation

Security services on Azure mix consumption-based (e.g., data ingestion, transactions) and per-resource/seat pricing. This skill helps reason about and estimate costs and identify optimisation levers. Always confirm current rates on official pricing pages.

When to use

Producing a cost estimate or optimising spend for a security solution.

Key cost drivers

• Microsoft Sentinel — Driven mainly by data ingestion (per GB) and retention. Use Commitment Tiers, route low-value logs to Auxiliary/Basic logs or ADX, and avoid duplicate ingestion.
• Defender for Cloud — Foundational CSPM is free; Defender plans are per-resource (e.g., per server/hour, per 10K transactions, per vCore). Enable plans where risk justifies.
• Microsoft Defender XDR / Purview / Entra ID P2 — Largely per-user licensing (E5 / add-ons) rather than consumption.
• Key Vault — Per-operation (secrets/keys/certs) and HSM pool charges (Managed HSM).
• Azure Firewall / Front Door / DDoS — Deployment + data processing charges.

Approach

1. List components and identify which are consumption vs licensed.
2. Estimate quantities — e.g., Sentinel daily GB, number of protected servers/resources.
3. Use the Pricing Calculator to model the estimate; add it to the workload TCO.
4. Apply optimisation — commitment tiers, log tiering, right-size Defender plan coverage, remove unused resources.
5. Validate licensing — Confirm whether E5/add-ons already cover a capability before adding consumption cost.

Guardrails

• Pricing changes — always verify against the live pricing page and your agreement (EA/MCA/CSP).
• Sentinel ingestion is the most common cost surprise — plan log tiering up front.
• Don't disable needed protection purely for cost; optimise scope instead.

Example prompts

• Estimate the cost of Microsoft Sentinel and Defender for Cloud for my environment.
• What are the main cost drivers for Microsoft security services?
• How do I optimise security spend across licensing and consumption?
• Help me budget for security ingestion and per-resource Defender plans.

Microsoft Learn

• Azure Pricing Calculator: https://azure.microsoft.com/pricing/calculator/
• Sentinel pricing/billing: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/sentinel/billing
• Defender for Cloud pricing: https://azure.microsoft.com/pricing/details/defender-for-cloud/
• Cost management: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/cost-management-billing/costs/