Windows 10 license in Microsoft Azure Virtual Machines Billing

Question

My question: Was the Windows 10 license included in the setup of Microsoft Azure Virtual Machines counted on a per-hour basis used by the user, or per-monthly?

Answer 1

Hi Reza Shamsudin,

Although both answers are correct to some extent, I will provide you with a detailed explanation.

Azure does not include Windows 10 licensing costs in its VM pricing. Customers need to have their own eligible Windows 10 licenses when setting up Windows 10 VMs. There is no per-hour or per-month licensing fee charged by Azure for Windows 10 because Azure does not provide Windows 10 licenses for VMs. After creating VM with your own license costs you incur from Azure will be for the compute, storage, and networking resources based on hour basis.

When you create a Windows Server virtual machine in Azure, the cost of the Windows Server license is already included in the hourly pay of the VM. So, you are charged for the license as part of the overall price. You will only be billed for the time the VM is running. If you stop the VM you won’t charge for the compute resources or the Windows Server license.
You can check the pricing structure for Windows VMs in Azure here

If you have any further queries, please let us know. If the answer is helpful, please Upvote it.

Thank you.

Answer 2

Hello,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A,

The Windows 10 license included in the setup of Microsoft Azure Virtual Machines counted on a per-hour based on the usage.

The license to run Windows Server in the Azure environment is, by default, included in the per-hour cost of your Windows Virtual Machine. This means that when you deploy a Windows Server VM in Azure, the licensing cost is embedded in the VM's per-hour rate, and you are billed based on the duration the VM is running. If the VM is stopped (deallocated), you are not billed for compute resources or the Windows Server license during that time.

Please Upvote and accept the answer if it helps!

Answer 3

Hi,

When setting up a Windows 10 Virtual Machine (VM) in Microsoft Azure, the licensing works a bit differently compared to Windows Server VMs. For Windows 10 VMs, you typically need to bring your own license (BYOL). This means you must have an eligible Windows 10 license with multi-tenant hosting rights. However, if you use a Windows Server VM, the license cost is included in the per-minute pricing of the VM. This cost is calculated based on the time the VM is running, so you are billed on a per-hour basis.

For Windows 10 VMs, you would need to ensure you have the appropriate licensing, such as Windows 10 Enterprise E3/E5 per user or Windows Virtual Desktop Access per user.

Reference links to learn more about it: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/licensing-faq/

Cheers,

Vijay