The short answer
- One-off migration cost (indicative, ex VAT): around £5k–£20k for 1–10 servers, £20k–£75k for 11–50 servers, and £60k–£250k+ for 51–200 servers.
- The monthly Azure cost depends on VM sizes, storage, backup, networking and licensing. Right-sizing and Azure Hybrid Benefit make the biggest difference.
- Reserved instances can cut compute costs substantially. Microsoft quotes 36% to 72% off pay-as-you-go, with the top figure for a large Linux VM in the US.
- Eligible projects can offset part of the migration cost through Microsoft's Frontier Accelerate for Azure funding.
- A free assessment gives you real figures for your estate rather than ranges.
- 1–10 servers
- £5k–£20k one-off (indicative)
- 11–50 servers
- £20k–£75k one-off (indicative)
- 51–200 servers
- £60k–£250k+ one-off (indicative)
- Biggest saving
- Right-sizing + Hybrid Benefit
- Funding
- Frontier Accelerate for Azure (if eligible)
These figures are indicative budgeting ranges, not quotes or published market prices. They exclude VAT and Microsoft funding. Your free assessment produces a fixed-scope figure for your estate.
One-off Azure migration costs by estate size
| Estate | Typical scope | Indicative one-off cost | Typical timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–10 servers | Single wave, simple landing zone | £5,000–£20,000 | 4–8 weeks |
| 11–50 servers | 2–4 waves, full landing zone, VPN | £20,000–£75,000 | 6–16 weeks |
| 51–200 servers | Dependency mapping, multiple waves, DR design | £60,000–£250,000 | 3–6 months |
| 200+ servers / data-centre exit | Programme-managed, ExpressRoute, decommissioning | Scoped individually | 6–12 months |
What pushes the one-off cost up
- Many interdependent applications that must move together
- Large databases needing near-zero downtime
- Tight deadlines (for example a fixed co-location exit date)
- Regulated environments needing extra security controls and evidence
- OS or application upgrades done at the same time as the migration
What brings it down
- Rehosting first, then modernising later
- Retiring servers nobody uses (usually 10–20% of an estate)
- Good existing documentation
- Microsoft funding through Frontier Accelerate for Azure for eligible projects
Monthly Azure running costs
Your Azure bill is made up of:
| Cost line | What drives it | How to reduce it |
|---|---|---|
| Compute (VMs) | VM size, hours running, OS licence | Right-size, reserve, Hybrid Benefit, auto-shutdown |
| Storage | Disk type and size | Standard SSD where premium isn't needed |
| Backup & DR | Retention and replication | Retention policies that match real requirements |
| Networking | VPN/ExpressRoute, data egress | Keep traffic in-region, size gateways properly |
| Managed databases | vCores and storage | Azure Hybrid Benefit, reserved capacity |
| Monitoring & security | Log volume, Defender plans | Collect what you use, apply plans selectively |
Moving SQL Server? Our guide to migrating SQL Server to Azure explains what drives the cost of each Azure SQL option.
Worked example (Microsoft list prices, checked 7 November 2026): a D2s v5 Windows VM (2 vCPUs, 8 GB RAM) in UK South costs £0.1526 an hour pay-as-you-go, including the Windows licence. That's about £111 a month if it runs all month (730 hours). With Azure Hybrid Benefit, the Windows licence charge drops away and the rate is £0.0835 an hour, about £61 a month. Add a three-year reservation as well and it's about £24 a month (£866.13 for the three years). Disks, backup and networking are extra, and all prices are ex VAT. Prices change, so always check the Azure pricing calculator or ask us for a modelled estimate.
How to use the Azure pricing calculator in the UK
The Azure pricing calculator is free and gives a good first estimate if you set it up for the UK:
- Set the currency to British pounds (GBP) at the bottom of the estimate.
- Choose the UK South (London) or UK West (Cardiff) region for each item. Prices differ slightly between regions.
- Add a virtual machine for each server, sized from real CPU and memory use rather than the size of the old server.
- Apply your licensing. Select Azure Hybrid Benefit if you have Windows Server or SQL Server licences with Software Assurance.
- Compare pay-as-you-go with one- and three-year reservations for servers that run all the time.
- Add storage, backup and networking. These are the items most often left out.
- Export or share the estimate so you can compare it with your current costs.
The calculator doesn't show the one-off cost of migrating, VAT or any Microsoft funding. A free assessment adds those and checks the sizing against your real usage.
Five ways to cut Azure costs
- Right-size from real data. Azure Migrate recommends sizes based on actual CPU and memory use, not the size of the old server.
- Use Azure Hybrid Benefit. Reuse Windows Server and SQL Server licences with Software Assurance.
- Reserve steady workloads. One- or three-year reservations or a savings plan for always-on servers.
- Switch off what's idle. Schedule dev/test VMs to shut down out of hours.
- Set budgets and alerts on day one. Cost Management budgets catch surprises within days, not at quarter end.
Already running in Azure? Our Azure cost optimisation review looks for savings like these in your own bill.
Getting an accurate figure
Ranges are useful for budgeting, but the only reliable number comes from looking at your environment. Our free assessment takes two minutes online and a 30-minute call. You get a ballpark one-off cost, a forecast monthly cost and a view on funding eligibility. To see what happens after that, read how our Azure migration services work.
Frequently asked questions
Is Azure cheaper than running our own servers?
Often, once you count everything. That includes hardware refreshes, data-centre space and power, backup, DR, support contracts and staff time. Azure is rarely cheaper if you simply copy over-sized servers and run them 24/7 at pay-as-you-go rates. Right-sizing, reservations and licence reuse are what make the numbers work.
What is included in the one-off migration cost?
Typically discovery and assessment, design and build of the Azure landing zone, migration and testing of each workload, cut-over support, documentation and handover. Application re-engineering and major OS upgrades are usually scoped separately.
Are there hidden costs in Azure?
The common surprises are data egress (data leaving Azure), premium storage used where standard would do, forgotten test resources and backup retention set too long. A landing zone with budgets, alerts and tagging prevents most of them.
Can Microsoft pay for part of the migration?
For eligible organisations and projects, yes. Microsoft's Frontier Accelerate for Azure programme can provide partner funding and Azure credits. See Microsoft funding for Azure migrations.
Is there an Azure cost calculator for the UK?
Yes. Microsoft's Azure pricing calculator works for UK prices. Set the currency to British pounds (GBP) and choose the UK South or UK West region. It shows list prices, so apply Azure Hybrid Benefit and reservations where you're eligible to get a realistic figure.
Why are your figures ranges rather than fixed prices?
Because two 20-server estates can be very different, from simple file and print servers to complex clustered databases. The ranges are a starting point for budgeting. The free assessment turns them into a fixed-scope quote.