My Sql costs are very high for what is hundreds of rows of data that is only accessed by one user for a few hours a day

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My Sql costs are very high for what is hundreds of rows of data that is only accessed by one user for a few hours a day

Vic Johnston 40

I have 100,000 free seconds and they have been used up in 2 days. How can I see why that is and resolve it?
I have this setup, used space is 118mb, my compute utilization in the last 7days has not averaged more than 0.3%
Free - General Purpose - Serverless: Gen5, 2 vCores

THe top 5 queries in the last 24 hours have not even managed to raise up to 0.01% of CPU consumption

I do not believe I have any extensive features switched on, no expensive backup plans. What are the likely causes because this is completely unaffordable!

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Answer 1

Suchitra Suregaunkar 14,085 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hello Vic Johnston Thank you for posting your query on Microsoft Q&A platform. Thanks for sharing the details. Based on your description, this behavior is expected for Azure SQL Database – General Purpose (Serverless) and is not caused by query load, data size, or backups.

Azure SQL serverless is billed based on vCore‑seconds while the database is online, not on CPU percentage alone.

Even if CPU usage is very low (for example, 0.01%), vCore seconds continue to be consumed as long as the database remains active and does not auto‑pause. With the free offer, each database includes 100,000 vCore‑seconds per month, which can be exhausted quickly if the database stays online continuously.

The free offer includes 100,000 vCore‑seconds of serverless compute per month.
Compute charges stop only when the database is paused.

Reference: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/free-offer?view=azuresql

Auto‑pause didn’t kick in due to below reason:

Auto‑pause in serverless only triggers when BOTH conditions are true during the auto‑pause delay:

Number of active sessions = 0
CPU usage = 0

If any connection remains open (for example, SSMS, Azure Data Studio, Object Explorer, application connection pools, or health probes), the database will not pause and will continue consuming vCore seconds even with near‑zero CPU.

This is the most common reason for unexpected cost in serverless databases.

To verify what’s preventing auto‑pause: If auto-pausing is enabled and features that block auto-pausing are not used, but a database does not auto-pause after the delay period, then application or user sessions might be preventing auto-pausing.

To see if there are any application or user sessions currently connected to the database, connect to the database using any client tool, and execute the following query:

SELECT session_id,
       host_name,
       program_name,
       client_interface_name,
       login_name,
       status,
       login_time,
       last_request_start_time,
       last_request_end_time
FROM sys.dm_exec_sessions AS s
INNER JOIN sys.dm_resource_governor_workload_groups AS wg
ON s.group_id = wg.group_id
WHERE s.session_id <> @@SPID
      AND
      (
          (
          wg.name like 'UserPrimaryGroup.DB%'
          AND
          TRY_CAST(RIGHT(wg.name, LEN(wg.name) - LEN('UserPrimaryGroup.DB') - 2) AS int) = DB_ID()
          )
      OR
      wg.name = 'DACGroup'
      );

Important: After running the query, disconnect immediately. Even the session used for troubleshooting can prevent auto‑pause.

Reference: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/serverless-tier-overview?view=azuresql&tabs=general-purpose#auto-pause-and-auto-resume

Instead of relying on CPU %, Microsoft recommends monitoring the “Free amount remaining” metric. This shows how fast vCore seconds are being consumed and confirms whether the database is staying online.

To avoid unexpected charges:

Ensure all client tools and applications fully disconnect when idle
Verify auto‑pause is enabled and no sessions remain open
Monitor the Free amount remaining metric regularly
If the database must stay online most of the time, consider switching to a provisioned compute tier, which provides more predictable and often lower cost for always‑on workloads

Reference: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/serverless-tier-overview?view=azuresql&tabs=general-purpose

Please let us know if the suggested resolution helped/ addressed your concern. If it did, we’d appreciate your feedback on the proposed resolution as it helps others with similar issues.

If you have any other questions or need further support, please feel free to contact us.

Thanks,
Suchitra.

Vic Johnston 40 Reputation points

2026-02-04T08:53:00.74+00:00
Thank you for your reply, that does help.

I had a service running which would query a table every minute, a very simple select query would only take a couple of seconds to run, would that burn through 100,000 cpu seconds in less than 2 days, because even at 5 second per query, I only see that as 14,400 cpu seconds?

Also, are there commands I can send via CLI to pause the database

Would leaving a SQL table query in VSCode overnight cause the cpu seconds to continue to be consumed even though the pc it is running on may be in sleep mode?

I cannot see a real cost comparison for switching between serverless and provisioned

Thanks again
Suchitra Suregaunkar 14,085 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-02-04T09:10:46.4766667+00:00
Hello Vic Johnston Thanks for Providing the additional details.

Database (General Purpose – Serverless) and isn’t related to query complexity or data size.

In the serverless tier, billing is based on vCore‑seconds while the database is online, not on how long each query runs or CPU percentage. Because your service queries the database every minute, the database never becomes idle long enough to auto‑pause. As a result, the minimum configured compute is billed continuously, even when no query is actively running. This is why the free 100,000 vCore‑seconds can be consumed in less than two days.

Azure SQL Database does not support manual pause operations. In the serverless tier, pausing is automatic only and occurs only when both conditions are met for the entire auto‑pause delay: Number of active sessions = 0 CPU usage = 0

Any open connection (for example, VS Code, Azure Data Studio, SSMS Object Explorer) prevents auto‑pause, regardless of CPU usage or whether your local machine is sleeping. This is the most common reason serverless databases don’t pause as expected.

serverless only for workloads with long idle periods where auto‑pause can occur regularly. For workloads with frequent polling (for example, every minute), a small provisioned compute tier is often more cost‑effective and predictable, since the database is effectively always online anyway. Guidance on choosing the right compute model.
Reference: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/azure-sql/database/purchasing-models

Your costs are driven by the database staying online continuously not by query duration or CPU usage. Frequent polling and open connections prevent auto‑pause by design. For this usage pattern, switching to a provisioned compute tier is typically the recommended and more economical option.

Thanks,

Suchitra.
Suchitra Suregaunkar 14,085 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-02-04T10:21:09.32+00:00
Hello Vic Johnston

It is possible to migrate from one database to another using CLI commands and port everything over but it depends on why you are changing.

There are two different scenarios, and it’s important not to mix them up:

Scenario A: Switching from Serverless → Provisioned (same database)

No migration is required

No CLI export/import

No data movement

No schema changes

You can switch the compute model in place on the same Azure SQL Database (same logical server, same database name).

In this case:

Your database stays the same

Your connection string does NOT change

Only a brief restart occurs during the compute change

This is the recommended approach if your goal is cost predictability.

Scenario B: Moving to a different database (new server / region / subscription)

If you truly want a separate database, then yes, you can migrate using CLI or tooling.

Microsoft‑supported options include:

BACPAC export/import (Azure CLI, SqlPackage, or Portal)

Used when changing server, region, or subscription.

Reference document: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/database-import?view=azuresql&tabs=azure-powershell

In this case:

You will need to update connection strings

Downtime depends on database size and export/import duration

Also, it is important to remember that With the Provisioned compute tier, Azure SQL Database billing is fixed and predictable. You are charged continuously for the provisioned compute (vCores or DTUs) and for database storage, regardless of query volume or frequency. There is no usage‑based billing for queries or CPU/vCore seconds, and auto‑pause is not available in this tier.

This is different from Serverless, where compute is billed per vCore‑second while the database is active and only drops to storage‑only billing when the database successfully auto‑pauses.

So Provisioned compute is better suited for steady or frequently accessed workloads, while Serverless is optimized for databases that can sit idle long enough to auto‑pause.

Given a service that runs queries regularly (for example, every minute), switching from Serverless to a small Provisioned tier is typically the correct and more predictable option. You avoid unexpected vCore‑second consumption, keep the same database and connection string, and get a stable monthly cost made up of compute + storage.

Thanks,
Suchitra.
Suchitra Suregaunkar 14,085 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-02-04T10:23:18.15+00:00

Hello Vic Johnston

Please refer below document Move a database between compute tiers or service tiers Link: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/serverless-tier-overview?view=azuresql&tabs=general-purpose#move-a-database-between-compute-tiers-or-service-tiers

Please let us know if the suggested resolution helped/ addressed your concern.

Thanks,
Suchitra.
Suchitra Suregaunkar 14,085 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-02-05T05:08:38.29+00:00

Hello Vic Johnston If the answer is helpful, could you please click and this helps other community members who may encounter a similar issue in the future.

Thanks,
Suchitra.

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My Sql costs are very high for what is hundreds of rows of data that is only accessed by one user for a few hours a day

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