Why does the Spot price differ between the marketplace image ($0.11x/hr) and the custom Gallery image ($0.178/hr) for the same VM size, region, and OS disk type?

Question

Why does the Spot price differ between the marketplace image ($0.11x/hr) and the custom Gallery image ($0.178/hr) for the same VM size, region, and OS disk type?

Crystal Ho 0

I am observing that the actual CPU cost for my AVD session host is higher than the Spot price quoted in the Azure Portal. I would like to understand the reason for this discrepancy.

Environment Details:

VM size: Standard_E8as_v7
Pricing model: Spot
Region: Southeast Asia
OS disk: SSD
Usage pattern: Non 24/7 (VM is shut down when not in use)

Observed Issue:

The Spot price shown in the Azure Portal at time of deployment was approximately $0.11x/hr when using the marketplace image (Windows 11 Enterprise Multi-Session Gen2).

However, when using a custom Azure Compute Gallery image created from the same base image, the quoted Spot price shows $0.178/hr.

The actual CPU cost reflected in Azure Cost Analysis appears higher than expected based on the $0.11x/hr Spot rate.

Questions:

Why does the Spot price differ between the marketplace image ($0.11x/hr) and the custom Gallery image ($0.178/hr) for the same VM size, region, and OS disk type?

Himanshu Shekhar 6,420 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-10T10:07:12.8233333+00:00

Thank you for reaching out regarding your AVD issue. We are currently investigating the matter and will provide our recommendations as soon as possible. If you have any further information or concerns, please feel free to share them. We appreciate your patience as we address this issue. Azure Spot pricing is not based only on VM size and region. It also depends on the image offer/plan used during deployment.

So, when you deploy using a Marketplace image (for example, Windows 11 Enterprise Multi‑Session), the VM uses a Microsoft‑managed offer. These offers can have different Spot clearing prices, which is why you observed a lower Spot price (~$0.11x/hr).

When you deploy using a custom Azure Compute Gallery image, even if it was created from the same base Marketplace image, it is treated as a customer‑managed image. Custom images do not inherit the Marketplace offer pricing, and therefore the Spot price can be higher (for example, ~$0.178/hr).

Microsoft documentation confirms that Spot prices vary based on VM size, region, image offer, and available capacity, and they are not guaranteed to match between different image types

Use Azure Spot Virtual Machines - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/spot-vms

Azure Spot Virtual Machines pricing - https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/spot-advisor/

The Spot price shown during VM creation is the current market price at deployment time, not a fixed or guaranteed rate. Azure Cost Analysis reflects the actual Spot clearing price at runtime, billed per hour based on the prevailing Spot price while the VM was running.

Spot prices can change at any time depending on capacity demand, which is common in regions like Southeast Asia. If the Spot price increased during runtime, the CPU cost shown in Cost Analysis will reflect that higher rate.

This billing behavior is documented by Microsoft: VM charges are calculated based on actual runtime usage and current pricing, not the initial quoted price

Monitor costs for virtual machines - https://docs.azure.cn/en-us/virtual-machines/cost-optimization-monitor-costs

Plan to manage costs for virtual machines - https://docs.azure.cn/en-us/virtual-machines/cost-optimization-plan-to-manage-costs

Just checking if provided response was helpful! please let me know if you have any queries.
Himanshu Shekhar 6,420 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-11T09:11:02.78+00:00

Crystal Ho - Just checking if provided response was helpful! please let me know if you have any queries.

1 answer

Your answer

Himanshu Shekhar 6,420 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-11T09:11:02.78+00:00

Crystal Ho - Just checking if provided response was helpful! please let me know if you have any queries.

Answer 1

Hi Crystal,

From your description it sounds like VM does not have correct license type set, so you are likely being charged for Windows Server hourly license. When creating VM from the gallery image you need to select Windows Client for license type when using Windows 11 Enterprise multi-session.

Please navigate to your VM in Azure portal, on left click on Settings -- Operating system. On right, please confirm that License type is set to Windows client, check I confirm I have an eligible Windows 10/11 license with multi-tenant hosting rights, and click Apply, as shown below:

User's image

Having License type set to Windows client will cause your Spot VM compute to be billed at approximately $0.1107/hour instead of $0.1787/hour, assuming the spot price or VM size hasn't changed.

To summarize, base Spot compute price for the VM size is approximately $0.1107/hour, whereas base Spot compute + Windows Server license is about $0.1787/hour. If you set License type to Windows client it will not charge the hourly windows server license fee.

Please click Accept Answer and upvote if the above was helpful.

Thanks.

-TP

TP 156.9K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2026-03-11T08:15:45.0133333+00:00

@Crystal Ho Any update?

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Why does the Spot price differ between the marketplace image ($0.11x/hr) and the custom Gallery image ($0.178/hr) for the same VM size, region, and OS disk type?

1 answer

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