License question

Question

hello,
I am new to the platform. I am trying to create a VM for a desktop usage. When i create the VM do i need to pay seperate for a the OS or does the VM comes with the OS?

What is the cheapest solution for a one desktop machine with a single user running a one software?

any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Alex

Answer 1

Hi ,

Thanks for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A.

When you create a virtual machine in the cloud, the operating system license is usually bundled into the cost if you select an image from the provider’s marketplace. For linux based VMs, there are no extra license fees because most distributions are free. For Windows VMs, the license cost is included in the hourly or monthly VM price, unless you have your own Windows license that you can bring through azure hybrid benefit or a similar program. However, most providers offer Windows Server editions rather than Windows 10 or 11 desktop editions, which are only available under specific licensing agreements. If your application can run on Linux, the cheapest option would be to provision a small Linux VM, which will cost only the compute and storage charges. If your software requires Windows, the lowest-cost choice in the cloud is to use a small Windows Server VM with Remote Desktop enabled, since the license is already included in the VM price. If cost is the main concern and cloud is not mandatory, then a physical desktop with Linux or a one time Windows license will be cheaper than running a cloud VM continuously.

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