This article answers frequently asked questions on the Azure SQL Database free tier.
Free tier and eligibility
Is the free tier available for a limited time?
No. The free tier isn't time bound. It's a configuration of the General Purpose, serverless service tier, and the free monthly amounts renew for the lifetime of your subscription. The earlier, time-bound Azure free account offer is a separate, older offer. Azure SQL Managed Instance has its own free offer, which is limited to the first 12 months after you create the instance.
How long can I use the free tier?
You can use the free tier for the lifetime of your Azure subscription, subject to monthly limits. The free tier isn't time limited.
Monthly usage limits are: 100,000 vCore seconds, 32 GB of data storage, and 32 GB of backup storage per free tier database. Each subscription can include up to 10 databases, and the same limits apply to each database individually.
Can I use my Student subscription with an Azure SQL Database free tier database?
There are multiple student offers. Currently, the Microsoft Azure for Students Starter offer is incompatible with this Azure SQL Database free tier. Instead, consider the Azure for College Students offer or the Azure Free offer. If desired, the Continue using database for additional charges option can deduct from the starting credits.
What if I don't see the free tier option in the Azure portal?
There's a limit of 10 free databases per subscription. If you reach the limit, remove an existing free database to create another one.
What if I delete a free tier database, can I get another?
If you recently deleted a free tier database, it takes up to one hour for the slot to become available.
Is the Azure SQL Database free tier a production quality database?
While a free tier database is built on the same General Purpose, production-quality infrastructure, the free amount doesn't come with a service level agreement (SLA) and is recommended primarily for development and proof-of-concept scenarios. Since there are no charges, there are no credits for downtime.
Will any unused vCore seconds in a month carry forward to the next month?
No, vCore seconds for each free tier database reset at the start of each calendar month.
Is my entire application free when I use a free tier database?
No. The offer covers the database's stated monthly compute and storage allowances, subject to its limits and your selected pause or paid-overage behavior. Application hosting, external AI models and inference, and other supporting resources can have separate charges. Review the resources your project uses before creating them.
Technical questions
Can I learn SQL with sample data in a free tier database?
Yes. Select Sample under Use existing data on Additional settings when you create the database in the Azure portal. Follow Learn SQL with AdventureWorksLT to explore the sample schema, practice read-only T-SQL queries, and use an AI coding assistant prompt to build a product explorer. The tutorial uses the same database rather than restoring a backup or creating another database from a query.
Help! I'm no longer able to sign in to my database.
Check the overview page for the database on the Azure portal to see whether you have any remaining free credits for the month. If you choose the Auto-pause the database until next month option, once the free limits are met, the database is inaccessible until the start of the next calendar month. To continue usage with charges, go to the Compute + Storage tab and change the option to enable billing for usage of the database beyond the free amount.
My vCore seconds are being used faster than I expected, how can I see what is using the vCore seconds?
- Track usage throughout the month with the "Free amount remaining" Azure Metric. For more information, see Track free usage.
- Review the Azure SQL Database serverless features that prevent auto-pause for tips on saving vCore seconds.
- Disconnect querying tools such as SQL Server Management Studio and the MSSQL extension for Visual Studio Code, including query editors and Object Explorer connections, when you're done using them. Leaving connections open can continue to consume vCore seconds by preventing idle auto-pause. Disconnecting doesn't restore usage already consumed.
Can I restore a database to a free tier database?
No. You can apply the free tier only to a new database. You can't restore or convert an existing database to the free tier.
For a development evaluation, create a separate free tier database and work with sample tables inside it. In the MSSQL first-query quickstart, use Use an existing database and skip the generic CREATE DATABASE step. A query that succeeds doesn't establish compatibility for your existing workload.
You also can't copy a free tier database. To copy it, first convert the database to a paid service tier.
Which features and configurations aren't supported?
The following limitations apply to free tier databases:
- With Auto-pause the database until next month, the database is limited to 4 vCores and 32 GB. Long-term backup retention isn't available, point-in-time restore retention is limited to seven days, and backup storage is locally redundant.
- Data Sync, Elastic Jobs, and DNS aliases aren't available.
- A free tier database can't be part of an elastic pool or failover group.
Can I upgrade to a larger or more powerful database?
Yes. Continue using database for additional charges allows paid overages and scaling within General Purpose, but doesn't disable the free tier. Moving to Hyperscale or Business Critical requires permanently leaving the free tier first. Charges can accrue even if the subsequent conversion fails. For the procedure and verification steps, see Upgrade a free tier database to Hyperscale.
Can I change the backup option to geo-redundant storage?
Yes, if you change the Free limit reached behavior setting to Continue using for additional charges.
How do I create a free tier database from the command line?
Use az sql db create with the --use-free-limit parameter. Without that parameter, you create a regular billable serverless database. Set --free-limit-exhaustion-behavior to AutoPause to pause at the monthly free limit. Choose BillOverUsage only if you want to enable paid overages. For the full commands, see Create a database.
Can I monitor a free tier database in the Fabric Database Hub?
Yes. Database Hub in Microsoft Fabric (preview) discovers Azure SQL Database resources you already have permission to access, and supports performance monitoring for Azure SQL Database. Database Hub is available with a Fabric Free license, so you don't need Fabric capacity, a separate license, or any monitoring infrastructure. For more information, see Monitor with Database Hub.