What is a free Azure Data Explorer cluster?

Free cluster allows anyone with a Microsoft account or an Azure Active Directory user identity to create a free Azure Data Explorer cluster without needing an Azure subscription or a credit card.

It's a frictionless way to create a free cluster that can be used for any purpose. It's the ideal solution for anyone who wants to get started quickly with Azure Data Explorer and experience the incredible engine performance and enjoy the productive Kusto Query Language.

The cluster's trial period is for a year and may automatically be extended. The cluster is provided as-is and isn't subject to the Azure Data Explorer service level agreement. At any time, you can upgrade the cluster to a full Azure Data Explorer cluster.

Start your journey by creating your own free cluster and reviewing the Microsoft Software License Terms.

Specifications

The following table describes specifications and quotas for a free cluster.

Item Value
Storage (uncompressed) ~100 GB
Databases Up to 10
Tables per database Up to 100
Columns per table Up to 200
Materialized views per database Up to 5

Feature comparison

The free cluster is a subset of the full Azure Data Explorer cluster that provides a reduced set of functionality. The following table lists the features and their availability in both offerings.

Feature Full Azure Data Explorer cluster Free cluster
Kusto Query Language
Database objects (tables, columns, functions)
Materialized views
Tools (Azure Data Explorer web UI)
Dashboards (PowerBI, Azure Data Explorer web UI, Grafana)
Azure Data Studio notebooks
SDKs (all languages)
Time series and Machine Learning functions
Geospatial functions
Soft delete
Microsoft Power Automate and Azure Logic Apps connectors
External tables
Continuous export
Workload groups
Purge
Follower clusters
Partitioning policy
Streaming ingestion
Python and R plugins
Enterprise readiness (Customer managed keys, VNet, disk encryption, managed identities)
Autoscale
Azure Monitor and Insights
Event Hubs and Event Grid connectors Event Hubs only
Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates

Next steps