Azure Egress Fees vs Hetzner Traffic Costs: The Complete Comparison
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Microsoft Azure charges for outgoing internet traffic under the name "Bandwidth" – and costs can add up quickly. In this article, we analyze the Azure egress pricing structure and compare it with Hetzner.
Table of Contents
- What Counts as Azure Egress?
- Azure Bandwidth Pricing Structure
- Hetzner Traffic Comparison
- Calculation Examples
- How to Reduce Azure Egress?
- Conclusion
What Counts as Azure Egress?
Azure distinguishes several traffic types. Here we focus on Internet Egress:
What counts:
- Virtual Machines to Internet
- Azure Blob Storage to Internet
- Azure SQL to external clients
- App Service to Internet
- Azure CDN Origin Pulls
What does NOT count (here):
- Intra-Region Traffic
- Traffic to ExpressRoute
- VNet Peering (separate pricing)
- Azure internal services
Azure Bandwidth Pricing Structure
Azure offers a clear price table with 100 GB/month free worldwide.
Internet Egress (Zone 1: North America, Europe)
| Volume per Month | Price per GB |
|---|---|
| First 100 GB | Free |
| Up to 10 TB | $0.087 |
| 10 TB – 50 TB | $0.083 |
| 50 TB – 150 TB | $0.07 |
| 150 TB – 500 TB | $0.05 |
| From 500 TB | Individual |
Source: Azure Bandwidth Pricing
Routing Preference
Azure offers two network options:
- Microsoft Global Network (Premium): Traffic via Microsoft's backbone – higher quality, standard prices
- ISP Network (Routing Preference): Traffic via local ISPs – slightly cheaper, variable quality
The prices above apply to the Premium Global Network.
Hetzner Traffic Comparison
Hetzner Cloud Server (EU)
| Volume | Price |
|---|---|
| 20 TB included | €0 |
| Each additional TB | €1.19/TB (~$1.30/TB) |
The Hetzner Principle
"We calculate monthly traffic only using outgoing traffic. We do not count incoming and internal traffic." – Hetzner Docs
Calculation Examples
Scenario 1: Small Web App (500 GB/month)
| Provider | Calculation | Cost/Month |
|---|---|---|
| Azure | 400 GB × $0.087 | $35 |
| Hetzner | Included | €0 |
Savings: 100%
Scenario 2: E-Commerce (5 TB/month)
| Provider | Calculation | Cost/Month |
|---|---|---|
| Azure | 100 GB free + 4,900 GB × $0.087 | $426 |
| Hetzner | Included | €0 |
Savings: 100%
Scenario 3: SaaS Platform (25 TB/month)
| Provider | Calculation | Cost/Month |
|---|---|---|
| Azure | 100 GB free + 10 TB × $0.087 + 15 TB × $0.083 | $2,115 |
| Hetzner | 5 TB overage × €1.19 | ~€6 |
Savings: 99.7%
Scenario 4: Video Streaming (100 TB/month)
| Provider | Calculation | Cost/Month |
|---|---|---|
| Azure | Tiered up to 100 TB | ~$7,415 |
| Hetzner | 80 TB overage × €1.19 | ~€95 |
Savings: 98.7%
How to Reduce Azure Egress?
If migration isn't (yet) possible:
1. Use Azure CDN
Azure CDN has cheaper egress rates for static content.
2. Check Routing Preference
ISP Network can be 5-10% cheaper than Premium Network.
3. Enable Compression
gzip/brotli for App Service and API Management.
4. Blob Storage Tiers
Cool/Archive tiers have different egress costs – check your workload.
5. Azure Front Door
For global applications, Front Door can be more efficient than direct VM access.
6. Migrate to Hetzner
For traffic-intensive workloads, the most effective solution.
Azure vs AWS Egress
Interestingly, Azure is marginally cheaper than AWS:
| Volume | AWS | Azure | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 TB | $920 | $891 | -3% |
| 50 TB | $4,165 | $4,015 | -4% |
| 100 TB | $7,750 | $7,415 | -4% |
Both remain 80-100x more expensive than Hetzner.
When is Migration Worth It?
Migration to Hetzner is particularly worthwhile for:
- >1 TB egress/month: Savings become significant from here
- No Azure-specific services: If primarily using VMs/SQL/Blob
- EU-focused users: Latency to DE data centers acceptable
- Predictable traffic: No extreme burst peaks
Conclusion
Azure bandwidth costs are comparable to AWS – both charge approximately $0.08-0.09/GB for internet egress. Hetzner offers a dramatically cheaper alternative with 20 TB included and €1.19/TB overage.
For companies with significant outbound traffic, switching from Azure to Hetzner can reduce traffic costs by 95-99%.
Next Steps
We analyze your Azure bill and show you specifically how much you can save through migration.
Request free Azure cost analysis now
Related Articles
- Public Internet Egress Costs: AWS vs Azure vs GCP vs Hetzner
- AWS Egress Fees vs Hetzner
- GCP Egress Fees vs Hetzner
FAQ
How much does 1 TB egress cost at Azure?
After the 100 GB free tier, 1 TB at Azure costs approximately $80 ($0.087 × 900 GB).
Is Azure cheaper than AWS for egress?
Marginally – about 3-4% cheaper. Both are however 80-100x more expensive than Hetzner.
What is "Routing Preference"?
Azure offers two network options: Premium (Microsoft backbone) and ISP (local providers). ISP is slightly cheaper but with variable quality.
Does the free tier apply per subscription?
The 100 GB apply per Azure account, aggregated across all services.
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