Azure Files

File shares that use the standard SMB 3.0 protocol

Updated on：2025/08/14

Azure Files offers serverless file shares, accessible via SMB, NFS and FileREST protocols. Azure file shares can be mounted concurrently by clients in Azure VMs or from on-premises workstations running Windows, macOS, and Linux. Additionally, Azure File Sync allows caching and synchronization of Azure File shares on Windows Servers for local access.

Pricing Details

Azure Files supports two different media tiers of storage, SSD and HDD, which allow you to tailor your file shares to the performance and price requirements of your scenario:

  • SSD (“premium”): File shares hosted on solid-state drives (SSDs) provide consistent high performance and low latency, within single-digit milliseconds for most IO operations.
  • HDD (“standard”): File shares hosted on hard disk drives (HDDs) provide cost-effective storage for general purpose use.

Azure Files has multiple pricing models including provisioned and pay-as-you-go options. The following sections detail the specifics of each model to help you make a choice about which model works best for your scenario.



Provisioned v2

In a provisioned model, the primary costs of the Azure file share are based on the amount of storage, IOPS, and throughput you provision when you create or update your file share, regardless of how much you use. With the provisioned v2 billing model, you have the ability to separately provision storage, IOPS, and throughput, although we will recommend IOPS and throughput provisioning to you based on the amount of provisioned storage you select. We recommend provisioned v2 file shares for all new Azure Files deployments. For more information on the provisioned v2 billing model, see the provisioned v2 billing model.

Quantity SSD Price
Provisioned storage
The maximum storage size of the file share, specified in GiB. You are charged for the storage you’ve provision regardless of what you use. Provisioned storage can be changed after share creation. 		￥0.001392 per provisioned GiB per month
Provisioned IOPS
The maximum IOPS, or transactions per second, of the file share. You are charged for the IOPS you’ve provisioned regardless of how many IOs you use. Provisioned IOPS can be changed after share creation. 		￥0.000378 per provisioned IO per sec per month

First 3000 IOPS at no additional cost
Provisioned throughput
The maximum amount of data that can be transferred per second of the file share. You are charged for the throughput you’ve provisioned regardless of what you use. Provisioned throughput can be changed after share creation. 		￥0.000546 per provisioned MiB per sec per month

First 3000 IOPS at no additional cost
Overflow snapshot used storage
In the provisioned v2 billing model, snapshot usage that fits within the provisioned storage of the share is free. Any additional snapshot storage that doesn’t fit within the provisioned storage of the share is charged with a usage-based charge per GiB. All snapshots are differential from the live file share and from each other. 		￥0.001392 per used GiB per month
Soft-deleted used storage
When a file share is soft-deleted, the used portion of the storage is charged for the indicated soft-deleted period. All other meters are not charged unless the share is restored. 		￥0.001392 per used GiB per month
Provisioned v2 file shares are billed hourly at an hourly rate.
Monthly prices shown in the table above are based on a 744-hour month.

Provisioned v1

In a provisioned model, the primary costs of the Azure file share are based on the amount of storage, IOPS, and throughput you provision when you create or update your file share, regardless of how much you use. In the provisioned v1 billing model, there is one provisioned quantity for which you will pay for your file share: provisioned storage. When you create your file share, the provisioned IOPS and throughput available on your share are determined based on the amount of storage you provision. If you need more IOPS or throughput, you’ll need to provision additional storage. The provisioned v1 model is only available for SSD file shares. We recommend using the provisioned v2 billing model for new SSD file share deployments. For more information on the provisioned v1 billing model, see understanding the provisioned v1 billing model .

Quantity LRS Price ZRS Price
Provisioned storage
The maximum storage size of the file share, specified in GiB. You are charged for the storage you’ve provision regardless of what you use. The provisioned IOPS and provisioned throughput capacity of the share is dependent on the amount of storage provisioned. Provisioning can be changed after share creation. 		￥1.626 per provisioned GiB per month ￥2.034 per provisioned GiB per month
Snapshot used storage
In the provisioned v1 billing model, all snapshots are billed on a usage-based charge per GiB. All snapshots are differential from the live file share and from each other. 		￥1.386 per used GiB per month ￥1.728 per used GiB per month
Paid bursting transactions
Paid bursting is an advanced feature of the provisioned v1 model that can optionally be enabled to support usage-based billing whenever the IOPS go over the provisioned amount. Provisioned v1 also supports credit-based bursting for IOPS based on the amount of storage provisioned. 		￥5.088 per 1M transactions per month ￥6.36 per 1M transactions per month


Pay-as-you-go

Explore storage options

TIER DESCRIPTION
Premium Premium file shares enable highly I/O-intensive workloads, with high throughput and low latency. Premium file shares are offered on high-performance solid-state drive (SSD) based storage.
Transaction optimized Transaction optimized file shares enable transaction heavy workloads that don’t need the latency offered by premium file shares with consistent latency. Transaction optimized file shares are a great fit for applications that require file storage or for backend storage.
Hot Hot file shares offer storage optimized for general purpose file sharing scenarios such as team shares and Azure File Sync.
Cool Cool file shares offer cost-efficient storage optimized for online archive storage scenarios. Azure File Sync may also be a good fit for lower churn workloads.

Premium file shares are available through the FileStorage storage account type. Pricing for premium files shares is based on provisioned GiB, and includes all transaction costs. You can configure your premium shares based on your storage size, IOPS, and throughput requirements. To learn more, see understanding provisioning of the premium file shares .

Standard file shares are available in general purpose storage accounts. General purpose v2 storage accounts offer the latest Azure Files features, including hot and cool tiers and are recommended for all users. Transaction optimized file shares are available in both general purpose v1 and v2 storage accounts. Pricing for standard file shares is based on usage, such that base storage and transaction costs are billed separately.

Data Storage Pricing

Below are prices for storing data in Azure file share, shown as monthly charges per GiB of data stored. These prices vary based on the redundancy option that you select.

*The following prices are tax-inclusive.

LRS

HOT** COOL**
Data at-rest (GiB/month)
Per GiB storage costs for a file’s data stream. 		￥ 0.250796 per used GiB ￥ 0.147616 per used GiB
Metadata at-rest (GiB/month)
The cost of file system metadata associated with files and directories such as access control lists (ACLs) or other properties. 		￥ 0.3978 ￥ 0.3978

LRS

PREMIUM TRANSACTION OPTIMIZED HOT** COOL**
Data at-rest (GiB/month)
Per GiB storage costs for a file’s data stream. 		￥ 1.626 per provisioned GiB* ￥ 0.612 per used GiB ￥ 0.19292 per used GiB ￥ 0.11355 per used GiB
Snapshots (GiB/month)
Snapshot pricing covers additional storage cost of differential snapshots. 		￥ 1.728 per used GiB ￥ 0.612 per used GiB ￥ 0.19292 per used GiB ￥ 0.11355 per used GiB
Metadata at-rest (GiB/month)
The cost of file system metadata associated with files and directories such as access control lists (ACLs) or other properties. 		Included Included ￥ 0.306 ￥ 0.306

LRS

PREMIUM TRANSACTION OPTIMIZED HOT** COOL**
Data at-rest (GiB/month)
Per GiB storage costs for a file’s data stream. 		￥ 1.626 per provisioned GiB* ￥ 0.612 per used GiB ￥ 0.224 per used GiB ￥ 0.1649 per used GiB
Snapshots (GiB/month)
Snapshot pricing covers additional storage cost of differential snapshots. 		￥ 1.386 per used GiB ￥ 0.612 per used GiB ￥ 0.224 per used GiB ￥ 0.1649 per used GiB
Metadata at-rest (GiB/month)
The cost of file system metadata associated with files and directories such as access control lists (ACLs) or other properties. 		Included Included ￥ 0.167 ￥ 0.167

LRS

PREMIUM TRANSACTION OPTIMIZED HOT** COOL**
Data at-rest (GiB/month)
Per GiB storage costs for a file’s data stream. 		N/A* ￥ 1.4 per used GiB ￥ 0.224 per used GiB ￥ 0.1649 per used GiB
Snapshots (GiB/month)
Snapshot pricing covers additional storage cost of differential snapshots. 		N/A* ￥ 1.4 per used GiB ￥ 0.224 per used GiB ￥ 0.1649 per used GiB
Metadata at-rest (GiB/month)
The cost of file system metadata associated with files and directories such as access control lists (ACLs) or other properties. 		Included Included ￥ 0.167 ￥ 0.167

GRS

HOT** COOL**
Data at-rest (GiB/month)
Per GiB storage costs for a file’s data stream. 		￥ 0.443716 per used GiB ￥ 0.261166 per used GiB
Metadata at-rest (GiB/month)
The cost of file system metadata associated with files and directories such as access control lists (ACLs) or other properties. 		￥ 0.7038 ￥ 0.7038

GRS

PREMIUM TRANSACTION OPTIMIZED HOT** COOL**
Data at-rest (GiB/month)
Per GiB storage costs for a file’s data stream. 		N/A* ￥1.7501 per used GiB ￥ 0.443716 per used GiB ￥ 0.261166 per used GiB
Snapshots (GiB/month)
Snapshot pricing covers additional storage cost of differential snapshots. 		N/A* ￥ 1.7501 per used GiB ￥ 0.443716 per used GiB ￥ 0. 261166 per used GiB
Metadata at-rest (GiB/month)
The cost of file system metadata associated with files and directories such as access control lists (ACLs) or other properties. 		Included Included ￥ 0.7038 ￥ 0.7038

GRS

PREMIUM TRANSACTION OPTIMIZED HOT** COOL**
Data at-rest (GiB/month)
Per GiB storage costs for a file’s data stream. 		N/A* ￥ 0.762 per used GiB ￥ 0.4469 per used GiB ￥ 0.33 per used GiB
Snapshots (GiB/month)
Snapshot pricing covers additional storage cost of differential snapshots. 		N/A* ￥ 0.762 per used GiB ￥ 0.4469 per used GiB ￥ 0.33 per used GiB
Metadata at-rest (GiB/month)
The cost of file system metadata associated with files and directories such as access control lists (ACLs) or other properties. 		Included Included ￥ 0.3339 ￥ 0.3339

GRS

PREMIUM TRANSACTION OPTIMIZED HOT** COOL**
Data at-rest (GiB/month)
Per GiB storage costs for a file’s data stream. 		N/A* ￥ 1.75 per used GiB ￥ 0.4469 per used GiB ￥ 0.33 per used GiB
Snapshots (GiB/month)
Snapshot pricing covers additional storage cost of differential snapshots. 		N/A* ￥ 1.75 per used GiB ￥ 0.4469 per used GiB ￥ 0.33 per used GiB
Metadata at-rest (GiB/month)
The cost of file system metadata associated with files and directories such as access control lists (ACLs) or other properties. 		Included Included ￥ 0.3339 ￥ 0.3339

ZRS

TRANSACTION OPTIMIZED HOT** COOL**
Data at-rest (GiB/month)
Per GiB storage costs for a file’s data stream. 		N/A* N/A* N/A*
Snapshots (GiB/month)
Snapshot pricing covers additional storage cost of differential snapshots. 		N/A* N/A* N/A*
Metadata at-rest (GiB/month)
The cost of file system metadata associated with files and directories such as access control lists (ACLs) or other properties. 		Included N/A* N/A*

ZRS

PREMIUM TRANSACTION OPTIMIZED HOT** COOL**
Data at-rest (GiB/month)
Per GiB storage costs for a file’s data stream. 		￥ 2 per provisioned GiB* ￥ 0.76 per used GiB ￥ 0.24 per used GiB ￥ 0.14 per used GiB
Snapshots (GiB/month)
Snapshot pricing covers additional storage cost of differential snapshots. 		￥ 2 per provisioned GiB* ￥ 0.76 per used GiB ￥ 0.37 per used GiB ￥ 0.29 per used GiB
Metadata at-rest (GiB/month)
The cost of file system metadata associated with files and directories such as access control lists (ACLs) or other properties. 		Included Included ￥ 0.377 ￥ 0.377

RA-GRS

PREMIUM TRANSACTION OPTIMIZED HOT** COOL**
Data at-rest (GiB/month)
Per GiB storage costs for a file’s data stream. 		N/A* ￥ 0.99 per used GiB N/A* N/A*
Snapshots (GiB/month)
Snapshot pricing covers additional storage cost of differential snapshots. 		N/A* ￥ 0.99 per used GiB N/A* N/A*
Metadata at-rest (GiB/month)
The cost of file system metadata associated with files and directories such as access control lists (ACLs) or other properties. 		Included Included N/A* N/A*
** The hot and cool tiers are currently available in a limited subset of regions. Please see Hot/Cool region availability for more information.
Soft-deleted file shares are always billed based on used rather than provisioned GiB. Soft-deleted standard file shares are billed at the same rate as live shares. Soft-deleted premium file shares are billed at the snapshot rate. Learn more about soft delete.
Note: Data storage pricing is billed by transaction optimized tier on default. Please refer to support document if you would like to change the tier. For any inquires, please feel free to contact 21Vianet Customer Service Support.

RA-GRS

PREMIUM TRANSACTION OPTIMIZED HOT** COOL**
Data at-rest (GiB/month)
Per GiB storage costs for a file’s data stream. 		N/A* ￥ 2.2714 per used GiB N/A* N/A*
Snapshots (GiB/month)
Snapshot pricing covers additional storage cost of differential snapshots. 		N/A* ￥ 2.2714 per used GiB N/A* N/A*
Metadata at-rest (GiB/month)
The cost of file system metadata associated with files and directories such as access control lists (ACLs) or other properties. 		Included Included N/A* N/A*
* Provisioned size of a premium file share is specified by quota on the shares. If you decrease the provisioned shares size below the used GiB, you will be billed for the used GiB on premium shares. To learn more, see understanding provisioning of the premium file shares.
** The hot and cool tiers are currently available in a limited subset of regions. Please see Hot/Cool region availability for more information.
Soft-deleted file shares are always billed based on used rather than provisioned GiB. Soft-deleted standard file shares are billed at the same rate as live shares. Soft-deleted premium file shares are billed at the snapshot rate. Learn more about soft delete.
Note: Data storage pricing is billed by transaction optimized tier on default. Please refer to support document if you would like to change the tier. For any inquires, please feel free to contact 21Vianet Customer Service Support.

GZRS

PREMIUM TRANSACTION OPTIMIZED HOT** COOL**
Data at-rest (GiB/month)
Per GiB storage costs for a file’s data stream. 		NA ￥ 1.37 per used GiB ￥ 0.66 per used GiB ￥ 0.52 per used GiB
Snapshots (GiB/month)
Snapshot pricing covers additional storage cost of differential snapshots. 		NA ￥ 1.37 per used GiB ￥ 0.66 per used GiB ￥ 0.52 per used GiB
Metadata at-rest (GiB/month)
The cost of file system metadata associated with files and directories such as access control lists (ACLs) or other properties. 		Included Included ￥ 0.68 ￥ 0.68

Transactions and data transfer prices

For both SMB and REST operations, transaction costs are incurred against your Azure file share, covering operations such as enumerating a directory or reading a file. These prices vary based on the redundancy option you select.

TRANSACTION OPTIMIZED HOT COOL
LRS GRS LRS GRS LRS GRS
Write transactions (per 10,000)
Write transactions are any operations which modify a file’s data stream. This category also includes file handle operations. 		¥0.10 ¥0.20 ¥0.055809 ¥0.128361 ¥0.675895 ¥1.554559
List transactions (per 10,000)
List transactions are any operations which enumerate parts of the file share, such as listing files and directories within a share. 		¥0.10 ¥0.10 ¥0.055809 ¥0.128361 ¥0.055809 ¥0.128361
Read transactions (per 10,000)
Read transactions are any operations which read from a file’s data stream. 		¥0.01 ¥0.01 ¥0.018603 ¥0.018603 ¥0.067522 ¥0.067522
All other operations (per 10,000)
Any other operations associated with Azure Files (share, snapshot, directory, etc.), except for delete operations which are free. 		¥0.01 ¥0.01 ¥0.018603 ¥0.018603 ¥0.018603 ¥0.018603
Data retrieval (per GiB)
Data retrieval is a special charge which applies only to retrieving data from cool storage. 		N/A N/A N/A N/A ¥0.087779 ¥0.087779
Early deletion (per GiB)
Early deletion charge is a special charge which applies only to deleting data from cool storage within 30 days of initial creation. There is no charge for deleting files older than 30 days. 		N/A N/A N/A N/A ¥0.165 ¥0.33

TRANSACTION OPTIMIZED HOT COOL
ZRS GZRS ZRS GZRS ZRS GZRS
Write transactions (per 10,000)
Write transactions are any operations which modify a file’s data stream. This category also includes file handle operations. 		¥0.19 ¥0.34 ¥0.07 ¥1.55 ¥0.84 ¥2.64
List transactions (per 10,000)
List transactions are any operations which enumerate parts of the file share, such as listing files and directories within a share. 		¥0.15 ¥0.3 ¥0.07 ¥1.55 ¥0.07 ¥1.55
Read transactions (per 10,000)
Read transactions are any operations which read from a file’s data stream. 		¥0.015 ¥0.015 ¥0.0186 ¥0.0186 ¥0.068 ¥0.068
All other operations (per 10,000)
Any other operations associated with Azure Files (share, snapshot, directory, etc.), except for delete operations which are free. 		NA NA ¥0.0186 ¥0.11 ¥0.0186 ¥0.11
Data retrieval (per GiB)
Data retrieval is a special charge which applies only to retrieving data from cool storage. 		N/A N/A N/A N/A ¥0.088 ¥0.2
Early deletion (per GiB)
Early deletion charge is a special charge which applies only to deleting data from cool storage within 30 days of initial creation. There is no charge for deleting files older than 30 days. 		N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
TRANSACTION OPTIMIZED HOT COOL
ZRS GZRS ZRS GZRS ZRS GZRS
Write transactions (per 10,000)
Write transactions are any operations which modify a file’s data stream. This category also includes file handle operations. 		N/A ¥0.34 N/A ¥1.55 N/A ¥2.64
List transactions (per 10,000)
List transactions are any operations which enumerate parts of the file share, such as listing files and directories within a share. 		N/A ¥0.3 N/A ¥1.55 N/A ¥1.55
Read transactions (per 10,000)
Read transactions are any operations which read from a file’s data stream. 		N/A ¥0.015 N/A ¥0.0186 N/A ¥0.068
All other operations (per 10,000)
Any other operations associated with Azure Files (share, snapshot, directory, etc.), except for delete operations which are free. 		NA NA N/A ¥0.11 N/A ¥0.11
Data retrieval (per GiB)
Data retrieval is a special charge which applies only to retrieving data from cool storage. 		N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A ¥0.2
Early deletion (per GiB)
Early deletion charge is a special charge which applies only to deleting data from cool storage within 30 days of initial creation. There is no charge for deleting files older than 30 days. 		N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
PREMIUM TRANSACTION OPTIMIZED HOT COOL
GRS LRS GRS LRS GRS LRS GRS LRS
Write transactions (per 10,000)
Write transactions are any operations which modify a file’s data stream. This category also includes file handle operations. 		N/A N/A ¥0.20 ¥0.10 ¥0.118 ¥0.059 ¥0.234 ¥0.117
List transactions (per 10,000)
List transactions are any operations which enumerate parts of the file share, such as listing files and directories within a share. 		N/A N/A ¥0.10 ¥0.10 ¥0.118 ¥0.059 ¥0.153 ¥0.117
Read transactions (per 10,000)
Read transactions are any operations which read from a file’s data stream. 		N/A N/A ¥0.01 ¥0.01 ¥0.195 ¥0.195 ¥0.39 ¥0.39
All other operations (per 10,000)
Any other operations associated with Azure Files (share, snapshot, directory, etc.), except for delete operations which are free. 		N/A N/A ¥0.01 ¥0.01 ¥0.195 ¥0.195 ¥0.39 ¥0.39
Data retrieval (per GiB)
Data retrieval is a special charge which applies only to retrieving data from cool storage. 		N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A ¥0.066 ¥0.066
Prices marked as N/A indicate that the redundancy option is not available in the selected region. Note: File operations that result in data transfer outside of an Azure datacenter will incur additional outbound data transfer charges.

File Sync Prices

These are the costs of syncing your files from Windows servers to Azure file shares in the cloud. Learn more about Azure File Sync.

The total cost of Azure File Sync services is determined by the number of servers that connect to the cloud endpoint (Azure file share) plus the underlying costs of Azure Files (including storage and access costs) and outbound data transfer.

Below is the fixed monthly fee per server.

PRICE PER MONTH
Sync Server* ¥50.86
*One sync server free per storage sync service. Sync uses file operations to sync your data to the cloud and other servers, and you will be billed for any operations that are generated in the sync process. The number of file operations generated and the access costs scale with the number of file changes on the server and the number of servers that need to be kept in sync.

FAQ

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Support & SLA

If you have any questions or need help, please visit Azure Support and select self-help service or any other method to contact us for support.

We guarantee that we can successfully process data reading requests from an offsite redundant storage (RA-GRS) account at least 99.99% of the time (99.9% for the Cold Access Layer), provided that we will retry in the secondary zone from the data writing failure from the primary zone.

We guarantee that we can successfully process data reading from local redundant storage (LRS) and offsite redundant storage (GRS) accounts at least 99.9% of the time (99% for the Cold Access Layer)

We guarantee that we can successfully process data writing requests into onsite redundant storage (LRS) and geo-redundant storage (GRS) accounts and read and access geo-redundant storage (RA-GRS) accounts at least 99.9% of the time (99% for the Cold Access Layer).

To learn more about the details of our Service Level Agreement, please visit the Service Level Agreements page.

The Managed Disk itself doesn’t provide a Service Level Agreement with financial support. The availability of a Managed Disk depends on the Service Level Agreement governing the basic storage used and the Virtual Machine it’s attached to. To learn more about the details of the Service Level Agreement of the Managed Disk, please visit the Managed Disk Service Level Agreements page.