Azure migrations have a different cost shape than AWS migrations. Compute pricing is broadly comparable on like-for-like SKUs, but Azure Hybrid Benefit is the single line item that frequently makes Azure the cheaper destination for any estate built around Windows Server, SQL Server, or System Center. For Microsoft-heavy shops the Hybrid Benefit saving is so material that it changes the destination decision before the assessment finishes. This page is the cost reference for that decision.
The Azure 7Rs framework mirrors the AWS framework, with one practical difference. Replatform on Azure often means a database SKU change from SQL Server on a VM to Azure SQL Managed Instance, which is more cost-effective than the equivalent move on AWS because Azure SQL MI accepts Hybrid Benefit licences directly. The blended cost for a 60-30-10 rehost, replatform, retire mix on Azure typically lands at $11,500 to $13,500 per workload before egress and dual-running, which is roughly 8 percent lower than the same blend on AWS.
Per-workload Azure migration cost by strategy
| Strategy | Per workload (low) | Per workload (typical) | Per workload (high) | Timeline per workload |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rehost (lift-and-shift to Azure VMs) | $2,800 | $5,200 | $7,800 | 2 to 4 weeks |
| Replatform (Azure SQL MI, App Service) | $7,500 | $14,500 | $22,000 | 4 to 10 weeks |
| Refactor (Azure Functions, AKS) | $22,000 | $48,000 | $78,000 | 12 to 48 weeks |
| Repurchase (Dynamics, Microsoft 365) | $10,000 | $32,000 | $140,000 | 8 to 26 weeks |
| Relocate (Azure VMware Solution) | $4,500 | $8,500 | $14,000 | 2 to 8 weeks |
Microsoft Software Assurance customers can reuse existing Windows Server and SQL Server licences on Azure compute via Azure Hybrid Benefit. The mechanics are straightforward: when provisioning a VM, the customer opts to bring their own licence and Azure charges the base-compute rate (no Windows licence component). The saving is meaningful. Microsoft publishes the headline figure on the Azure Hybrid Benefit pricing page as up to 40 percent on Windows Server compute and up to 55 percent on SQL Server when paired with reserved capacity.
On a 100-server Windows Standard estate running predominantly D-series and E-series VMs, the Hybrid Benefit saving over three years is roughly $155,000 on compute. Add SQL Server licences across 20 database VMs and the saving jumps to roughly $400,000 over three years. That is real cash recovered from licences customers have already paid for, often years ago, and the cost saving sits permanently in the run-rate. AWS does not offer a directly comparable benefit. AWS does allow BYOL for Windows on EC2 Dedicated Hosts but the dedicated host minimum erodes much of the licence saving, especially at fractional-host scale.
When Hybrid Benefit changes the destination
Azure Migrate is a hub portal that orchestrates discovery, assessment, and migration. The discovery appliance (a virtual appliance deployed in the on-premise environment) inventories servers, databases, web apps, and virtual desktops. The assessment generates right-sizing recommendations and a target Azure cost estimate that incorporates Hybrid Benefit, reserved instances, and Azure Savings Plans. The migration tooling within Azure Migrate covers Server Migration (replication-based, similar to AWS MGN), Database Migration (using Azure DMS), and Web App Migration assistants for IIS-hosted ASP.NET applications.
The toolchain itself is free, but the migration produces downstream cost. Azure Site Recovery, which powers the replication during Server Migration, charges per protected instance per month after a free trial period; the rate is on the Azure Site Recovery pricing page. Replication storage in the target region accumulates during the parallel-run window. Azure Database Migration Service has both standard (free) and premium tiers; the premium tier is needed for online migrations of larger databases and is billed per vCore-hour.
FastTrack for Azure is a Microsoft-funded customer success programme that provides design and implementation guidance directly from Microsoft engineering teams. It is free for eligible customers, but it has clear scope limits. FastTrack covers landing zone design, identity and governance foundations, one to three pilot workload migrations, and platform optimisation guidance. It does not cover the bulk of partner-led migration labour, ongoing programme management, or refactor scope.
The economics for a mid-market customer typically run as follows. FastTrack covers $60K to $120K of equivalent paid Microsoft consulting effort during the foundation phase. A partner then takes on the bulk of the migration labour, with Azure Migration and Modernization Program (AMMP) funding offsetting 25 to 50 percent of the partner cost depending on the committed Azure consumption ramp. The combined funding stack often makes the first six months of an Azure migration substantially cheaper than the AWS MAP equivalent for comparable scope, because the foundation phase is partially Microsoft-funded.
ExpressRoute provides a private connection between on-premise networks and Azure, with guaranteed bandwidth and bypass of the public internet. For pure migration data movement ExpressRoute is rarely cost-justified. Azure Data Box devices (the equivalent of AWS Snowball) handle bulk seed; Azure Migrate replication handles incremental delta over the public internet. A 100 Mbps ExpressRoute circuit at the Metered tier costs roughly $300 per month on the standard SKU, plus per-GB egress on top.
ExpressRoute earns its keep in the parallel-running window. Many workloads in flight have dependencies on on-premise services that have not yet migrated (Active Directory, internal DNS, file shares, legacy ERPs). Running those dependencies across public internet adds latency that breaks user experience. ExpressRoute removes that constraint for the duration of the cutover. After the on-premise estate decommissions, ExpressRoute frequently downsizes to a smaller circuit used only for occasional restore or for hybrid SaaS integrations that remain on-premise.
A representative cost build for a 100-server Windows-heavy migration to Azure with a 12-month programme, mixed strategy (60 percent rehost, 30 percent replatform to Azure SQL MI, 10 percent retire), 20 TB of data, two Azure Data Box devices for bulk seed, and Hybrid Benefit applied throughout.
Worked Azure migration cost build, 100 servers, 20 TB, 12 months, Windows-heavy
| Cost line | Low estimate | Typical estimate | High estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment and planning (Azure Migrate + partner) | $40,000 | $70,000 | $130,000 |
| Migration labour, 90 workloads, blended | $600,000 | $1,160,000 | $2,100,000 |
| Tooling (Azure Site Recovery, DMS premium) | $22,000 | $50,000 | $110,000 |
| Azure Data Box (2 devices, 4 weeks total) | $8,000 | $15,000 | $25,000 |
| ExpressRoute (12 months, 200 Mbps Metered) | $15,000 | $28,000 | $60,000 |
| Parallel running (5 months, blended) | $320,000 | $700,000 | $1,200,000 |
| Cutover and downtime contingency | $50,000 | $110,000 | $320,000 |
| Azure Premier Support (12 months) | $110,000 | $170,000 | $220,000 |
| Staff retraining (8 engineers) | $22,000 | $42,000 | $75,000 |
| Security rework (Entra ID, network, encryption) | $45,000 | $110,000 | $260,000 |
| Contingency at 15 percent | $185,000 | $370,000 | $680,000 |
| FastTrack value (Microsoft-funded) | ($60,000) | ($90,000) | ($120,000) |
| AMMP partner funding | ($250,000) | ($380,000) | ($600,000) |
| Net total estimate | $1,107,000 | $2,355,000 | $4,460,000 |
The typical-column number, $2.36M, is roughly 14 percent lower than the AWS equivalent in the worked AWS scenario on the sister page. Two factors drive the gap. First, Azure Hybrid Benefit reduces ongoing compute cost throughout the parallel-running window. Second, AMMP and FastTrack together typically offset more migration labour than AWS MAP at this scope. The gap narrows or inverts on AWS-native or open-source heavy estates where Hybrid Benefit does not apply.
Microsoft 365 and Azure share an identity foundation (Microsoft Entra ID, formerly Azure AD). Customers already on Microsoft 365 typically have Entra ID provisioned and the workload migration only requires application registration, service principal setup, and conditional access policy alignment. Customers migrating from on-premise Active Directory without an existing Microsoft 365 tenant have to build the identity foundation as part of the migration. Entra Connect synchronisation, hybrid identity, federation (where required), and legacy Kerberos to OAuth migration for line-of-business applications can add $80K to $250K of identity rework, separately from the workload migration itself.
Azure migration cost is not a fundamentally different problem from AWS migration cost. The line items are the same; the levers are slightly different. Hybrid Benefit and AMMP together shift the destination economics meaningfully for Microsoft-heavy estates. For open-source or AWS-native estates the comparison narrows. As ever, the most expensive part of the migration is the parallel-running window. The discipline of compressing that window pays for itself many times over regardless of destination.
A. Mid-market scope (100 servers, 20 TB, 12 month timeline) typically lands at $1.4M to $2.7M all-in. Azure tends to come in 5 to 10 percent cheaper than AWS for the same workload set when Azure Hybrid Benefit applies, which is most Windows or SQL Server estates with Software Assurance. Without Hybrid Benefit the comparison flips back toward parity with AWS.
A. Azure Hybrid Benefit lets customers with eligible Windows Server or SQL Server licences with Software Assurance use those licences on Azure compute instead of paying the licence-included rate. Microsoft publishes the saving as up to 40 percent on Windows Server and up to 55 percent on SQL Server compared with pay-as-you-go. For a 100-server Windows estate at typical SKU sizes, Hybrid Benefit saves roughly $155,000 over a three-year horizon on compute alone, before any database SKU savings.
A. FastTrack for Azure is free guidance for eligible customers, delivered by Microsoft engineers, focused on the design and adoption phases. It does not pay for partner consulting labour and does not cover full implementation. For mid-market customers, FastTrack handles landing zone design, identity foundation, and one to three workload migration plans. Above that scope a paid partner-led migration is still required, often with a separate Azure Migration and Modernization Program (AMMP) funding application.
A. Not for the initial bulk seed; an ExpressRoute circuit is rarely cost-justified just for the migration. ExpressRoute starts at roughly $300 per month for a 50 Mbps Metered circuit and scales up. For migration data movement the Azure Data Box family handles bulk seed and Azure Migrate Server Migration handles incremental delta over the public internet using Azure-managed replication. ExpressRoute earns its keep after migration as a permanent low-latency connection back to the on-premise estate during the parallel run.
A. Azure Migrate is Microsoft's free discovery, assessment, and migration toolchain. The hub portal, server discovery appliance, dependency mapping, and right-sizing recommendations are all free. The costs that arrive with Azure Migrate are downstream: Azure Site Recovery replication storage during migration, Database Migration Service for SQL Server, and the target compute and storage cost once workloads land.
A. Small Windows-shop migrations of 5 to 20 servers complete in 2 to 4 months. Mid-market migrations of 50 to 200 servers typically take 6 to 15 months. Enterprise migrations of 500 servers or more run 18 to 30 months when delivered with an Azure Expert MSP. Azure migrations frequently land 5 to 15 percent faster than equivalent AWS migrations for Microsoft-heavy estates because Active Directory federation, SQL Server engine compatibility, and Windows licensing all align with Azure-native services.
Azure migration cost calculator ->
Hybrid Benefit, FastTrack, Expert MSP
On-prem to AWS ->
MAP credits, EC2 BYOL trap, Snowball
On-prem to GCP ->
Sustained-use discount, BigQuery
AWS to Azure ->
Egress, IAM rework, re-architecture
Azure Migrate cost ->
Free tool, not-free components
SQL Server to AWS RDS ->
Licensing, DMS, BYOL trap
Exchange to M365 ->
Per-mailbox, cutover vs hybrid
SharePoint to SP Online ->
Per-site collection cost
10 hidden costs ->
Detailed playbook
Updated 2 May 2026