Billing for LRS blob storage

Question

Billing for LRS blob storage

Nicholas Tham 20

My data is stored in LRS Cold storage. Why are there charges for non-cold storage data??

Nicholas Tham 20 Reputation points

2026-04-27T14:37:39.2166667+00:00

I know Azure LRS Cold storage should be @ $0.0036 per GB/per months. We are using $32.4 TB of storage. The cost should be less than $4.00 per day instead of $30.00 per day. This does not make sense.
Siva shunmugam Nadessin 10,905 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-05-07T04:36:37.87+00:00
Hello Nicholas Tham,

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Q&A forum.

When investigated you it looks like you’re only looking at the $0.0036/GB-month for LRS Cold storage and missing the other meters that Azure bills you for. Along with the raw capacity charge, you’re also charged for things like:

Data retrieval (per GB) when you read or list cold blobs

Operations (per 10 000 transactions) for every REST/API call

Early-delete penalty if you move or delete blobs before the 180-day minimum retention

Index/metadata storage (if you have a hierarchical namespace)

Snapshots or versions you’ve created

Any data transfers (if copying between regions)

All of those can quickly add up and explain why you’re seeing ~$30/day instead of ~$4/day. Here’s what you can do:

Break down your actual charges

In the Azure portal go to Cost Management + Billing → Cost analysis.

Filter on your Storage Account and then Group by “Meter” or “Service name.”

You’ll see separate line items for Data Storage, Data Retrieval, Transactions, Early Delete, etc.

Download your daily usage details

Under Cost Management + Billing, choose “Download usage” to get a CSV with every meter and its usage.

Look for cold-tier retrieval GB and transaction counts.

Estimate costs up front

Use the Azure Pricing Calculator, pick your storage account type, set the access tier to Cold, then add estimated monthly reads and transactions to see a closer estimate.

Optimize if needed

Avoid unintentional reads (for example, container listings or blob index scans).

Check any lifecycle policies that might be tier-changing or deleting blobs before 180 days.

Consider reserving capacity if your data volume is steady.

Let me know if any further queries - feel free to reach out!

Reference docs

• Understand billing model for Azure Blob Storage: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/storage/common/storage-plan-manage-costs#understand-the-full-billing-model-for-azure-blob-storage

• Estimate storage costs with Azure pricing calculator: https://azure.microsoft.com/pricing/calculator/

• Download Azure daily usage and charges: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/cost-management-billing/understand/download-azure-daily-usage

• Optimize costs for Blob Storage: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/storage/common/storage-plan-manage-costs#optimize-the-costs-for-azure-storage
Siva shunmugam Nadessin 10,905 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-05-08T02:57:57.2966667+00:00

Hello Nicholas Tham,

Just checking in to see if the solution shared above help you to resolve your issue. please reach out to us If you have any further questions.

Thanks
Nicholas Tham 20 Reputation points

2026-05-08T11:03:44.98+00:00

Yes, I am still seeing high daily charges for LRS Storage. I confirmed with Azure Storage support that all of my data is in LRS Cold tier yet I am still seeing charges for regular LRS storage?
Siva shunmugam Nadessin 10,905 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-05-15T06:39:32.02+00:00

Hello Nicholas Tham,

For queries related to payment or billing create a service request they will contact you via email or call to resolve it. below are the steps.

Click link Contact Microsoft Support to navigate to support ticket page.

Reference Document:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-portal/supportability/how-to-create-azure-support-request

1 answer

Your answer

Nicholas Tham 20 Reputation points

2026-04-27T14:37:39.2166667+00:00

I know Azure LRS Cold storage should be @ $0.0036 per GB/per months. We are using $32.4 TB of storage. The cost should be less than $4.00 per day instead of $30.00 per day. This does not make sense.
Siva shunmugam Nadessin 10,905 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-05-08T02:57:57.2966667+00:00

Hello Nicholas Tham,

Just checking in to see if the solution shared above help you to resolve your issue. please reach out to us If you have any further questions.

Thanks
Nicholas Tham 20 Reputation points

2026-05-08T11:03:44.98+00:00

Yes, I am still seeing high daily charges for LRS Storage. I confirmed with Azure Storage support that all of my data is in LRS Cold tier yet I am still seeing charges for regular LRS storage?
Siva shunmugam Nadessin 10,905 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-05-15T06:39:32.02+00:00

Hello Nicholas Tham,

For queries related to payment or billing create a service request they will contact you via email or call to resolve it. below are the steps.

Click link Contact Microsoft Support to navigate to support ticket page.

Reference Document:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-portal/supportability/how-to-create-azure-support-request

Answer 1

Cold tier billing can legitimately include several additional charge types beyond just “cold storage capacity,” which is why non‑cold meters appear on the bill.

Key reasons:

Operations are billed per tier involved
- When data in cold is read, written, or copied, operations are charged at the rate of the tier where the operation occurs.
- For example, copying a blob from cold to hot is billed as:
  - A read operation on the cold tier (source).
  - A write operation on the hot tier (destination).
- These show up as separate meters for hot and cold, even though the original data is “in cold.”
Data retrieval and access charges
- Cold storage has data retrieval fees per GB and read operation charges that are higher than hot tier.
- If data is temporarily moved or copied to hot for analysis or download, the hot tier read operations and data retrieval meters will appear on the bill.
- Sample prices show distinct meters for write/read operations and data retrieval per tier, including hot, cool, cold, and archive.
Tier changes and early deletion penalties
- Changing a blob’s access tier (for example, from cold to hot or cool) is billed immediately at the new tier’s rate and incurs tier change charges.
- Moving a blob to a cooler tier is billed as a write operation to the destination tier.
- If blobs are deleted, overwritten, or moved to a different tier before the cold tier’s minimum recommended retention (90 days on GPv2 accounts), a prorated early deletion fee is charged based on that tier’s storage price.
- These fees can appear as separate line items that don’t look like simple “cold storage GB” charges.
Versioning and snapshots
- If blob versioning or snapshots are enabled, versions and snapshots are billed at the same rate as active data in their respective tiers.
- If any versions or snapshots have their tier explicitly changed (for example, to hot or cool), those objects are billed as full objects in that tier, which can show as non‑cold storage charges.
Geo‑replication and outbound bandwidth (if configured)
- If the account uses geo‑redundant options, geo‑replication data transfer is billed per GB.
- Outbound data transfer (data leaving the Azure region) is billed separately from storage and can appear as additional meters.

In practice, a bill for “LRS cold storage” commonly includes:

Cold tier data storage (GB/month).
Cold tier read/write/transaction meters.
Hot (or other tier) read/write meters if data was copied or rehydrated.
Data retrieval and early deletion meters if data was accessed or moved before the minimum retention period.

To validate, review the cost details for the subscription and filter by meter name and service; non‑cold meters will typically correspond to operations (copy, set tier, read, write), retrieval, or early deletion rather than additional long‑term storage.

References: