Visual Studio Enterprise Azure benefit: Cost exceeds $150 monthly credit

Kudla, Petr 40 Reputation points
2026-06-03T07:23:27.5866667+00:00

Hi team,
I have a Visual Studio Enterprise Azure subscription with the included USD 150 monthly Azure credit.

I recently tested Azure AI Foundry / LLM models and noticed that Cost Management shows approximately EUR 564 in costs for June 1–2. This worried me because I expected the subscription to stop once the monthly credit was exhausted.

However, I then received an email stating that the subscription was disabled after reaching the spending limit and that no new charges are being incurred.

Can someone clarify whether the EUR 564 shown in Cost Management represents actual billable charges, or simply usage that was stopped by the Visual Studio subscription spending limit? I want to make sure that neither I nor my employer will be billed beyond the included Visual Studio Enterprise benefit.

Subscription type: Visual Studio Enterprise (Azure subscription provided through the Visual Studio Enterprise benefit)

Cost Management
Cost Management

A Microsoft offering that enables tracking of cloud usage and expenditures for Azure and other cloud providers.

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Answer accepted by question author
Bharath Y P 10,610 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
2026-06-04T05:32:55.3833333+00:00

Hello Kudla, Petr, it looks like what you’re seeing in Cost Management (~EUR 564 for June 1–2) is the raw “what-if” cost of the compute and AI services you spun up, not an actual invoice or bill that you’ll have to pay out-of-pocket.

Here’s the deal with Visual Studio Enterprise Azure credits and the spending limit:

• Visual Studio Enterprise subscribers get a USD 150/month dev/test credit.

• By default the subscription has a $0 spending limit, so as soon as your usage (in USD) hits $150, Azure automatically disables the subscription and stops all new usage.

• Cost Management will still show the meter rates and accumulated usage (that EUR 564 reflects the retail cost of what you consumed), but because the spending limit is in effect, you won’t be billed for anything beyond your $150 credit.

• You’ll get an email notification when the spending limit kicks in and the subscription is disabled; new usage is blocked until your next quota resets or you remove the limit by converting to Pay-As-You-Go.

To double-check that no real charges went through:

  1. Go to Azure Portal → Cost Management + Billing → Invoices
  2. Select your Visual Studio Enterprise subscription
  3. You should see $0 due (nothing beyond the covered credit).

If you need to keep those AI Foundry/LLM workloads running beyond your credit, you can remove the spending limit by upgrading to Pay-As-You-Go:

https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/cost-management-billing/manage/upgrade-azure-subscription

https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/cost-management-billing/manage/spending-limit#remove-the-spending-limit-in-azure-portal

Hope that helps! thanks.

Reference list:

  1. Azure Dev/Test credit overview for VS subscribers
  2. Spending Limit FAQ & remove limit instructions
  3. Upgrade from VS credit to Pay-As-You-Go
  4. Visual Studio Subscriptions billing FAQ

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Answer accepted by question author
Jerald Felix 18,760 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
2026-06-03T08:36:42.4466667+00:00

Hello Kudla, Petr

Greetings! Thanks for raising this question in Q&A forum.

This is a great question and I completely understand your concern seeing EUR 564 in Cost Management when you only have a $150 credit can definitely be alarming! Let me put your mind at ease.

The short reason: The EUR 564 shown in Cost Management is the rated value of your usage, not an actual invoice. Since your Visual Studio Enterprise subscription has a spending limit, it automatically stopped further usage once the $150 credit was exhausted — which is exactly what the email you received confirmed.

Here's how to verify everything is fine, step by step:

Sign in to the Azure Portal at portal.azure.com

Go to "Cost Management + Billing" from the left-hand menu or search bar.

Click on "Billing scopes" and then select your Visual Studio Enterprise subscription.

Navigate to "Usage + Charges" and check if there are any actual invoiced amounts listed beyond your monthly credit.

Look specifically for any "Marketplace" or "billed separately" line items — these are the only services that can sometimes bypass the spending limit (examples: third-party Marketplace offers, support plans).

If no such items appear, you are completely safe — neither you nor your employer will be charged beyond the included $150 credit.

One important thing to keep in mind going forward: as long as you do not manually remove the spending limit from your subscription, Azure will always disable the subscription instead of charging you when the credit runs out. Never remove the spending limit unless you intend to pay out of pocket.

If this answer helps you kindly accept the answer which will help others who have similar questions.

Best Regards,

Jerald Felix.

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  1. AI answer

    2026-06-03T07:23:44.0166667+00:00

    For a Visual Studio Enterprise Azure subscription with monthly credit and a spending limit enabled:

    1. The EUR 564 shown in Cost Management represents the rated cost of your usage for that period, not necessarily what will be invoiced.
    2. Visual Studio Enterprise credit subscriptions have a spending limit equal to the monthly credit (USD 150 equivalent). When that limit is reached, the subscription is disabled for the rest of the billing period and normal Azure services stop running.
    3. When the spending limit is reached, Azure prevents further billable usage that would exceed the included credit for services covered by that credit. The email stating that the subscription was disabled after reaching the spending limit and that no new charges are being incurred confirms that behavior.
    4. For Visual Studio credit-based subscriptions, the overage beyond the included credit is not billed as long as:
      • The subscription type is one that includes recurring monthly credit (such as Visual Studio Enterprise), and
      • The spending limit remains on and is not removed.
    5. However, some services are always billed separately and are not covered by the credit or the spending limit. Examples include Visual Studio licenses, Microsoft Entra ID P1/P2, support plans, and many third‑party Marketplace services. These can generate separate charges even when the spending limit is set.

    In the scenario described (Visual Studio Enterprise benefit subscription, spending limit reached and subscription disabled), the EUR 564 in Cost Management reflects total usage value, but only the portion up to the monthly credit is covered by the benefit. The remaining amount is blocked by the spending limit and is not invoiced, except for any services that fall into the “billed separately” category.

    To confirm there is no unexpected invoice:

    • In the Azure portal, go to Cost Management + Billing → Billing scopes → Billing profiles → Usage + Charges and verify whether any invoiced charges exist beyond the credit for that period.

    If any line items appear that look like Marketplace or “billed separately” services, those can be charged even with the spending limit on; otherwise, neither the user nor the employer should be billed beyond the Visual Studio Enterprise monthly credit.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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