Azure Functions vs Azure Container Apps: pricing
Azure Functions is cheaper for this workload (about $0.80/mo vs $21/mo). Azure Functions is faas (consumption / flex consumption) ($0.20 / 1M) and Azure Container Apps is serverless containers (consumption) ($0.40 / 1M). For 5M requests/month at 256 MB, 150 ms each plus 25 GB egress, the rough monthly totals are $0.80 and $21 respectively. Snapshot June 2026 — verify on the vendor's pricing page.
Data as of June 2026.
Azure Functions vs Azure Container Apps side by side
| Cost factor | Azure Functions | Azure Container Apps |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor | Microsoft Azure | Microsoft Azure |
| Pricing model | FaaS (Consumption / Flex Consumption) | Serverless containers (consumption) |
| Per 1M requests | $0.20 / 1M | $0.40 / 1M |
| Per GB-second | $0.000016 / GB-s | $0.000004 / GB-s |
| Free tier | Consumption plan free grant: 1,000,000 executions + 400,000 GB-s/month. Flex Consumption free grant: 250,000 executions + 100,000 GB-s/month, then $0.000026/GB-s + $0.40/1M executions. | Consumption plan free grant: first 180,000 vCPU-seconds + 360,000 GiB-seconds + 2,000,000 requests per month per subscription. Then ~$0.000034/vCPU-s (active) + $0.000004/GiB-s + $0.40/1M requests. |
| Scale to zero | Yes | Yes |
| Egress | varies | varies |
| Regions | 60+ Azure regions worldwide. | Most Azure regions worldwide. |
Sources: Microsoft Azure pricing · Microsoft Azure pricing.
Sample monthly cost
A rough monthly total for a sample workload: 5,000,000 requests/month, each ~150 ms at 256 MB of memory, plus 25 GB of egress. Computed after each platform's free tier; excludes platform minimums and regional variation, so treat it as a starting point:
| Component | Azure Functions | Azure Container Apps |
|---|---|---|
| Compute (after free tier) | $0.80 | $21 |
| Egress (25 GB) | varies | varies |
| Estimated total / month | $0.80 | $21 |
Verdict
On cost for this sample workload, Azure Functions is cheaper for this workload (about $0.80/mo vs $21/mo). But price is not the only factor: Azure Functions (deep azure + microsoft 365 / entra integration) versus Azure Container Apps (run containers serverlessly with scale-to-zero and keda autoscaling). Read each platform's full breakdown — Azure Functions and Azure Container Apps — and model your own workload in the calculator.
Frequently asked questions
Is Azure Functions or Azure Container Apps cheaper?
For a sample workload of 5M requests/month at 256 MB, 150 ms each plus 25 GB egress, Azure Functions is cheaper for this workload (about $0.80/mo vs $21/mo). This is illustrative and after each platform's free tier; your real cost depends on memory, duration, egress and region. snapshot captured June 2026.
How do Azure Functions and Azure Container Apps price requests?
Azure Functions: Classic Consumption: $0.20 per 1M executions + $0.000016/GB-s (1M + 400k GB-s free). Flex Consumption: $0.40 per 1M executions + $0.000026/GB-s (250k + 100k GB-s free) and adds always-ready instances priced separately. Azure Container Apps: Consumption: active usage ~$0.000034/vCPU-s + $0.000004/GiB-s (idle/throttled rates lower) + $0.40 per 1M requests, with a monthly free grant of 180k vCPU-s + 360k GiB-s + 2M requests. Scales to zero. Snapshot June 2026 — verify on the vendor's pricing page.
Do Azure Functions and Azure Container Apps scale to zero?
Azure Functions: yes, no charge when idle. Azure Container Apps: yes, no charge when idle. Scale-to-zero saves money for spiky traffic but adds cold-start latency on the first request.
Which has the better free tier, Azure Functions or Azure Container Apps?
Azure Functions: Consumption plan free grant: 1,000,000 executions + 400,000 GB-s/month. Flex Consumption free grant: 250,000 executions + 100,000 GB-s/month, then $0.000026/GB-s + $0.40/1M executions. Azure Container Apps: Consumption plan free grant: first 180,000 vCPU-seconds + 360,000 GiB-seconds + 2,000,000 requests per month per subscription. Then ~$0.000034/vCPU-s (active) + $0.000004/GiB-s + $0.40/1M requests.
More comparisons
Last updated: 2026-06-21