Understanding Your AVD Bill: Where Does the Money Go?
AVD billing isn’t always intuitive. Let’s break down what you’re actually paying for.
The Main Cost Components
1. Compute (VMs) — Usually 60-80% of Total
This is the big one. You pay for your session host VMs:
- Running state: Full hourly rate
- Stopped (deallocated): No compute charge
- Stopped (not deallocated): Still charged!
Key insight: Deallocated VMs don’t cost compute. This is why scaling works.
2. Storage — Usually 10-20% of Total
Each VM has OS and data disks:
- Premium SSD: Higher performance, higher cost
- Standard SSD: Good balance
- Standard HDD: Cheapest, slowest
Key insight: Storage charges apply even when VMs are stopped. But it’s much cheaper than compute.
3. Networking — Usually 5-10% of Total
- Outbound data transfer: Charged per GB
- Virtual network: Usually minimal
- Public IPs: Small but adds up
Key insight: Networking costs are relatively fixed. Focus optimisation elsewhere.
4. AVD Service — Free!
The AVD control plane itself is free. You only pay for the underlying resources.
What You Can Control
| Cost | Controllable? | How |
|---|---|---|
| Compute (running) | ✅ Yes | Scaling |
| Compute (stopped) | ✅ Yes | Deallocate, don’t just stop |
| Storage | ⚠️ Somewhat | Smaller disks, cheaper tiers |
| Networking | ⚠️ Somewhat | Optimise data transfer |
Where Scaling Helps
Scaling directly reduces your largest cost: compute.
Example:
- 50 VMs running 24/7: £36,000/year
- 50 VMs scaled to demand: £15,000/year
- Saving: £21,000/year (58%)
The maths is simple: VMs not running = VMs not costing.
Common Billing Surprises
”My VMs are stopped but I’m still being charged”
Check if they’re stopped vs deallocated. In Azure Portal:
- “Stopped” = still charged
- “Stopped (deallocated)” = no compute charge
”Storage costs seem high”
Premium SSDs add up. Consider:
- Standard SSD for non-critical pools
- Smaller OS disks (128GB often sufficient)
“I’m paying for hosts nobody uses”
Time for scaling! This is exactly what The Smart Scaler solves.
Quick Tips
- Always deallocate, never just stop
- Right-size your VMs — don’t pay for capacity you don’t use
- Consider Reserved Instances for baseline capacity
- Use scaling for everything above baseline
Want to reduce that compute spend? The Smart Scaler typically cuts AVD compute costs by 40-70%.