Azure Recovery Service Vault

Bindu M S 60 Reputation points
2026-07-21T06:27:13.3433333+00:00

We have deployed multiple virtual machines in Azure, and Azure Backup is enabled for them. We would like to view the backup cost breakdown for a specific virtual machine in the Azure portal. Could you please advise how we can identify the backup cost associated with an individual VM?

Azure Backup
Azure Backup

An Azure backup service that provides built-in management at scale.

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  1. TP 160.7K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2026-07-21T08:55:09.5+00:00

    Hi,

    You may enable granular billing to get better future visibility into costs per VM. This doesn't affect charges that have already been incurred--they will still be per vault. To do this you would navigate to your Recovery Services Vault in portal, on left click Settings -- Properties, under Cost Management Granularity click Update.

    User's image

    Please see article below for more details:

    Configure granular billing in Azure Backup (preview)

    https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/backup/backup-azure-granular-billing

    Please click Accept Answer and upvote if the above was helpful.

    Thanks.

    -TP

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  2. Suchitra Suregaunkar 16,125 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-07-21T08:31:46.54+00:00

    Hello Bindu M S Thank you for posting your query on Microsoft Q&A platform.

    Azure Backup does not provide a per-VM cost breakdown inside a Recovery Services Vault. In Cost Analysis, backup charges are always reported at the vault level under two meters "Azure VM Protected Instances" and "Backup Storage" and Microsoft does not currently expose a way to split those charges VM by VM through the portal.

    Azure Backup pricing has two components, and both are charged against the vault, not the individual protected item:

    Component How it's billed
    Protected Instance fee Based on the VM's used data size — $5/month (≤50 GB), $10/month (50–500 GB), then $10 per additional 500 GB
    Backup Storage Per-GB, based on the redundancy you chose (LRS / GRS / ZRS)

    Backup Storage lives in Microsoft-managed storage accounts that are isolated from your tenant for security, which is why per-VM storage consumption is not surfaced in your billing data.

    What you can do to get visibility per VM:

    1. Use Backup Reports (recommended) This is the closest official option to a per-VM view. Backup Reports show Cloud Storage consumed and Protected Instance count for each backup item, which you can use to allocate the vault's total cost proportionally across VMs.

    Reference: Configure Backup Reports – Microsoft Learn

    Steps:

    • Go to Backup Center → Backup Reports
    • Filter by your Vault and set the time range
    • Use the Backup Items tab to see per-VM cloud storage size and instance count

    2. Estimate per-VM cost using the official pricing estimator Microsoft publishes a detailed estimator that lets you input each VM's used size, churn %, retention, and redundancy it returns the expected monthly cost per VM.

    Reference: Estimate and understand Azure Backup pricing – Microsoft Learn

    3. See Instant Restore snapshot cost per VM Instant Restore snapshots are stored on managed disks in your subscription, so those charges are visible per VM:

    • Cost Management → Cost Analysis → Scope your VM → Filter meter category = "Snapshot".

    4. For strict chargeback use separate vaults If you need clean per-VM or per-team cost separation for billing, the recommended pattern is to place each VM (or each team's VMs) in its own Recovery Services Vault in a dedicated resource group with tags. Cost Analysis can then filter by vault / resource group / tag and give you a clean split.

    References:

    Hope this gives you a clear path forward. If it helped, please Accept Answer and Upvote so others can find it too.

    Thanks,
    Suchitra.

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  3. AI answer

    2026-07-21T06:27:43.0933333+00:00

    Azure Backup cost in Cost Analysis is reported at the vault level, not per individual protected VM. A direct per-VM backup cost breakdown for a Recovery Services vault isn’t available in the Azure portal.

    What can be done instead:

    1. In Azure portal, go to Recovery Services vaults and open the vault.
    2. On the vault dashboard, select Backup Items > Azure Virtual Machine.
    3. Review the protected VM list and the vault item details. From the VM backup item, the portal lets you view backup policy, restore points, and backup-related details.
    4. Use the vault dashboard to monitor backup snapshot size and protected items, which can help estimate which VMs contribute more to overall backup usage.
    5. For overall charges, use Cost analysis at subscription or resource scope. This shows backup-related costs, but those costs remain aggregated rather than broken out by protected VM.
    6. For planning or estimation, use the Azure Backup pricing estimator to model expected cost for a VM based on protected instance size and stored backup data.

    Relevant billing behavior for Azure VM backup:

    • Billing starts after the first successful backup finishes.
    • Billing continues as long as backup data for the VM remains in the vault.
    • Billing stops only when protection is stopped and all backup data is deleted.
    • Protected-instance cost for Azure VM backup is based on the actual data in the VM’s disks, excluding temporary storage.

    References:

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

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