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Get Azure VM and VM Scale Set recommendations based on workload, performance, and budget needs.
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references/retail-prices-api.md
1# Azure Retail Prices API Guide
2 
3The [Azure Retail Prices API](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/rest/api/cost-management/retail-prices/azure-retail-prices) is **unauthenticated** — no Azure account or subscription needed.
4 
5## Endpoint
6 
7```text
8https://prices.azure.com/api/retail/prices
9```
10 
11Preview version (includes savings plan rates):
12```text
13https://prices.azure.com/api/retail/prices?api-version=2023-01-01-preview
14```
15 
16## Querying VM Prices
17 
18> **No Azure CLI command exists** for the Retail Prices API. Since the API is unauthenticated, use `curl` (bash) or `Invoke-RestMethod` (PowerShell) directly. The `az rest` command also works but adds no auth benefit.
19 
20### Basic VM price lookup
21 
22```http
23GET https://prices.azure.com/api/retail/prices?$filter=serviceName eq 'Virtual Machines' and armRegionName eq 'eastus' and armSkuName eq 'Standard_D4s_v5' and priceType eq 'Consumption'
24```
25 
26```bash
27curl -s "https://prices.azure.com/api/retail/prices?\$filter=serviceName%20eq%20'Virtual%20Machines'%20and%20armRegionName%20eq%20'eastus'%20and%20armSkuName%20eq%20'Standard_D4s_v5'%20and%20priceType%20eq%20'Consumption'"
28```
29 
30```powershell
31$filter = "serviceName eq 'Virtual Machines' and armRegionName eq 'eastus' and armSkuName eq 'Standard_D4s_v5' and priceType eq 'Consumption'"
32$response = Invoke-RestMethod "https://prices.azure.com/api/retail/prices?`$filter=$filter"
33$response.Items | Select-Object armSkuName, retailPrice, unitOfMeasure, meterName
34```
35 
36### Filter by family (all D-series in a region)
37 
38```http
39GET https://prices.azure.com/api/retail/prices?$filter=serviceName eq 'Virtual Machines' and armRegionName eq 'eastus' and contains(armSkuName, 'Standard_D') and priceType eq 'Consumption'
40```
41 
42```bash
43curl -s "https://prices.azure.com/api/retail/prices?\$filter=serviceName%20eq%20'Virtual%20Machines'%20and%20armRegionName%20eq%20'eastus'%20and%20contains(armSkuName,%20'Standard_D')%20and%20priceType%20eq%20'Consumption'"
44```
45 
46```powershell
47$filter = "serviceName eq 'Virtual Machines' and armRegionName eq 'eastus' and contains(armSkuName, 'Standard_D') and priceType eq 'Consumption'"
48$response = Invoke-RestMethod "https://prices.azure.com/api/retail/prices?`$filter=$filter"
49$response.Items | Select-Object armSkuName, retailPrice, meterName
50```
51 
52### Reservation pricing
53 
54```http
55GET https://prices.azure.com/api/retail/prices?$filter=serviceName eq 'Virtual Machines' and armSkuName eq 'Standard_D4s_v5' and priceType eq 'Reservation'
56```
57 
58```bash
59curl -s "https://prices.azure.com/api/retail/prices?\$filter=serviceName%20eq%20'Virtual%20Machines'%20and%20armSkuName%20eq%20'Standard_D4s_v5'%20and%20priceType%20eq%20'Reservation'"
60```
61 
62```powershell
63$filter = "serviceName eq 'Virtual Machines' and armSkuName eq 'Standard_D4s_v5' and priceType eq 'Reservation'"
64$response = Invoke-RestMethod "https://prices.azure.com/api/retail/prices?`$filter=$filter"
65$response.Items | Select-Object armSkuName, retailPrice, reservationTerm, meterName
66```
67 
68### Non-USD currency
69 
70Append `currencyCode` parameter:
71```http
72GET https://prices.azure.com/api/retail/prices?currencyCode='EUR'&$filter=serviceName eq 'Virtual Machines' and armSkuName eq 'Standard_D4s_v5'
73```
74 
75```bash
76curl -s "https://prices.azure.com/api/retail/prices?currencyCode='EUR'&\$filter=serviceName%20eq%20'Virtual%20Machines'%20and%20armSkuName%20eq%20'Standard_D4s_v5'"
77```
78 
79```powershell
80$filter = "serviceName eq 'Virtual Machines' and armSkuName eq 'Standard_D4s_v5'"
81$response = Invoke-RestMethod "https://prices.azure.com/api/retail/prices?currencyCode='EUR'&`$filter=$filter"
82$response.Items | Select-Object armSkuName, retailPrice, currencyCode, meterName
83```
84 
85## Available Filters
86 
87| Filter          | Example Value                    | Notes                          |
88| --------------- | -------------------------------- | ------------------------------ |
89| `serviceName`   | `'Virtual Machines'`             | Case-sensitive in preview API  |
90| `armRegionName` | `'eastus'`, `'westeurope'`       | ARM region name                |
91| `armSkuName`    | `'Standard_D4s_v5'`              | Full ARM SKU name              |
92| `priceType`     | `'Consumption'`, `'Reservation'` | Pay-as-you-go vs reserved      |
93| `serviceFamily` | `'Compute'`                      | Broad category                 |
94| `productName`   | `'Virtual Machines Dv5 Series'`  | Product line                   |
95| `meterName`     | `'D4s v5'`, `'D4s v5 Spot'`      | Includes Spot and Low Priority |
96 
97> **Warning:** Filter values are **case-sensitive** in API version `2023-01-01-preview` and later.
98 
99## Response Fields
100 
101| Field                  | Description                                                        |
102| ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
103| `armSkuName`           | ARM SKU name (e.g., `Standard_D4s_v5`)                             |
104| `retailPrice`          | Microsoft retail price (USD unless overridden)                     |
105| `unitOfMeasure`        | Usually `1 Hour` for VMs                                           |
106| `armRegionName`        | Region code                                                        |
107| `meterName`            | Human-readable meter (includes "Spot" / "Low Priority" variants)   |
108| `productName`          | Product line with OS (e.g., "Virtual Machines Dv5 Series Windows") |
109| `type`                 | `Consumption`, `Reservation`, or `DevTestConsumption`              |
110| `reservationTerm`      | `1 Year` or `3 Years` (reservation only)                           |
111| `savingsPlan`          | Array with `term` and `unitPrice` (preview API only)               |
112| `isPrimaryMeterRegion` | Filter to `true` to avoid duplicate regional meters                |
113 
114## Pagination
115 
116API returns max 1,000 records per request. Follow `NextPageLink` in the response to get more:
117 
118```json
119{ "NextPageLink": "https://prices.azure.com:443/api/retail/prices?$filter=...&$skip=1000" }
120```
121 
122## Tips for Recommendations
123 
1241. **Filter Linux vs Windows**: `productName` contains the OS — e.g., `'Virtual Machines Dv5 Series'` (Linux) vs `'Virtual Machines Dv5 Series Windows'`
1252. **Use `isPrimaryMeterRegion eq true`** to deduplicate
1263. **Compare Consumption + Reservation + Savings Plan** for full cost picture
1274. **Monthly estimate**: `retailPrice × 730` (hours/month)
1285. **Spot pricing**: Filter `meterName` containing `'Spot'` for discounted interruptible VMs
129
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