Azure Support Plans
When you run workloads on Azure, having access to timely and effective support is essential. Azure offers a range of support plans designed for different needs — from individual developers experimenting with the platform to large enterprises running mission-critical production workloads. Understanding the available support plans helps you choose the right level of coverage for your organisation.
Overview of Azure Support Plans
Azure provides five support plans:
| Plan | Monthly Cost | Best For |
|---|
| Basic | Free (included) | All Azure customers |
| Developer | ~$29/month | Trial and non-production environments |
| Standard | ~$100/month | Production workloads |
| Professional Direct | ~$1,000/month | Business-critical workloads |
| Premier | Custom pricing | Enterprise-wide, mission-critical needs |
All paid plans are billed monthly and can be cancelled at any time (no long-term commitment).
Basic Support
Every Azure customer receives Basic support at no additional cost. It includes:
- Self-help resources — documentation, whitepapers, and best practice guides
- Azure Advisor — personalised recommendations for cost, security, reliability, performance, and operational excellence
- Azure Service Health — real-time status of Azure services and notifications about outages, planned maintenance, and health advisories
- Billing and subscription support — you can always raise a support ticket for billing issues, even on the Basic plan
- Azure community forums — ask questions and share knowledge with other Azure users
Basic support does not include technical support for Azure services — you cannot raise a support ticket for a VM that will not start or a database that is not performing well.
Developer Support
Developer support is designed for trial and non-production environments. It adds:
- Email-based technical support during business hours
- Response time of one business day for minimal impact issues (Severity C)
- General architectural guidance from support engineers
- Access to the Azure Support API for programmatic ticket management
Developer support is suitable for learning Azure, building proofs of concept, and development environments where issues can wait until the next business day.
Standard Support
Standard support is the most popular plan for production workloads. It includes everything in Developer, plus:
- 24/7 technical support by phone and email
- Faster response times:
- Severity A (critical business impact): initial response within 1 hour
- Severity B (moderate business impact): initial response within 4 hours
- Severity C (minimal business impact): initial response within 8 business hours
- General architectural guidance from support engineers
Standard support is suitable for organisations running production workloads that need guaranteed response times around the clock.
Professional Direct
Professional Direct is designed for organisations with business-critical dependencies on Azure. It includes everything in Standard, plus:
- Faster response times:
- Severity A (critical business impact): initial response within 1 hour with priority handling
- Severity B (moderate business impact): initial response within 2 hours
- Severity C (minimal business impact): initial response within 4 business hours
- Designated support team — a pool of ProDirect engineers who become familiar with your environment
- Azure Rapid Response — accelerated support for critical issues
- Proactive guidance — webinars, architecture reviews, and best practice sessions delivered by Microsoft engineers
- Operations support — assistance with service configuration and health reviews
Professional Direct is suitable for organisations where Azure downtime has significant financial or operational consequences.
Premier Support
Premier support is Microsoft's highest tier, designed for enterprises with the most demanding requirements. It offers:
- Everything in Professional Direct
- Custom pricing based on the organisation's size and needs
- Technical Account Manager (TAM) — a designated point of contact within Microsoft who understands your environment and advocates for your needs
- On-site support — Microsoft engineers can visit your premises for critical issues or proactive reviews
- Custom training — tailored workshops and knowledge transfer sessions
- Service reviews — regular operational and business reviews with your TAM
- Support across all Microsoft products — not just Azure but also Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, Windows, and more