Pricing Methodology

cloud_download1. Where the prices come from

Every night at 02:00 UTC I run a fetch against the Microsoft Azure Retail Prices API. The exact query is:

https://prices.azure.com/api/retail/prices
  ?api-version=2023-01-01-preview
  &$filter=armRegionName eq 'uksouth'
           and currencyCode eq 'GBP'

The response is stored in a Cloudflare D1 database (SQLite). The calculators query this local cache — not the Azure API in real time — so every estimate reflects the prices from the last nightly refresh.

currency_pound2. How GBP pricing actually works

The Azure Retail Prices API returns GBP natively — it is not a USD figure converted by this site. Microsoft determines the GBP price directly.

Specifically: Microsoft locks the GBP/USD exchange rate monthly, using London closing spot rates from the final business days of the prior month. This means your January invoice is priced using the rate Microsoft locked in December. The GBP rate can shift meaningfully between months if sterling moves — and it has.

This is why the prices shown here can differ slightly from what you see if you manually use the official Azure Pricing Calculator in USD and apply a current spot rate. The official GBP price is the authoritative figure; the USD equivalent is the approximation.

verified3. How prices are verified

The nightly refresh compares incoming prices against what was cached from the previous run. Any changed prices are logged with a timestamp. You can see recent movements on the price history page.

I also spot-check prices against the official Azure pricing pages for the services I use most (Log Analytics, Blob Storage, Virtual Machines) whenever Microsoft announces a pricing update.

If you find a discrepancy, email gravitycontextdev@gmail.com — I aim to investigate and correct within 24 hours.

warning4. What these estimates don't include

These are retail / pay-as-you-go prices. The following are not reflected unless explicitly noted:

• Enterprise Agreement discounts — EA customers typically get 15–30% off list
• Reserved Instance pricing — 1-year saves ~40%, 3-year saves ~60% vs PAYG for VMs
• Azure Hybrid Benefit — if you have on-prem Windows Server / SQL licences
• Savings Plans — compute savings plans applied at subscription scope
• Custom / CSP negotiated pricing
• Dev/Test pricing — Visual Studio subscribers get discounted rates on some services

Always verify through the official Azure Pricing Calculator ↗ before committing to a spending plan.

schedule5. Data freshness

The price cache refreshes every night at 02:00 UTC. If the nightly job fails (Azure API timeout, etc.), the previous night's prices remain live and a stale warning appears on the calculators. Failures are rare — the Azure Retail Prices API has been reliable in my experience — but they happen.

If prices look wrong or outdated, check the price history page for the last successful refresh timestamp, or email me directly.