Azure ExpressRoute pricing and breakeven
ExpressRoute offers two billing models: Metered (circuit fee plus outbound data) or Unlimited (flat circuit fee, no per-GB egress). Unlimited costs roughly 13x the Metered circuit fee at 1 Gbps, so it only wins above roughly 65 percent sustained port utilisation in Zone 1.
Metered Standard pricing (Zone 1 example)
| Port speed | Port fee / month | Outbound data / GB |
|---|---|---|
| 50 Mbps | $55 | $0.025 |
| 100 Mbps | $110 | $0.025 |
| 200 Mbps | $145 | $0.025 |
| 500 Mbps | $290 | $0.025 |
| 1 Gbps | $436 | $0.025 |
| 2 Gbps | $872 | $0.025 |
| 5 Gbps | $2,180 | $0.025 |
| 10 Gbps | $3,400 | $0.025 |
Circuit fees are the same across billing zones; the outbound rate is what changes: Zone 1 $0.025/GB, Zone 2 $0.05/GB, Zone 4 $0.10/GB, Zone 3 $0.14/GB. Premium SKU raises the circuit fee by roughly 80 to 170 percent depending on speed ($436 to $1,186 at 1 Gbps) for global reach and higher route limits.
Unlimited vs Metered: switch around 65% utilisation
Unlimited circuit fees include all egress but cost far more than most engineers expect: $5,700/month for a 1 Gbps Standard circuit in Zone 1, versus $436 + $0.025/GB on Metered. Breakeven volume: ~206 TB / month outbound, which is about 65 percent of what a 1 Gbps port can physically push in a month. Below that, Metered wins.
Example uses 1 Gbps Standard SKU pricing in Zone 1 ($436 Metered / $5,700 Unlimited per month; Zones 2-4 Unlimited is $8,700). Inbound is always free on both billing models.
Standard vs Premium SKU
Standard SKU restricts BGP to your home Azure geography (e.g. US to US, EU to EU). Premium SKU enables Global Reach (connect your on-premises network to Azure regions worldwide), increases route limits from 4000 to 10000, and supports connectivity to Microsoft 365 services. Premium raises the Metered circuit fee from $436 to $1,186 per month at 1 Gbps; the uplift ranges from roughly 80 percent (100 Mbps, 10 Gbps) to 170 percent (1-2 Gbps).
For most enterprises, Premium is required if you have multi-region Azure deployments or want to reach Microsoft 365 over the private circuit. Standard is sufficient for single-region private connectivity to Azure VNets.
See also: Azure bandwidth zones, Front Door pricing.