Share via

Cost related to Azure backup

Sudhir Reddy 20 Reputation points
2026-03-09T19:16:22.1633333+00:00

Azure incur any charges for creating custom alerts for azure backup using log analytics, azure resource graph, activity logs.

Azure Backup
Azure Backup

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

0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
  1. Suchitra Suregaunkar 9,195 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-03-09T19:32:41.0766667+00:00

    Hello Sudhir Reddy

    Thank you for reaching out in Microsoft Q&A forum.

    Yes, there can be costs associated with creating custom alerts for Azure Backup, depending on the monitoring service used.

    Built‑in Azure Backup alerts:

    Azure Backup provides built‑in Azure Monitor alerts for critical backup and restore failures at no additional cost. These alerts are generated automatically and can be viewed in the Azure portal without incurring any charges. However, notification costs apply if these alerts are routed through action groups (for example, email notifications beyond the free tier of 1,000 emails per month).

    Custom alerts using Log Analytics:

    When you create custom Azure Backup alerts using Log Analytics, the following costs apply:

    • Log Analytics workspace charges for log data ingestion and retention.
    • Azure Monitor alert rule charges, based on the alert rule type, evaluation frequency, and number of dimensions used.
    • Notification charges when alerts are sent through action groups.

    These charges are part of Azure Monitor pricing, not Azure Backup itself.

    Custom alerts using Azure Resource Graph (ARG):

    • Azure Resource Graph queries themselves are free and do not incur charges.
    • When an ARG query is used to create a custom Azure Monitor alert rule, alert rule charges apply, along with notification costs if action groups are configured.

    There is no cost for querying ARG, but the Azure Monitor alert rule is billable.

    Custom alerts using Activity Logs:

    • Activity Log alerts are free to create and evaluate.
    • Costs apply only when:
      • Alerts are routed via action groups (notification charges), or
        • Activity Logs are sent to Log Analytics, which incurs ingestion and retention charges.

    Activity Log alerting itself does not impose direct charges.

    Azure Backup Monitoring and Alerts FAQ https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/backup/backup-azure-monitor-alert-faq

    Azure Monitor cost and usage https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/azure-monitor/fundamentals/cost-usage [docs.azure.cn]

    Azure Monitor pricing https://azure.microsoft.com/pricing/details/monitor/ [azure.microsoft.com]

    Thanks,

    Suchitra.

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments

1 additional answer

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Q&A Assist
    2026-03-09T19:16:37.0333333+00:00
    AI generated content. This question contains an answer created with AI from Q&A Assist. Learn more

    Azure Backup custom alerts can incur charges, depending on the alert type and usage:

    1. Built-in Azure Monitor alerts for Azure Backup
      • Alerts for critical operations/failures are generated by default at no additional cost.
      • Routing these alerts to notification channels (for example, email) uses Azure Monitor notifications; there is a minor cost for notifications beyond the free tier of 1000 emails per month.
    2. Custom alerts using Log Analytics / Azure Resource Graph / Activity Logs / Metrics
      • For custom alerts (Log Analytics–based, Azure Resource Graph–based, Activity Log–based, or metric alerts), there is:
        • A cost per alert rule, which varies with the number of dimensions/time series monitored.
        • The same notification costs as above when routing alerts via action groups.
      • Log Analytics–based alerts: billed per alert rule based on query evaluation frequency and, for at-scale rules, the number of time series created by dimensions.
      • Metric alerts: billed per alert rule based on the number of metric time series monitored.
      • Activity log alerts themselves are free as an alert type in Azure Monitor, but using them as part of custom alerting for Azure Backup still incurs notification and (if applicable) alert rule costs as per Azure Monitor pricing.
    3. Cost optimization considerations
      • Activity log alerts, service health alerts, and resource health alerts are free; use them where they meet monitoring needs.
      • For log search alerts, reducing evaluation frequency lowers cost.
      • For metric alerts, limiting the number of resources/time series monitored reduces cost.

    For exact rates, Azure Monitor pricing documentation must be consulted.

    References:

    0 comments

Your answer

Answers can be marked as 'Accepted' by the question author and 'Recommended' by moderators, which helps users know the answer solved the author's problem.