Everything You Need to Know About Microsoft Sentinel Pricing

Keeping your organization secure is more important than ever. Microsoft Sentinel, a cloud-native Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solution, helps detect and respond to threats effectively. But to get the most out of it, it’s important to understand how the pricing works.

How Microsoft Sentinel Pricing Works

The cost of using Microsoft Sentinel mainly depends on how much data you send into the system for analysis and storage in the Azure Monitor Log Analytics workspace.

Microsoft offers flexible pricing options to fit different organizational needs, so you can choose what works best for your budget.

Microsoft Sentinel Free Trial & Cost-Saving Benefits

If you're considering Microsoft Sentinel, there are several ways to reduce costs while evaluating its features.

Free Trial for New Users

New Log Analytics workspaces qualify for a 31-day free trial, allowing up to 10GB of data ingestion per day at no charge.
Data retention during the trial is also free.
This applies only to new workspaces, not existing ones. Once the trial ends, standard pricing applies.

💡

For insights on securing your applications, check out our guide on Azure WAF and its key benefits.

Free Ingestion for Microsoft Security Services

If your organization already uses Microsoft Defender or Microsoft 365, you can ingest certain security logs into Sentinel for free:

Microsoft Defender for Servers, Endpoint, Office 365, Identity, and Cloud Apps – Security logs from these products can be sent to Sentinel at no extra cost.
Microsoft 365 Audit Logs – Basic audit logs are free to ingest, but advanced auditing features may incur additional charges.

Azure Benefit for Sentinel Users

Organizations with an Azure commitment or using Sentinel's commitment tiers can access:

Discounts on bulk data ingestion.
Custom pricing based on data usage.
Reserved capacity savings for long-term commitments.

How to Make the Most of These Benefits

Here are some tips:

Set up a new Log Analytics workspace to take advantage of the 31-day free trial.
Prioritize Microsoft Defender and M365 data sources to lower ingestion costs.
Keep an eye on your ingestion rates to balance free and paid usage efficiently.

💡

If you are planning to use Datadog as your observability solution, check out our guide on Datadog Pricing: All Your Questions Answered.

How Does Microsoft Sentinel's Licensing and Pricing Work

You can choose to pay as you go, commit to a set capacity, or combine both approaches—whichever works best for managing costs while maintaining strong security.

Pay-as-You-Go Model

If your data ingestion varies from month to month, the pay-as-you-go model might be the best fit. There’s no upfront commitment—just pay for what you use.

Cost: $2.46 per GB ingested.

Data ingestion: Charged per GB of data ingested.
Data retention: Free for the first 90 days (for analytics logs); charges apply after that.
Features: Full access to analytics, alerts, and integrations.

Pros: Super flexible—you only pay for what you actually use.

Cons: Costs can add up fast if you’re ingesting a high volume of data or keeping logs for a long time.

Capacity Commitment Model

For organizations with predictable data ingestion volumes, Commitment Tiers offer a fixed daily fee based on the selected tier, providing cost savings over the Pay-As-You-Go model.

Available Tiers:

Tier	Daily Cost	Effective Per GB Price	Savings Over Pay-As-You-Go
100 GB per day	$123	$1.23	50%
200 GB per day	$222	$1.11	55%
300 GB per day	$320	$1.07	57%
400 GB per day	$410	$1.03	58%
500 GB per day	$492	$0.99	60%
1,000 GB per day	$960	$0.96	61%
2,000 GB per day	$1,821	$0.92	63%
5,000 GB per day	$4,305	$0.87	65%

Ingestion commitment: Pay for a set amount of data (measured in GB per day) at a discounted rate.
Discounts: The more you commit, the more you save compared to pay-as-you-go.
Retention: Separate pricing applies for storing data beyond the free period.

Pros: Great for stable, high-volume environments—big savings over time.

Cons: Requires upfront planning and commitment, so not ideal if your usage fluctuates a lot.

💡

If you're evaluating cost efficiency in Microsoft Sentinel, understanding Monolithic vs. Microservices architectures can help optimize log ingestion and security management at scale.

Hybrid Model

If your data workload is partly predictable but still has spikes, the hybrid model gives you the best of both worlds.

This model blends commitment discounts with pay-as-you-go flexibility, making it ideal for businesses with fluctuating data needs. Committed data gets discounted rates, while any excess usage is billed at standard prices.

Reserved capacity: Discounts apply to your committed data volume, just like in the capacity model.
Pay-as-you-go flexibility: If you exceed your commitment, extra usage is billed at standard rates.
Scalability: Ideal for growing businesses with changing data needs.

Pros: Lets you save money while still handling unexpected spikes in data.

Cons: Can be more complex to manage since it blends both models.

Other Cost Factors to Consider

Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Defender logs: Use free ingestion of Microsoft 365 and Defender logs to reduce costs.
Azure Reserved Instances: If you have other long-term Azure commitments, you might qualify for additional discounts on Sentinel.
External Data Export: Sending data to Azure Blob Storage or another SIEM comes with extra costs, so factor that in.

How to Choose the Right Model

If you're a small to mid-sized business with unpredictable usage, pay-as-you-go keeps things simple.
Large enterprises with steady, high-volume data can save the most with capacity commitment.
Companies with a mix of steady and variable data loads may find the hybrid model the best balance of cost and flexibility.

Taking the time to evaluate your usage patterns can help you optimize costs while keeping your security strong.

💡

Effective log management is crucial for controlling Microsoft Sentinel costs. Learn how to monitor error logs in real-time to optimize security and spending.

Breaking Down Data Ingestion and Retention Costs in Sentinel

Managing Microsoft Sentinel costs requires balancing security needs with budget constraints. The key cost factors include analytics logs, basic logs, long-term retention, and data exports.

Analytics Logs

Analytics logs are fully indexed and optimized for security investigations, making them essential for advanced threat detection.

Cost: Free for the first 90 days; afterward, standard Azure Monitor retention pricing applies.
Uses:
- Running complex queries and real-time detections.
- Storing data long-term for compliance and historical analysis.
Pricing Factors:
- Data ingestion volume (charged per GB).
- Retention beyond 90 days (billed per GB per month).

Basic Logs

Basic logs provide a cost-effective alternative for high-volume, less critical data. While not fully indexed, they remain useful for:

Cost: Free for the first 30 days; charges apply for extended retention.
Uses:
- Storing large datasets at a lower price.
- Running limited searches using search jobs instead of real-time analytics.
Pricing Factors:
- Lower ingestion costs than analytics logs.
- Retention fees beyond the free 8-day period.

Long-Term Retention

Data can be retained for up to 12 years to meet compliance requirements. Accessing historical data incurs additional costs.

Search Jobs: Asynchronous queries that fetch and store results in a search table.
- Cost: $0.0062 per GB of data scanned.
Log Data Restore: Restores historical data into the current hot cache for high-performance queries.
- Cost: $0.123 per GB per day (minimum charge: 2 TB for 12 hours, prorated hourly).

Data Export Pricing

Exporting data outside Sentinel can help with long-term storage, compliance, and integration with other security tools.

Uses:
- Lower-cost long-term storage.
- Custom analytics or integration with external SIEMs.
Costs:
- Charged per GB of exported data.
- Additional Azure storage fees based on storage type and location.

Cost Optimization Strategies

To keep Microsoft Sentinel costs under control, consider these best practices:

Filter unnecessary data before ingestion to avoid paying for irrelevant logs.
Use basic logs instead of analytics logs for high-volume, low-priority data.
Set retention policies based on compliance and operational needs—don’t keep data longer than necessary.
Consider archival storage or external exports for long-term data retention at a lower cost.

💡

Choosing the right data format can impact storage costs in Microsoft Sentinel. Explore Parquet vs. CSV to optimize log retention and query performance.

5 Factors Influencing Costs in Microsoft Sentinel

The overall cost of using Microsoft Sentinel depends on several key factors, mainly driven by data volume, retention policies, query frequency, and additional features.

1. Data Volume and Ingestion Rate

Sentinel pricing is closely tied to how much data is ingested into Log Analytics. The more data sources you connect, the higher your ingestion costs. Some key considerations include:

Log types: Analytics logs are more expensive, while basic logs offer a lower-cost option.
Event frequency: High-traffic environments generate more logs, leading to higher costs.
Filtering and preprocessing: Reducing unnecessary data before ingestion helps cut down expenses.

2. Data Retention and Archival

Keeping logs for long periods can significantly impact costs:

Default retention: Analytics logs are free for 90 days, and basic logs for 8 days.
Extended retention: Storing data beyond these free periods incurs extra charges per GB per month.
Archiving vs. hot storage: Moving older logs to Azure Blob Storage can be a more cost-effective long-term option.

3. Query and Search Costs

How often and how intensely you query data also affects costs:

Basic logs require search jobs, which come with separate charges.
Scheduled alerts and automation rules add to processing costs.
Heavy dashboard usage and interactive queries increase compute consumption.

4. Data Export and External Storage

Sending data outside Sentinel—whether to Azure Storage, Event Hubs, or third-party SIEMs—comes with additional costs:

Export fees per GB, based on data volume.
Storage costs, depend on how long you retain the data and whether it’s stored in hot or cold tiers.

5. Additional Features and Integrations

Some advanced Sentinel features can introduce extra costs:

Microsoft Defender integration—certain Defender data sources may have ingestion fees.
Machine learning-based threat intelligence—AI-powered detections consume additional resources.
Automation playbooks (Logic Apps)—running automated responses can generate Azure Logic Apps execution costs.

Cost Optimization Tips

To keep costs in check while maintaining security:

Prioritize high-value data sources and filter out unnecessary logs.
Use basic logs and archived storage for non-critical data.
Optimize query frequency and avoid excessive scheduled jobs.
Review retention policies to ensure you’re not overpaying for stored logs.

Conclusion

Microsoft Sentinel offers a flexible pricing structure to accommodate various organizational needs. For the most current and detailed pricing information, please refer to the official Microsoft Sentinel Pricing page.

💡

And if you’d like to explore the discussion further, our Discord community is open to you. We have a dedicated channel where you can connect with other developers and explore your specific use case.