Microsoft is currently sending a service notification to customers with resources in seven regions: from 1 February 2027, specific VM series and storage services there become 8 to 17 percent more expensive. Reading the exclusion list, one entry caught my attention: Bv1.
The numbers
According to the notification, the affected regions are:
- North Europe (Dublin): 17 percent
- France Central and France South: 11 percent each
- West Europe (Amsterdam): 9 percent
- Norway East and Norway West: 9 percent each
- Southeast Asia (Singapore): 8 percent
Excluded are, among others, the entire v1 generation including Bv1, the v2 generation and some v7 series such as Dsv7, Dlsv7 and Esv7. The Bv1 successors Bsv2, Basv2 and Bpsv2 are not on the exclusion list. Since the notification only names exclusions, the regional price list shows which size actually rises.
Why this exclusion bothers me
I expect many comparisons in spring 2027 to look like this: Bv1 keeps its old price, the successor in West Europe costs up to 9 percent more. Anyone who only puts those two numbers side by side will postpone the replacement.
I think that is a mistake. Bv1 can no longer be reserved, no new capacity is added, and the November 2028 retirement is fixed. Waiting in 2027 means migrating in 2028 with less time and no room to manoeuvre.
More on this: Azure B-series v1: the deadline calendar up to the 2028 retirement
What I would look at instead
I find the v7 exclusion more interesting than the Bv1 one. Many B VMs run above their baseline permanently, use up their CPU credits and get throttled. A D size with fixed performance is the right choice for them anyway, and in the affected regions a v7 size is excluded from the adjustment. The “CPU Credits Remaining” metric over 30 days shows which VMs this applies to.
I only raise the question of a different region when a VM is being rebuilt anyway, as Windows VMs are when moving off Bv1. Austria East, Germany West Central and Switzerland North are not on the list. I would not move for 9 percent alone. Latency, data transfer and compliance usually weigh more.
More on this: Replacing Bv1: a six-step runbook
Before February
- Adjust budgets and cost alerts for February 2027 to the new prices.
- Check regional prices for the planned target sizes before exchanging reservations.
- Evaluate the credit history of every B VM.
If you want the exact figure
As part of the cost and migration analysis I calculate what the adjustment means for your environment from your billing data, for your actual regions and sizes rather than with averages.
Sources (as of 10 October 2026)
- Microsoft service notification to customers in the affected regions: “Action required: Prepare for specific Azure VM series and Azure Storage service price updates in seven Azure regions globally” (email, no public link)
- Azure Update 500682: retirement of the F, Fs, Fsv2, Lsv2, G, Gs, Av2, Amv2 and B series (15 Oct 2025)
- Microsoft Learn: VM size series retirements, capacity growth restrictions, and modernization guidance
- Microsoft Learn: B-series CPU credit model