Cost Analysis
August 2025 • 8 min read
Choosing between Azure Blob Storage and SharePoint isn't just about features—it's about total cost of ownership. Here's the complete breakdown.
Storage Costs: The Headline Numbers
| Storage Type | Per GB/Month | Per TB/Month | Annual (1TB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| SharePoint Online | £0.22 | £225 | £2,700 |
| Azure Blob (Hot) | £0.021 | £21 | £252 |
| Azure Blob (Cool) | £0.011 | £11 | £132 |
| Azure Blob (Archive) | £0.001 | £1 | £12 |
Savings Example: For 2TB of storage, you'd save £4,896 annually by using Azure Blob Hot tier instead of SharePoint (£5,400 vs £504).
But Wait... There Are Hidden Costs
Azure Blob Storage Additional Costs
Data Transfer (Egress)
- First 5GB/month: Free
- Next 10TB: £0.07/GB
- Next 40TB: £0.065/GB
Operations
- Read operations: £0.00036/10K
- Write operations: £0.0045/10K
- List operations: £0.045/10K
SharePoint Hidden Costs
- User licenses: Requires Microsoft 365 licenses for all users
- Version storage: Each file version counts toward storage quota
- Sync overhead: OneDrive client resource usage
Feature Comparison
| Feature | SharePoint | Azure Blob | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost (per TB) | £225/month | £21/month | Blob |
| Co-authoring | ✅ Built-in | ❌ Not available | SharePoint |
| Version History | ✅ Full versioning | ⚠️ Basic versioning | SharePoint |
| Search | ✅ Content indexing | ⚠️ Metadata only | SharePoint |
| File Size Limit | 250GB | 4.75TB | Blob |
| Workflows | ✅ Power Automate | ⚠️ Custom logic | SharePoint |
| CDN/Performance | ⚠️ Limited | ✅ Global CDN | Blob |
| Compliance | ✅ Built-in policies | ⚠️ Custom setup | SharePoint |
Real-World Cost Scenarios
Scenario 1: Marketing Team (Heavy Downloads)
- Storage: 1TB of media files
- Usage: 100GB downloads per month
- Users: 15 people accessing files
SharePoint Costs
- Storage: £225/month
- Downloads: £0 (included)
- Total: £225/month
Azure Blob Costs
- Storage: £21/month
- Downloads: £7/month (100GB)
- Total: £28/month
Savings: £197/month (£2,364/year)
Scenario 2: Archive Storage (Minimal Access)
- Storage: 5TB of archived files
- Usage: 10GB downloads per month
- Users: Occasional access only
SharePoint Costs
- Storage: £1,125/month
- Downloads: £0 (included)
- Total: £1,125/month
Azure Blob (Cool) Costs
- Storage: £55/month
- Downloads: £0.70/month
- Total: £55.70/month
Savings: £1,069/month (£12,828/year)
When to Choose What
Choose SharePoint When:
- Heavy collaboration needed
- Office documents (Word, Excel, PPT)
- Workflow automation required
- Compliance features needed
- Built-in search is critical
- Storage under 1TB
Choose Azure Blob When:
- Large files (videos, images, CAD)
- Archive/backup storage
- High storage volumes (multi-TB)
- Cost is primary concern
- Custom applications needed
- Global content delivery
The Hybrid Approach
The smartest organizations don't choose one or the other—they use both:
- SharePoint for active collaboration (documents, spreadsheets, presentations)
- Azure Blob for bulk storage (media, archives, large files)
- Integrated interface so users don't see the complexity
Migration Considerations
- Data transfer costs: Moving large amounts of data to Azure can incur egress charges
- User training: Different interfaces require some adjustment
- Application compatibility: Some tools expect SharePoint storage
- Backup strategy: Ensure both systems are properly backed up