Explanation
Why the waste happens and who it affects.
When those resources are deleted or reconfigured, the IP address may remain in the environment unassigned. Basic SKU public IPs were retired on September 30, 2025 (except for Cloud Services extended support), leaving Standard as the SKU for new deployments, and Standard public IPs incur ongoing hourly charges, even if the address is not in use. Unassigned Standard public IPs provide no functional value but continue to generate cost, especially in environments with high churn or inconsistent cleanup practices.
Billing model
The pricing dimensions that drive this cost.
- Basic SKU: Retired on September 30, 2025; any remaining Basic IPs are unsupported and should be upgraded to Standard or deleted
- Standard SKU: Billed hourly, regardless of assignment
- Pricing varies by region and IP version (IPv4 vs IPv6)
- Costs accrue even if the IP is not attached to any resource
How to detect
4 checks to find it in your estate.
- List all public IP addresses in the subscription
- Filter for IPs with Associated To status equal to - (unassigned)
- Check the SKU of each unassigned IP; Standard IPs are billed hourly whether or not they are associated
- Cross-reference with recently deleted VMs or network interfaces to find residual IPs
How to fix
4 ways to remove the waste.
- Delete unassigned Standard SKU public IPs that are no longer needed
- If an unassigned IP must be kept for future use, confirm the need with its owner and accept the hourly charge, since the Basic SKU is retired and is no longer a lower-cost option
- Incorporate IP resource cleanup into deprovisioning workflows
- Use Azure Policy or Resource Graph to flag unassigned public IPs for review
Documentation
Vendor references for pricing and configuration.