Question 1

What's the difference between Azure Blob Storage and Azure Files?

Accepted Answer

Blob Storage is object storage accessed over HTTP/HTTPS and optimized for unstructured data like images, videos, backups, and logs. Azure Files provides managed file shares (SMB/NFS) that behave like a traditional network drive, which is better when applications need file system semantics such as file locking and directory operations.

Question 2

When should I use Blob Storage?

Accepted Answer

Use Blob Storage when you need to store large amounts of unstructured data, serve static content (images, downloads), keep backups and archives, store logs and telemetry, or build data lakes/analytics pipelines. It’s a strong fit when your app can read/write objects via APIs and you want low-cost tiers and lifecycle rules.

Question 3

How much does Blob Storage cost?

Accepted Answer

Pricing depends on storage capacity (GB/TB per month), the access tier (Hot, Cool, Archive), redundancy option (LRS/ZRS/GRS/GZRS), and usage-based charges like read/write operations, data retrieval (especially from Cool/Archive), and outbound data transfer. Costs are typically lowest for Archive storage but retrieval can be slower and more expensive.

Blob Storage

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