Databases deployed on Provisioned compute incur continuous hourly charges even when workload demand is low. For databases that are active only briefly within an hour, or for limited hours per month, Serverless can provide significantly lower cost because it bills only for active compute time. The economic break-even point between Provisioned and Serverless depends on workload activity patterns. If monthly active time falls *below* the conceptual break-even range, Serverless is more cost-effective. If active time regularly exceeds that range, Provisioned may be more appropriate. This inefficiency typically appears when teams default to Provisioned compute without evaluating workload behavior over time.
Provisioned compute is billed per vCore-hour regardless of usage. Serverless compute is billed per vCore-second plus storage, and suspends compute charges during auto-pause. Selecting Provisioned for workloads with low or sporadic utilization results in paying for unused capacity.
