Unassigned Public IP Address

Anderson Oliveira

Service Category

Networking

Cloud Provider

Azure

Service Name

AWS VPC

Inefficiency Type

Unused Resource

Explanation

In Azure, it’s common for public IP addresses to be created as part of virtual machine or load balancer configurations. When those resources are deleted or reconfigured, the IP address may remain in the environment unassigned. While Basic SKUs are free when idle, Standard SKUs 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.

Relevant Billing Model

Basic SKU: Free when unassigned
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

Detection

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 to determine if charges apply
Cross-reference with recently deleted VMs or network interfaces to find residual IPs

Remediation

Delete unassigned Standard SKU public IPs that are no longer needed
If an unassigned IP is intended for future use, consider converting it to Basic (if compatible)
Incorporate IP resource cleanup into deprovisioning workflows
Use Azure Policy or Resource Graph to flag unassigned public IPs for review

Relevant Documentation