What is Azure Functions used for?

Azure Functions is Microsoft's serverless compute service for running event-driven code without servers, with support for .NET, Node.js, Python, Java and PowerShell. It is a good fit for running backend APIs without servers, processing queue messages and events, and scheduled automation tasks.

How much does Azure Functions cost?

Azure Functions is a paid product with no free plan.

Is Azure Functions open source?

No. Azure Functions is proprietary (closed-source) software. Open-source alternatives to Azure Functions include OpenFaaS, Tau and Inngest.

What are some alternatives to Azure Functions?

Azure Functions competes with AWS Lambda, Cloudflare Workers and Google Cloud Run. For open-source options, see Enlisted's ranked list of open-source Azure Functions alternatives.

Azure Functions: features, pricing and alternatives

About Azure Functions

Azure Functions is a serverless compute service on Microsoft Azure. Developers write small pieces of code that run in response to events, such as an HTTP request, a queue message or a timer, and Azure provisions and scales the underlying infrastructure instead of the developer managing servers.

Microsoft lists .NET, Node.js, Python, Java and PowerShell as supported languages and describes the service as suited to scalable, event-driven applications and agents. Functions connect to other Azure services through triggers and bindings, and Durable Functions extends the model to long-running, stateful workflows.

Azure Functions is a hosted, proprietary Azure service with usage-based billing. It suits developers building APIs, background processing, integrations and automation on Azure who want to avoid server management and pay for what runs.

Key features

Event-driven serverless functions
Support for .NET, Node.js, Python, Java and PowerShell
Triggers and bindings for Azure services
Automatic scaling with demand
Durable Functions for stateful workflows
No server management

Good fit for

→Running backend APIs without servers
→Processing queue messages and events
→Scheduled automation tasks

Tags: serverless; azure; faas; event-driven; microsoft; cloud-functions

Azure Functions: questions and answers

What is Azure Functions used for?: Azure Functions is Microsoft's serverless compute service for running event-driven code without servers, with support for .NET, Node.js, Python, Java and PowerShell. It is a good fit for running backend APIs without servers, processing queue messages and events, and scheduled automation tasks.
How much does Azure Functions cost?: Azure Functions is a paid product with no free plan.
Is Azure Functions open source?: No. Azure Functions is proprietary (closed-source) software. Open-source alternatives to Azure Functions include OpenFaaS, Tau and Inngest.
What are some alternatives to Azure Functions?: Azure Functions competes with AWS Lambda, Cloudflare Workers and Google Cloud Run. For open-source options, see Enlisted's ranked list of open-source Azure Functions alternatives.