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When planning an Azure ExpressRoute deployment, selecting the right combination of billing model, bandwidth, resiliency, and SKU is critical to meet performance, availability, and budget goals. This guide breaks down the key decision points, compares options, and shows where ExpressRoute components are created in the Azure portal.

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Key decision checklist

  • Billing model: Unlimited vs Metered
  • Bandwidth: estimate baseline and peak throughput
  • Resiliency: standard (single peering location) vs high (multiple peering locations)
  • SKU / Add-ons: gateway SKU, Premium (global reach) or ExpressRoute Direct
  • Provider model: service provider vs direct Microsoft connection

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Billing options

Billing modelCost modelBest forConsiderations
UnlimitedFixed monthly fee, unlimited outbound dataPredictable cost for heavy outbound traffic (Azure → on-premises)Higher fixed monthly cost; cost-effective at high data volumes
MeteredLower base fee + per-GB outbound chargeSmall environments or low outbound usagePay-as-you-go for outbound egress; cheaper for low-volume scenarios
Choose the billing model based on expected egress behavior (Azure-to-on-premises traffic). Use run-rate and historical traffic estimates to compare total monthly costs for each option.
A presentation slide titled "Choosing the Right ExpressRoute Circuit and Billing Model" shows menu items like Billing Option, Bandwidth Selection, Scalability, Pricing Factors, and Premium Add-on on the left. On the right it contrasts two billing models: "Unlimited" (fixed fee with free transfer) and "Metered" (pay-as-you-go for outbound).

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Bandwidth selection

  • Size circuits to meet expected throughput and peak utilization. Underprovisioning can create bottlenecks; overprovisioning increases costs.
  • ExpressRoute offers many capacity points, from entry-level (for example, 50 Mbps) up to multiple Gbps. ExpressRoute Direct supports 10 Gbps and 100 Gbps physical ports, and you can aggregate multiple ports for higher aggregate throughput.
  • Plan for headroom to accommodate bursts, backup/restore operations, and unexpected traffic shifts. You can scale up a circuit later if needed—document change windows and expected timeline for provisioning.
Common bandwidth options (examples):
  • 50 Mbps, 100 Mbps — good for small branch connectivity or test/dev
  • 1 Gbps — typical for medium datacenter connectivity
  • 10 Gbps / 100 Gbps (ExpressRoute Direct) — high-throughput, multi-region backbone connectivity
A presentation slide titled "Choosing the Right ExpressRoute Circuit and Billing Model" with a left menu highlighting "Bandwidth Selection." On the right is a diagram showing a 50 Mbps box pointing to a larger 100 Gbps box.

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Scalability and availability

  • Azure and ExpressRoute support growth: you can increase ExpressRoute gateway and circuit sizes to scale throughput in most scenarios without downtime.
  • Downgrading a gateway or circuit size can require a brief outage depending on the gateway SKU and the nature of the change. Include maintenance windows in your change plan for any reductions or SKU swaps.
Reducing gateway or circuit size can require downtime. Plan upgrades and downgrades with maintenance windows in mind.
A presentation slide titled "Choosing the Right ExpressRoute Circuit and Billing Model" with a left-side menu where "Scalability" is highlighted. The right side shows a gateway/lock icon with the note "Increase gateway size anytime; reducing it requires downtime."

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Pricing factors

Pricing for ExpressRoute depends on multiple variables:
  • Billing model: Unlimited vs Metered
  • Provisioned bandwidth
  • Virtual network gateway SKU and features (for example, throughput limits)
  • Region / peering location and local market pricing
  • Add-ons such as Premium or ExpressRoute Direct which change route limits and connectivity options
Always validate costs in the Azure Pricing Calculator and capture both fixed and usage-driven charges before committing to a design.
Use the Azure Pricing Calculator to compare total monthly costs for different bandwidths, SKUs, and billing models. https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/calculator/
A presentation slide titled "Choosing the Right ExpressRoute Circuit and Billing Model" with a left-side menu of options (Billing Option, Bandwidth Selection, Scalability, Pricing Factors — highlighted, Premium Add-on). The right side shows a world map with purple location pins and the note "Rates vary based on region and availability zone."

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Premium / Global reach add-on

  • Use the Premium SKU or ExpressRoute Direct when you need:
    • Global connectivity across multiple Azure regions (global reach)
    • More BGP prefixes and route limits than standard circuits allow
    • Higher-scale limits to support many VNets or large hybrid architectures
  • Premium increases capability and scale, and it may affect cost and route availability—factor this into multi-region network designs.
A presentation slide titled "Choosing the Right ExpressRoute Circuit and Billing Model" lists items like Billing Option, Bandwidth Selection, Scalability, Pricing Factors, and a highlighted "Premium Add-on." The right panel calls out benefits: "Global Connectivity" and "Higher Limits."
  1. Profile traffic: establish baseline and peak Azure-to-on-premises and on-premises-to-Azure traffic.
  2. Choose billing model: compare unlimited vs metered using cost projections.
  3. Select bandwidth: provision for baseline + headroom; prefer a slightly larger size to avoid throttling.
  4. Decide resiliency: standard vs high resiliency based on SLA and RTO/RPO requirements.
  5. Pick SKU/add-ons: gateway SKU and whether Premium or ExpressRoute Direct are required.
  6. Engage provider: select a service provider if not using ExpressRoute Direct and clarify provisioning timelines.
Decision checklist table:
Decision areaAction
Billing modelUse traffic profile to choose Unlimited or Metered
BandwidthStart with baseline + burst capacity; plan for scale-up
ResiliencyChoose single peering vs multi-peering locations for availability
SKUMatch gateway SKU to throughput and features required
Connectivity modelProvider-assisted vs ExpressRoute Direct

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Azure portal: where to create gateways and circuits

Note: the examples below show where components are created in the Azure portal. This guide does not provision live resources—use the portal (https://portal.azure.com) and your procurement process when ready. Virtual network gateway
  • The ExpressRoute circuit terminates at a virtual network gateway in your VNet, similar to a VPN gateway. When creating a virtual network gateway you will specify:
    • Gateway type: ExpressRoute
    • Gateway SKU: (Standard, HighPerformance, UltraPerformance or newer gateway families like GW1/GW2/GW3 depending on portal options)
    • Region and associated virtual network
  • After the virtual network gateway is created, associating an ExpressRoute circuit is a separate step.
A screenshot of the Microsoft Azure portal showing the "Create virtual network gateway" form, with fields for subscription, resource group, instance name, region, gateway type (VPN/ExpressRoute), SKU, and virtual network. The page includes navigation tabs (Basics, Tags, Review + create) and action buttons like "Review + create."
Circuits and provider involvement
  • ExpressRoute circuits are provisioned from the “Circuits” blade in the portal. When creating a circuit you specify:
    • Resource group, circuit name, peering location, bandwidth, billing model (metered/unlimited), and provider/port options
  • Resiliency options affect how physical links and peering locations are arranged:
    • Standard resiliency: two redundant links to a single peering location
    • High resiliency: links placed in separate peering locations for increased availability
  • Provider model: if you select a service provider, they will handle the physical cross-connect from your site to the Microsoft edge and coordinate until the circuit terminates on Microsoft routers. For ExpressRoute Direct, you connect directly to Microsoft at supported locations.
A screenshot of the Microsoft Azure portal showing the "Create ExpressRoute" page with a network diagram of an ExpressRoute circuit. The form below includes fields populated with Region: East US, Circuit name: ewg-ckt, Peering location: Dubai and Provider: Etisalat UAE.

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Architecture recap

  • On-premises equipment connects to a service provider (or directly to Microsoft with ExpressRoute Direct).
  • The provider establishes the physical circuit to Microsoft edge routers.
  • The ExpressRoute circuit terminates on Microsoft routers and is then linked to your virtual network gateway, enabling connectivity for your VNets.
ExpressRoute deployments have multiple dependencies—service providers, peering locations, SKUs, and regional pricing—so coordinate design, procurement, and operations across networking, procurement, and cloud teams.

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