Author : MD TAREQ HASSAN | Updated : 2021/01/25

Feature comparison

Feature Azure SQL Database Azure SQL Managed Instance
Collation No
(default server collation SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS is always used)
Yes
(can be set when the instance is created and can’t be updated later)
Time zone choice No Yes
(and it must be configured when the SQL Managed Instance is created)
SQL Data Sync Yes No
Auto-scale Yes No
Availability Zones Yes No
Hyperscale architecture Yes No
Pause/resume Yes No
Automatic tuning (indexes) Yes No
VNet Service endpoint Yes No

More details: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/features-comparison

Limitations

Feature Azure SQL Database Azure SQL Managed Instance Solution
SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) No No Azure Analysis Services
SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) No No Power BI
Windows authentication No No SQL Server Authentication

More details: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/features-comparison#platform-capabilities

Choosing the right deployment

Purpose Azure SQL Database Azure SQL Database - Elastic pool Azure SQL Managed Instance Azure SQL Managed Instance - Instance pool
Syncing on-premise database to Azure Use X X X
Managed Single SQL Database Use X X X
Multi-tenancy in a single app X Use X X
100% compatibility with SQL server engine X X Use X
Fully managed SQL Server in the cloud X X Use X
Fully managed SQL Server with scaling X X X Use