specification: API Commons Plans
specificationVersion: '0.1'
schema: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/interface-research/main/schema/api-commons.yml#/$defs/Plans
provider: Microsoft Bicep
providerId: microsoft-bicep
created: '2026-05-04'
# Provenance stamped 2026-08-11: this artifact was written by the API Evangelist
# bulk sweep dated 2026-05-04, not harvested from the provider. See roadmap#35.
method: generated
modified: '2026-05-05'
reconciled: true
tags:
  - ARM Templates
  - Azure
  - Cloud
  - Deployment
  - DevOps
  - Infrastructure as Code
description: Microsoft Bicep is a free, open-source domain-specific language and CLI for
  authoring Azure Resource Manager (ARM) deployments. Bicep itself has no licensing cost —
  Microsoft explicitly documents 'no cost and open source' in the official overview. There
  are no tiers, no SaaS billing, and no API surface to charge for. Costs come exclusively
  from the underlying Azure resources that Bicep templates deploy and from Microsoft Customer
  Support contracts (which support Bicep at no extra charge).
sources:
  - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-resource-manager/bicep/overview
  - https://github.com/Azure/bicep
plans:
  - id: microsoft-bicep-open-source
    name: Bicep CLI / Language (Free + Open Source)
    type: freemium
    description: Bicep CLI, VS Code extension, Visual Studio extension, language compiler, and
      template registry are all free under MIT-style open-source licensing. No usage limits.
    entries:
      - label: Bicep authoring & compilation
        name: bicep_compile
        type: metered
        metric: invocation
        limit: -1
        timeFrame: usage
        geo: global
        unit: 1
        price: '0.00'
        userMultiplied: false
      - label: Bicep template registry (Microsoft Container Registry)
        name: bicep_mcr_pull
        type: metered
        metric: pull
        limit: -1
        timeFrame: usage
        geo: global
        unit: 1
        price: '0.00'
        userMultiplied: false
    elements:
      - name: Bicep CLI (Linux, macOS, Windows)
      - name: VS Code Bicep extension
      - name: Visual Studio Bicep extension
      - name: Bicep Playground
      - name: Decompile from ARM JSON
  - id: microsoft-bicep-deployed-resources
    name: Underlying Azure Resources (Pass-Through)
    type: usage-based
    description: Resources that a Bicep deployment provisions (VMs, storage, networking, etc.)
      are billed at standard Azure rates. Bicep does not surcharge or wrap deployment cost.
    entries:
      - label: Provisioned Azure resources
        name: deployed_resources
        type: metered
        metric: varies
        limit: -1
        timeFrame: usage
        geo: global
        unit: 1
        price: see vendor pricing for each Azure resource
        userMultiplied: false
    elements:
      - name: Standard Azure pay-as-you-go pricing applies
      - name: Subject to Reserved Instance / Savings Plan discounts on the deployed resources
  - id: microsoft-bicep-support
    name: Microsoft Customer Support (Optional)
    type: enterprise
    description: Bicep is supported by Microsoft Customer Support at no extra charge under
      existing Azure support contracts (Developer / Standard / Professional Direct / Premier /
      Unified). Pay only for the support tier, not for Bicep itself.
    entries:
      - label: Support contract (varies by tier)
        name: support_contract
        type: subscription
        metric: month
        limit: -1
        timeFrame: month
        geo: global
        unit: 1
        price: see Azure support plan pricing (Developer ~$29/mo, Standard ~$100/mo, ProDirect
          ~$1,000/mo, Premier custom)
        userMultiplied: false
    elements:
      - name: Same support tier covers all Azure services and Bicep
      - name: No Bicep-specific surcharge
maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: kin@apievangelist.com
    url: https://github.com/Azure/bicep
x-canonical:
  generated: '2026-10-08'
  vocabulary: all/0-working/economics/plans-canonical.yml
  models:
  - free
  - metered
  - subscription
  units:
  - negotiated
  - period
  plans:
  - name: Bicep CLI / Language (Free + Open Source)
    access: freemium
    model: free
    model_how: derived
    units:
    - other
    periods:
    - per-use
  - name: Underlying Azure Resources (Pass-Through)
    access: other
    model: metered
    model_how: stated
    units:
    - negotiated
    periods:
    - per-use
  - name: Microsoft Customer Support (Optional)
    access: enterprise
    model: subscription
    model_how: derived
    units:
    - period
    periods:
    - month