Compare Azure Files and Azure NetApp Files to find the best storage solution for performance and scalability
Azure Files vs Azure NetApp Files: Which One Should You Choose? Performance tiers, protocol support, dual-protocol capability, pricing models, SAP/Oracle/HPC suitability, data management features, and the decision framework that maps each workload type to the right service — with setup procedures for both. By Francis Avorgbedor | Azure Engineer · July 15, 2026 · 20 min read · Azure Files · Azure NetApp Files · Architecture FA Francis Avorgbedor Azure Engineer · SEVENAI · Azure Field Notes 4 Azure Files tiers: Premium SSD, Standard Hot, Cool, Tx Optimized 3 ANF performance tiers: Standard, Premium, Ultra — all SSD-backed 4TiB ANF minimum provisioning — significant cost floor for small workloads Dual ANF serves the same data via SMB and NFS simultaneously — AF cannot Microsoft offers two fully managed, enterprise-grade file storage services in Azure. They share a surface area — both serve file shares over standard protocols, both...