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How to create a Free Azure Log Analytics Workspace using PowerShell

· 2 min read
Luke Murray
Luke Murray
Author

When you create a Log Analytics workspace using the Azure Portal, you only get the Pricing or 'Pay-as-you-go' tiers to select.

You used to create a 'Free' tier using the Azure Portal; however, since 2018; they removed it with a change in plans and it became a legacy offering.

However, using PowerShell, you can still create a Log Analytics Free SKU!

The Free pricing tier is a legacy pricing tier that is available for trying Azure Log Analytics. It has a data cap of 500 MB/day and only 7 days of data retention, so it is intended only for testing and is not to be used for production deployments.

You can change a Free Tier Log Analytics workspace to a Pay-as-you-go or commitment tier later.

You cannot change a Log Analytics workspace created on a higher tier back to Free, even using PowerShell, due to adjustments in 2018 around the Log Analytics billing and plans.

Azure Log Analytics - Free

Create a 'Free Tier' Log Analytics using PowerShell​

Change the script's variables below to suit your environment, connect to Azure and run the script to create your Log Analytics workspace.

Note: I tested this script on an MSDN subscription, which I've had for a few years and a recent one created a few months back (2021), but there may be limitations on other subscription types that I haven't tested - see blurb below the script.

#Connect to Azure
Connect-AzAccount

#Set Variables
$ResourceGroup = 'aad_mgmt'
$Location = 'australiaeast'
$LogAnalyticsName = 'la-free'
$SKU = 'Free'

#Creates Log Analytics Workspace
New-AzOperationalInsightsWorkspace -Location $Location -Name $LogAnalyticsName -Sku $SKU -ResourceGroupName $ResourceGroup

If you get an error: Error Message: Pricing tier doesn't match the subscription's billing model. Read http://aka.ms/PricingTierWarning for more details, unfortunately it means that your Subscription is under a different Billing model, and may have been created recently are you are unable to use the 'Free' tier, instead you may have to create it using 'standard' instead.

Azure Log Analytics - Free