Whether you are using the Microsoft Azure $200 Free Trial or running production workloads, setting up a Budget Alarm in Azure Cost Management is essential. It ensures you receive instant email notifications before your account spend exceeds your planned allocation.

In this detailed July 2026 step-by-step tutorial, we will cover how to navigate Azure Cost Management, configure a spending budget, set alert percentage thresholds (actual & forecasted), and assign email recipients or Action Groups.

Prerequisites & Role Requirements

Before creating a budget, make sure your Azure user account has sufficient permissions:

• You need Owner, Contributor, Cost Management Contributor, or Billing Reader role on your Subscription or Resource Group.
• Access to the Azure Portal.

---

Step-by-Step: Creating an Azure Budget & Billing Alarm

1 Open Azure Portal & Search "Cost Management + Billing"

Log in to the Azure Portal. In the top search bar, search for Cost Management + Billing or Budgets and select it.

2 Click "+ Add" to Create a New Budget

Under the Cost Management section in the left sidebar, click Budgets. Then click the + Add button on the top action bar.

3 Define Budget Scope, Name & Target Amount ($)

In the Create budget wizard under the Budget details tab, configure the following settings:

• Scope: Confirm your active Subscription or select a specific Resource Group.
• Name: Type a unique budget name (e.g., Monthly-DevOps-Azure-Budget).
• Reset period: Select Monthly (or Quarterly/Billing Month/Annually).
• Creation date & Expiration date: Keep defaults or set your desired time window.
• Amount: Enter your limit in USD or local currency (e.g., 10.00 for $10 USD).

4 Configure Alert Thresholds (Actual vs. Forecasted)

Click Next to move to the Set alerts tab. Add your threshold conditions:

• Alert 1 (Actual Cost): Set Alert type to Actual and % of budget to 50 ($5).
• Alert 2 (Actual Cost): Click + Add alert rule, set Alert type to Actual and % of budget to 80 ($8).
• Alert 3 (Forecasted Overrun): Click + Add alert rule, set Alert type to Forecasted and % of budget to 100 ($10).

5 Add Notification Email Recipients & Action Groups

In the notification settings area at the bottom of the page:

• Email recipients: Type your email address (separate multiple emails with commas).
• Language: Select your preferred notification language.
• Action group (Optional): Select or create an Azure Monitor Action Group if you want to trigger automated runbooks or webhooks.

6 Review & Create Budget

Click Create to activate your budget. You will be redirected to the Budgets dashboard, where progress bars display actual spending against your budget limit in real time.

---