Compare Azure Queues

Comparison

Messaging Patterns Comparison

Service	Pattern	Description	Architecture
Storage Queue	Simple Queue	Basic FIFO message queue	Producer → [Queue] → Consumer
Service Bus Queue	Point-to-Point	Enterprise messaging queue	Producer → [Queue] → Consumer
Service Bus Topic	Publish-Subscribe	Fan-out to multiple subscribers	Producer → [Topic] → Multiple Subscriptions
Event Hub	Event Streaming	High-throughput event ingestion	Producer → [Event Hub] → Multiple Consumer Groups

Throughput & Scale Comparison

Feature	Storage Queue	Service Bus Queue	Service Bus Topic	Event Hub
Max Throughput	20,000 msgs/sec	2,000 msgs/sec (Standard) 100,000 msgs/sec (Premium)	2,000 msgs/sec (Standard) 100,000 msgs/sec (Premium)	Millions of events/sec
Message Size	64KB	256KB (Standard) 1MB (Premium)	256KB (Standard) 1MB (Premium)	1MB per event
Queue/Topic Limit	Unlimited queues	10,000 queues/namespace	10,000 topics/namespace	32 partitions/hub
Retention	Until consumed (7 days max)	Until consumed (max 14 days)	Until consumed (max 14 days)	1-7 days (configurable)
Storage Limit	500TB per account	80GB (Standard) 1TB (Premium)	80GB (Standard) 1TB (Premium)	Unlimited

Delivery Guarantees & Features

Feature	Storage Queue	Service Bus Queue	Service Bus Topic	Event Hub
Ordering	Best-effort FIFO	FIFO guaranteed (When using sessions)	FIFO guaranteed (per-subscription when using sessions)	Per-partition ordering
Delivery	At-least-once	At-least-once	At-least-once	At-least-once
Transactions	No	Full ACID support	Full ACID support	No
Dead Letter Queue	Manual implementation	Built-in	Built-in	Manual implementation
Duplicate Detection	No	Yes	Yes	No
Message TTL	7 days max	14 days max	14 days max	7 days max
Batching	Yes (32 messages)	Yes	Yes	Yes (up to 1MB)

Consumer Patterns

Feature	Storage Queue	Service Bus Queue	Service Bus Topic	Event Hub
Consumers	Multiple competing	Single active consumer	Multiple independent subscriptions	Multiple consumer groups
Message Consumption	Destructive	Destructive	Destructive	Non-destructive (replay)
Load Balancing	Competing consumers	Competing consumers	Per-subscription competing	Partition-based
Filtering	Client-side only	Basic	Advanced SQL-like filters	Client-side only
Peek Support	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Session Support	No	Yes	Yes	No

Security & Authentication

Feature	Storage Queue	Service Bus Queue	Service Bus Topic	Event Hub
Authentication	Storage Account Key SAS Token Azure AD	Connection String SAS Token Azure AD	Connection String SAS Token Azure AD	Connection String SAS Token Azure AD
Network Security	Private Endpoints Firewall Rules	Private Endpoints Firewall Rules	Private Endpoints Firewall Rules	Private Endpoints Firewall Rules
Encryption	At rest & in transit	At rest & in transit	At rest & in transit	At rest & in transit
RBAC Support	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Cost Structure

Feature	Storage Queue	Service Bus Queue	Service Bus Topic	Event Hub
Pricing Model	Per operation ($0.0036 per 10K ops)	Per operation + base cost ($0.05 per million ops)	Per operation + base cost ($0.05 per million ops)	Throughput Units ($22.50/TU/month)
Base Cost	None	$9.81/ m o n t h (St an d a r d) < b r / >$ 677/month (Premium)	$9.81/ m o n t h (St an d a r d) < b r / >$ 677/month (Premium)	1 TU included
Relative Cost	$ (Cheapest)	$ (Medium)	$$ (Higher)	$ (High volume) $$ (Low volume)
Free Tier	Yes (12 months)	No	No	No

Management & Operations

Feature	Storage Queue	Service Bus Queue	Service Bus Topic	Event Hub
Setup Complexity	Very Simple	Medium	High	Medium
Monitoring	Azure Monitor Storage Analytics	Azure Monitor Service Bus Metrics	Azure Monitor Service Bus Metrics	Azure Monitor Event Hub Metrics
SDK Support	All major languages	All major languages	All major languages	All major languages
REST API	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Management Tools	Storage Explorer Azure Portal	Service Bus Explorer Azure Portal	Service Bus Explorer Azure Portal	Event Hub Explorer Azure Portal

Use Case Recommendations for VM Lifecycle management: [azure-event-grid-and-storage-queue-for-vm-events]

Service	Best For	Avoid When	Your Use Case Fit
Storage Queue	• Simple message processing • Cost-sensitive scenarios • Basic queuing needs • High-volume simple tasks	• Need guaranteed ordering • Complex enterprise features • Transactional requirements	✅ Perfect for VM lifecycle events
Service Bus Queue	• Enterprise integration • Guaranteed FIFO ordering • Transactional processing • Complex business logic	• High-volume scenarios • Cost-sensitive applications • Simple use cases	⚠️ Overkill for your current needs
Service Bus Topic	• Multiple consumer teams • Fan-out messaging • Advanced filtering needs • Microservices coordination	• Single consumer • High-volume streaming • Simple point-to-point	⚠️ Complex for single consumer
Event Hub	• Real-time analytics • IoT telemetry • High-throughput streaming • Event replay requirements	• Low-volume scenarios • Simple message processing • Cost-sensitive applications	❌ Overkill for your volume

Performance Characteristics

Metric	Storage Queue	Service Bus Queue	Service Bus Topic	Event Hub
Latency	Low (< 10ms)	Medium (10-50ms)	Medium (10-50ms)	Very Low (< 5ms)
Availability SLA	99.9%	99.9%	99.9%	99.9%
Geo-replication	Yes (GRS, RA-GRS)	No (Premium: Geo-DR)	No (Premium: Geo-DR)	Yes (Geo-DR)
Auto-scaling	Automatic	Manual (Premium: Auto)	Manual (Premium: Auto)	Manual/Auto

Subscriber pattern always means: fully duplicated message across multiple subscribers.

So whenever you see ‘subscription’, it means, ‘duplicated message delivery’, and it is for ALL messages.

For kafka:

Message Placement (Producer Side) Messages are distributed to partitions based on:

Consumer Assignment (Consumer Side) Within each consumer group, each partition is assigned to exactly one consumer:

Key Insights About Partitions: