---
title: "Get Started with FREE Azure SQL Managed Instance | Data Exposed"
url: https://daily.dev/posts/get-started-with-free-azure-sql-managed-instance-data-exposed-hzfxidcy4
source_url: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_iKzAlmaUU
type: video:youtube
source: "Microsoft Developer"
published: 2026-08-06T16:01:27.057Z
updated: 2026-08-06T16:31:30.777Z
tags: ["microsoft", "azure"]
reading_time: 14
upvotes: 0
comments: 0
language: en
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Get Started with FREE Azure SQL Managed Instance | Data Exposed

**[Microsoft Developer](https://daily.dev/sources/microsoftdeveloper)** · 14 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments

## Summary

Want to run a fully managed SQL Server in Azure without paying a cent? The Azure SQL Managed Instance free offer gives you just that. With 720 vCore hours of compute, 64 GB of storage you can have up to 500 databases for free for 12 months.

Strahinja will show how to create a free SQL Managed Instance from the Azure portal, walk through what the free offer actually covers, and connect to it so you can start testing real workloads today.

✅ Chapters:
0:40 What is the free offer for Azure SQL Managed Instance
1:19 Details of what exactly you get for free
2:00 How long you can run it and how start/stop works
3:38 Limitations in the offer
4:05 Free and generous but not recommended for production
5:15 What's not supported
5:35 Expiration and upgrade process
6:02 Demo - how to get started
7:30 Demo - once it is created
8:10 Demo - how to connect with public endpoint
9:00 Demo - how to do a native restore into Azure SQL Managed Instance
10:15 Demo - how the restore works
10:40 What prerequisites do you have to have to get a free Azure SQL Managed Instance
11:48 Demo - how to monitor your free credits
12:35 Demo - how to switch to the paid tier
13:40 Demo - tips and tricks for getting started

✅ Resources:
Create Free Azure SQL Managed Instance: aka.ms/create-free-sqlmi-de
Learn more: aka.ms/freesqlmi

📌 Let's connect:
Strahinja Rodic - https://www.linkedin.com/in/strahinjarodic/, @Strale15 on X
Twitter - Anna Hoffman, https://twitter.com/AnalyticAnna
Twitter - AzureSQL, https://aka.ms/azuresqltw

🔴 Watch even more Data Exposed episodes: https://aka.ms/dataexposedyt

🔔 Subscribe to our channels for even more SQL tips:
Microsoft Azure SQL: https://aka.ms/msazuresqlyt
Microsoft SQL Server: https://aka.ms/mssqlserveryt
Microsoft Developer: https://aka.ms/microsoftdeveloperyt

#AzureSQL #SQL #LearnSQL

## Full article

daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_iKzAlmaUU>

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---

Tags: [#microsoft](https://daily.dev/tags/microsoft), [#azure](https://daily.dev/tags/azure)

[View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/get-started-with-free-azure-sql-managed-instance-data-exposed-hzfxidcy4)