# Unassigned Public IP Address

Canonical: https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/inefficiencies/unassigned-public-ip-address

[Cloud Efficiency Hub](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub) 

# Unassigned Public IP Address

## Explanation

In Azure, it's common for public IP addresses to be created as part of virtual machine or load balancer configurations. When those resources are deleted or reconfigured, the IP address may remain in the environment unassigned. While Basic SKUs are free when idle, Standard SKUs incur ongoing hourly charges, even if the address is not in use.Unassigned Standard public IPs provide no functional value but continue to generate cost, especially in environments with high churn or inconsistent cleanup practices.

## Relevant Billing Model

- Basic SKU: Free when unassigned

- Standard SKU: Billed hourly, regardless of assignment

- Pricing varies by region and IP version (IPv4 vs IPv6)

- Costs accrue even if the IP is not attached to any resource

## Detection

- List all public IP addresses in the subscription

- Filter for IPs with Associated To status equal to - (unassigned)

- Check the SKU of each unassigned IP to determine if charges apply

- Cross-reference with recently deleted VMs or network interfaces to find residual IPs

## Remediation

- Delete unassigned Standard SKU public IPs that are no longer needed

- If an unassigned IP is intended for future use, consider converting it to Basic (if compatible)

- Incorporate IP resource cleanup into deprovisioning workflows

- Use Azure Policy or Resource Graph to flag unassigned public IPs for review

## Relevant Documentation

- [Azure Public IP Pricing](https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/details/ip-addresses//%22)

- [Public IP Address Types and SKUs](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/ip-services/public-ip-addresses/)

[Submit Feedback](https://hub.pointfive.co/inefficiencies/unassigned-public-ip-address)

## At a glance

Reference

CER-0134

Cloud provider

Azure

Service

AWS VPC

Category

[Networking](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/service-category/networking)

Inefficiency type

Unused Resource

## Contributed by

- Anderson Oliveira 

### Anderson Oliveira

FinOps Account Manager @ CloudZero

[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/anderson-c-oliveira/)

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Source: the public page above. Product screenshots and illustrative interfaces are examples, not live customer data.