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Cloud · head to head

Azure Functions vs Later

Azure Functions logo

Azure Functions

Cloud

Event-driven serverless compute on Azure

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Later logo

Later

Social Media

Visual social media scheduling and analytics

From
$18.75/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Azure Functions has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Azure Functions consumption plan free grant is capped at 1 million executions and 400,000 GB-seconds of resource consumption per month per subscription, billed per GB-second beyond that; Later every published price is the yearly rate; there is no free plan, only a 14 day trial

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Azure Functions and Later actually diverge.

Attributes where Azure Functions and Later differ
AttributeAzure FunctionsLater
Starting priceFree$18.75/month
Pricing modelusage-basedsubscription
Free tierYesNo
CategoryCloudSocial Media

Identical on both: platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated).

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Azure Functions

  • Event-driven computingnot Later
  • Serverless application backendnot Later
  • Scalable API endpointsnot Later

Later

  • Scheduling social posts across up to 8 profiles on the entry plannot Azure Functions
  • Running social for multiple brands using separate social setsnot Azure Functions
  • Reviewing up to two years of social analytics on the Scale plannot Azure Functions

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Azure Functions

  • Consumption plan free grant is capped at 1 million executions and 400,000 GB-seconds of resource consumption per month per subscription, billed per GB-second beyond that
  • The newer Flex Consumption plan's free grant is smaller still, at 250,000 executions and 100,000 GB-seconds per month
  • Premium plan avoids per-execution charges but bills continuously for allocated core seconds and memory regardless of invocation volume
  • Memory is rounded up to the nearest 128 MB and execution time to the nearest 1 ms for billing, so small overages round upward

Later

  • Every published price is the yearly rate; there is no free plan, only a 14 day trial
  • The Starter plan caps posting at 30 posts per profile per month, which is roughly one a day
  • Analytics history is tiered: 3 months on Starter, 1 year on Growth, 2 years on Scale
  • Extra users cost $3.75 per month each on top of the plan's included seats

Pricing, plan by plan

Azure Functions

Free
  • Consumption Plan$null/month
    • 1 million requests free monthly
    • 400,000 GB-seconds free monthly
    • Billed per second and executions
  • Flex Consumption Plan$null/month
    • 250,000 executions free monthly
    • 100,000 GB-seconds free monthly
    • Event-driven scaling
  • Premium Plan$null/month
    • No execution charges
    • At least one instance required
    • Includes automatic scaling and VNET access

Later

$18.75/month
  • Starter$18.75/month
    • Billed yearly
    • 1 social set of 8 profiles
    • 1 user
  • Growth$37.5/month
    • Billed yearly
    • 2 social sets of 16 profiles
    • 2 users
  • Scale$82.5/month
    • Billed yearly
    • 6 social sets of 48 profiles
    • 4 users

Which should you pick?

Choose Azure Functions if

  • You want to start without paying.
Azure Functions review

Choose Later if

Nothing in the data separates Later from Azure Functions on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Later review

Questions people ask

Is Azure Functions or Later better?
Neither clearly leads. Azure Functions starts at Free and Later at $18.75/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Azure Functions or Later?
Azure Functions has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Azure Functions and $18.75/month for Later.
Does Azure Functions or Later run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Azure Functions for free?
Yes. Azure Functions has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Later starts at $18.75/month.
What is Azure Functions best used for?
Azure Functions is most often used for event-driven computing, serverless application backend, scalable api endpoints. Of those, event-driven computing and serverless application backend are not what Later is typically brought in for.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Azure Functions: Does Azure Functions have a free tier?

Yes, Azure Functions includes a monthly free grant of 1 million requests and 400,000 GB-seconds on the Consumption Plan, or 250,000 executions and 100,000 GB-seconds on Flex Consumption.

Source
Later: How much does Later cost?

Later publishes three plans, all priced billed yearly: Starter at $18.75 per month, Growth at $37.50 and Scale at $82.50. Annual billing is advertised as 25% off, described as 3 months free.

Source
Azure Functions: What is Azure Functions' pricing model?

Azure Functions uses usage-based pricing. Consumption plans charge per second of resource consumption and per execution, measured in gigabyte-seconds and rounded to the nearest 128 MB.

Source
Later: Does Later have a free plan?

No. Later offers a 14 day free trial on all plans, but there is no permanently free tier. The trial is the only entry point below the $18.75 per month Starter plan.

Source
Azure Functions: What is the minimum execution time for Azure Functions?

The minimum execution time is 100 milliseconds on Consumption plans. Premium plans charge based on core seconds and allocated memory.

Source
Later: How many social profiles does Later include?

Starter includes 1 social set covering 8 profiles, Growth includes 2 sets covering 16, and Scale includes 6 sets covering 48. Extra social sets are $11.25 per month each.

Source
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