CostLensIdle Load Balancer (Azure)
Idle Load Balancer (Azure)
CostLens finds Azure Standard load balancers with no backend pool members — billing a base charge while routing no traffic.
Updated July 20261 min read
CostLens finds idle Azure Standard load balancers — load balancers with no backend pool members. An empty Standard load balancer incurs the base hourly rate while doing no work.
Deletion is irreversible
Deleting a load balancer removes its configuration (rules, probes, frontend IPs). CostLens shows this as an irreversible fix. Keep it if it's a placeholder for an imminent deployment.
How it works
Load balancers are enumerated
CostLens lists load balancers via the Azure Resource Manager API and inspects each one's backend address pools.
Empty balancers are flagged
Standard load balancers with zero backend members are surfaced, priced at the Standard base rate.
What to do
- Confirm no deployment is about to attach backends to it.
- Delete it (or downgrade the architecture) to stop the charge — via CostLens Apply Fix (irreversible) once write access is granted, or in the Azure portal.
Severity levels
| Severity | Estimated monthly savings |
|---|---|
| critical | >$500 |
| high | $100–$500 |
| medium | $20–$100 |
| low | <$20 |
Required permissions
- Detect:
Reader— see Azure Accounts. - Apply Fix (delete): a write role with
Microsoft.Network/loadBalancers/delete.
Limitations
- Basic load balancers are free and are not flagged; only billable Standard load balancers with empty pools are surfaced.