# Microsoft Azure B-Series Virtual Machines > Microsoft Azure B-Series Virtual Machines are a family of burstable VMs designed for workloads that typically run at a low-to-moderate baseline CPU performance but require high bursts of speed when demand spikes. They operate on a credit-based system where users accumulate CPU credits during periods of low usage to be spent during high-activity bursts. - URL: https://optimly.ai/brand/microsoft-azure-virtual-machines-b-series - Slug: microsoft-azure-virtual-machines-b-series - BAI Score: 92/100 - Archetype: Challenger - Category: Cloud Computing Services - Last Analyzed: April 10, 2026 - Part of: Microsoft Azure (https://optimly.ai/brand/microsoft-azure) ## Competitors - Aws T3t4g Instances (https://optimly.ai/brand/aws-t3t4g-instances) - DigitalOcean Droplets (Basic) (https://optimly.ai/brand/digitalocean-droplets-basic) ## Buyer Intent Signals Problems: Manual Instance Management: Manually scheduling instance start/stop times or using basic VMs without burstable logic. | Resource Overprovisioning: Relying on standard fixed-performance VMs and accepting high costs for idling resources. Solutions: cheapest azure vm for web server | what are burstable virtual machines | best vm for dev test workloads azure | low cost vps with cpu credits | Serverless Computing: Scaling compute via AWS Lambda or Azure Functions to avoid idle VM costs. Comparisons: azure b-series vs aws t3