Production web api hosting, web app for containers or azure container instances?
I have an ASP.NET core 3.1 based web api ready to deploy to Azure for production use. For test / development, I have been deploying it to a traditional app service on Azure which I believe is a shared Windows VM under the hood. I have been on F1 tier and it suits my needs for test and dev.
But for production, even the cheapest plan costs me $93.44 per month which I would like to avoid if I can.
In order to lower the cost, I have decided to containerize my app and deploy it using "web app for containers" or "azure container instances". My question is, based on your experience, which method will give me reasonable production-scale performance while minimize my monthly cost? Or would containerize my app save me any money at all?
Please note that I have evaluated Azure Functions and decided it is not what I would like to use.
For your requirements, first of all, you need to know that the Azure Container Instance benefits for its quick start and running. See this:
Azure Container Instances is a great solution for any scenario that can operate in isolated containers, including simple applications, task automation, and build jobs.
It's good for the simple application, but not good for scenarios where you need full container orchestration, including service discovery across multiple containers, automatic scaling, and coordinated application upgrades. And I think it's also not stable for the production use, it's more appropriate for the test.
And the Azure App Service is cost according to the service plan, the service plan billed on a per second basis. You can plan the use with time as you need and the App Service has more features than Container Instance. Or if you do not satisfied with App Service, maybe you can take a look at the Azure Kubernetes Service, it has more control and feature then the Container Instance.