You open your Azure bill and see a large monthly spend on Azure SQL or SQL Server, but no clear explanation of why. There are dozens (or hundreds) of databases, and you’re unsure which application, query, or piece of code is driving the cost. Without visibility at the query level, optimization becomes guesswork
When managing cloud databases, especially in Azure, cost is directly tied to resource consumption:
Instead of only looking at server-level metrics, use a FinOps-focused tool that shows:
Tools like Fortified’s WISdom allow you to drill into query-level spending and identify which SQL statements are responsible for the biggest share of your bill.
The top 10 statements might represent 30% or more of total database cost. That’s where you start.
Not every expensive query should be optimized first. Prioritize based on:
Click into the query details and inspect:
Once identified, locate the source in your codebase and assess optimization options.
Common optimizations include:
A single well-placed index can dramatically reduce CPU and execution time.
It’s not uncommon to achieve performance improvements of 80–90% for poorly optimized queries.
Check out our Rules to better SQL Databases - Performance
The most powerful part of query-level cost analysis is demonstrating real financial impact.
Use ROI planning features in FinOps tools to:
For example:
Now you can clearly communicate value:
“If I spend time adding this index and optimizing this query, we can save $500 per year.”
This turns performance tuning into measurable business value, not just technical improvement.
To consistently control database costs:
Database optimization is no longer just about speed, it’s about cloud cost efficiency.
WISdom is a FinOps platform purpose-built for database cost optimization. It gives you query-level cost visibility across your SQL Server and Azure SQL environments, linking individual queries directly to dollar amounts.
Key features:
Azure Query Performance Insight is a free, built-in tool in the Azure Portal for Azure SQL Database. It visualizes your top resource-consuming queries using data from Query Store, which is enabled by default on all Azure SQL databases.
Key features:
Note: Query Performance Insight is free and already available in your Azure Portal. It shows resource consumption but does not translate that into dollar amounts - you will need to calculate the cost impact yourself.
Datadog Database Monitoring provides dedicated database-level observability with query-level metrics, explain plans, and cost analysis. It supports SQL Server, Azure SQL, PostgreSQL, MySQL, and more.
Key features:
Note: Datadog's "cost" refers to query execution cost from explain plans (CPU, IO, reads), not dollar amounts. It helps you find the most resource-heavy queries, but does not map directly to your cloud bill like WISdom does.
| WISdom (⭐️ recommended) | Azure Query Performance Insight | Datadog DBM | |
| Cost per query ($) | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
| ROI planning | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Query performance monitoring | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Explain plan cost analysis | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Native Azure integration | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Pre-production cost detection | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Cost | $ | Included in Azure SQL | $$ |
If you’re running Azure SQL or SQL Server in the cloud and your costs are growing:
When you optimize by query you gain control over both performance and spend.