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An alternative to Azure Blob Storage SFTP

Both put an SFTP endpoint in front of your own Azure storage, and with both the files stay in your subscription. The differences: Azure's feature bills US$0.30 an hour while enabled, requires a Data Lake Gen2 account, and speaks only SFTP. DocEvent bills per user, connects to any container as it stands, and adds FTPS, FTP and SCP.

Which one fits your situation

The answer depends on your account structure, your partners' protocols and your traffic.

A team moving a few GB a month

Five users and light traffic. On DocEvent that is the free Basic plan. On Azure the SFTP endpoint bills US$0.30 an hour from the moment you enable it - about US$216 a month whether anyone connects or not, and Microsoft's own docs suggest disabling it between transfers to avoid passive charges.
Winner: DocEvent, by a wide margin

Partners on different protocols

Azure's feature speaks SFTP and nothing else - a partner on FTPS or plain FTP cannot connect, whatever you pay. Every DocEvent plan includes SFTP, FTPS, FTP and SCP on the same endpoint, so the partner who still runs a 2009 FTP script is not your migration project.
Winner: DocEvent

A flat-namespace account you cannot rebuild

Azure's SFTP requires hierarchical namespace, and most existing Blob accounts were created without it. Upgrading is a one-way structural change to the account - and some features are incompatible with it. DocEvent connects to the container exactly as it stands, no account surgery required.
Winner: DocEvent - no prerequisite to meet

Azure SFTP cost vs DocEvent

Three situations as monthly bills, at list prices on both sides.
Azure Blob Storage SFTPDocEvent
Light partner feed - up to 5 users, SFTP, a few hundred MB a month≈ US$216/mo - the enablement fee alone, billed hourly whether files move or not$0 - the Basic plan covers it, free forever
Partner exchange - 15 users, some on SFTP, some still on FTPS or FTPSFTP only - the FTPS and FTP partners cannot connect at all≈ $30/mo - all four protocols on the same endpoint
Heavy - terabytes a month, or millions of files≈ US$216/mo plus per-transaction charges on every SFTP command, and egress on downloadsContact us for custom pricing - or run the self-hosted server yourself, with no per-GB or per-operation fees from us
Azure figures per the sourced footnote under the side-by-side table below. DocEvent figures from our pricing: paid plans bill in blocks of five users, with data transfer and operations included per plan and extra available as packs.

What switching involves

There is no migration, because the files never move. You are changing which endpoint writes to the container.
1
Point a service at the same container
Create a DocEvent service against the storage account and container Azure SFTP already serves - or a plain flat-namespace one it never could. Nothing moves, and both endpoints can run while you cut over.
2
Add a user per partner or system
Each sender gets its own account with a password you choose or an SSH key - bring the keys you already issued - plus per-user IP allow rules if you want them locked down.
3
Change the hostname at the sending end
Update the endpoint and credentials wherever the files come from. When traffic has moved, disable SFTP on the storage account and the US$0.30-per-hour meter stops.

Side by side

DocEvent Simple FTP ServiceAzure Blob Storage SFTP
What you are billed forPer user, per month - idle endpoints cost nothingUS$0.30 per hour while SFTP is enabled on the account - used or not
Entry price$0 - Basic is free forever, up to 5 users≈ US$216/mo per storage account with SFTP enabled
Storage account prerequisiteNone - works against a plain Blob container as it stands, plus Data Lake Gen2 and Azure FilesHierarchical namespace (Data Lake Gen2) must be enabled on the account
ProtocolsSFTP, FTPS, FTP and SCP - all included in every planSFTP only
PasswordsSet your own per user, or use SSH keysAzure generates the password - you cannot choose it (SSH keys also supported)
Per-user IP allow / deny rulesBuilt in on every serviceAccount-level storage firewall - applies to every endpoint on the account, not per user
Browser access for end users
SFS Drive, included
Other clouds on the same accountYes - Amazon S3, Google Cloud Storage and any S3-compatible store, alongside AzureAzure Storage only
AS2 for EDI
in DocEvent Channels (a separate service, same account) - managed MDN receipts; free while in preview
Where your files liveYour storage account, your subscription - we are only the endpointYour storage account, your subscription
Azure figures from Microsoft's published documentation and pricing (SFTP support for Azure Blob Storage), retrieved 31 August 2026: US$0.30 per hour while SFTP is enabled (≈ US$216 over a 720-hour month), hierarchical namespace required, local users with Azure-generated passwords or SSH keys. Storage transactions and Azure's standard egress rates apply on top - egress applies to files leaving Azure from any endpoint in front of your storage account, DocEvent included. Standard Azure storage charges apply to both products.

Common questions

Run both at once and decide with real traffic

Nothing here is a one-way door. Point a DocEvent service at the container Azure SFTP already serves, move one partner across, and compare them on your own files. The Basic plan is free forever for up to five users, so the trial costs nothing - and when the last sender has moved, disabling Azure's endpoint stops its hourly meter.
SFTP for Azure Blob Storage
The full Azure landing page - Blob, Data Lake Gen2 and Azure Files, and how connecting works.
vs AWS Transfer Family
The same comparison against AWS's managed SFTP, with worked monthly bills.
Pricing
Free forever for up to five users, then $2 per user per month.
SFS Drive
Browser access to the same containers for people who should not need an SFTP client.

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