Per Host Pool Pricing: Why It Makes ROI a No-Brainer
When evaluating any cost optimisation tool, one of the first questions you’ll ask is: “Will this actually save me money?”
With many AVD management tools, answering that question requires spreadsheets, calculators, and a fair bit of guesswork. Their pricing models—charging per VM, per user, or based on consumption—make ROI calculations complex and unpredictable.
We designed The Smart Scaler differently. We charge per host pool, not per VM or per user. Here’s why that matters for your bottom line.
The Problem with Per-VM and Per-User Pricing
Per-VM Pricing
Many tools charge you for every VM in your environment. This creates a frustrating paradox:
- You pay more as you scale — Adding VMs to handle growth increases your management costs
- Seasonal spikes hurt twice — Spinning up extra VMs for busy periods means paying double: Azure compute costs plus increased tool fees
- No incentive for efficiency — The vendor benefits when you have more VMs, even if you don’t need them
Example: A tool charging £2/VM/month seems cheap until you’re managing 200 VMs. That’s £400/month just for the management tool—before it’s saved you a penny.
Per-User Pricing
Per-user pricing seems fairer, but it has its own problems:
- User counts fluctuate — Contractors, seasonal staff, and project-based workers make budgeting unpredictable
- Penalises growth — Hiring more staff shouldn’t mean higher infrastructure management costs
- Doesn’t reflect actual resource usage — 100 light users might use fewer resources than 20 power users
Example: At £1/user/month with 500 users, you’re paying £500/month—regardless of whether those users are actually using AVD heavily or rarely.
The Smart Scaler Approach: Per Host Pool
We charge a flat £5 per host pool per month. That’s it.
- 10 VMs in a host pool? £5/month
- 100 VMs in a host pool? £5/month
- 1,000 users across that host pool? Still £5/month
This approach means:
✅ Predictable costs — You know exactly what you’ll pay, every month
✅ Scales with your architecture, not your size — Growing from 50 to 500 users doesn’t change your Smart Scaler bill
✅ Aligned incentives — We succeed when you’re running efficiently, not when you have more VMs
ROI Calculator: See How Fast We Pay for Ourselves
Let’s make ROI crystal clear with some real-world examples—starting with the smallest deployments.
Example 1: Micro Deployment (1 Host Pool, 1-2 VMs)
Think per-host-pool pricing doesn’t make sense for tiny deployments? Think again.
Even with just 1 or 2 VMs, The Smart Scaler delivers value through:
- Granular scheduling windows — Not just “on at 9, off at 5”, but precise 15-minute windows that match your actual work patterns
- Lunch hour scaling — Automatically scale down during predictable quiet periods
- Smart weekend handling — Different schedules for Saturday support vs Sunday shutdown
- Holiday awareness — No more paying for VMs running on bank holidays when no one’s working
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| VMs in host pool | 2 |
| VM size | D4s_v5 (£0.154/hour) |
| Hours saved per day through granular scheduling | 14 hours (evenings, nights, lunch, weekends) |
| Monthly savings | 2 VMs × £0.154 × 14 hours × 30 days = £129 |
| Smart Scaler cost | £0 (free tier) |
| Net savings | £129/month |
With the free tier, even a 2-VM host pool saves over £1,500/year at zero cost to you.
Example 2: Small Business (1 Host Pool, 20 VMs)
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| VMs in host pool | 20 |
| Average VM size | D4s_v5 (£0.154/hour) |
| Hours saved per day through smart scaling | 8 hours (nights/weekends) |
| Monthly savings | 20 VMs × £0.154 × 8 hours × 30 days = £739 |
| Smart Scaler cost | £5 |
| Net savings | £734/month |
| ROI | 14,780% |
The Smart Scaler pays for itself in less than 5 hours of operation.
Example 3: Medium Business (3 Host Pools, 100 VMs)
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Total VMs | 100 across 3 host pools |
| Average VM size | D4s_v5 (£0.154/hour) |
| Hours saved per day | 10 hours (smarter scaling + holidays) |
| Monthly savings | 100 VMs × £0.154 × 10 hours × 30 days = £4,620 |
| Smart Scaler cost | 3 × £5 = £15 |
| Net savings | £4,605/month |
| ROI | 30,700% |
Example 4: Enterprise/MSP (20 Host Pools, 500 VMs)
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Total VMs | 500 across 20 host pools |
| Average VM size | D8s_v5 (£0.308/hour) |
| Hours saved per day | 12 hours (aggressive scaling) |
| Monthly savings | 500 VMs × £0.308 × 12 hours × 30 days = £55,440 |
| Smart Scaler cost | 20 × £5 = £100 |
| Net savings | £55,340/month |
| ROI | 55,340% |
Compare This to Alternatives
Let’s see how the same enterprise scenario (500 VMs, 1,000 users) would look with different pricing models:
| Pricing Model | Monthly Cost | Net Savings |
|---|---|---|
| The Smart Scaler (£5/host pool) | £100 | £55,340 |
| Per-VM tool (£2/VM) | £1,000 | £54,440 |
| Per-user tool (£1/user) | £1,000 | £54,440 |
| Percentage of savings (10%) | £5,544 | £49,896 |
With per-host-pool pricing, you keep more of your savings.
More Than Just Schedules: Granular Control & Smart Automation
The ROI examples above use conservative estimates based on basic scheduling. But The Smart Scaler goes far beyond simple on/off schedules.
Granular Time Windows
Forget “9-to-5” thinking. Our scheduling allows:
- 15-minute precision — Start VMs at 8:45am to be ready for the 9am rush, shut down at 5:15pm after the last user logs off
- Multi-window days — Run 8am-12pm, scale down for lunch, scale back up 1pm-5pm
- Day-specific patterns — Full capacity Monday-Thursday, reduced Friday afternoons, skeleton crew Saturdays, off Sundays
- Ramp-up and ramp-down — Gradually scale in the morning and evening rather than all-or-nothing
Intelligent Logic
Beyond schedules, The Smart Scaler applies smart logic:
- Session-aware scaling — Won’t shut down VMs with active sessions
- Drain mode management — Gracefully moves users before scaling down
- Buffer capacity — Maintains headroom for unexpected demand
- Start VM on Connect integration — Keep minimal VMs running, let users trigger additional capacity on-demand
Automatic Smart Scaling
For environments that want hands-off optimisation:
- Usage pattern learning — Automatically detects your typical usage patterns
- Predictive scaling — Anticipates demand before it happens
- Anomaly handling — Recognises unusual days and adjusts accordingly
- Continuous optimisation — Keeps improving as it learns your environment
What This Means for Small Deployments
Even with just 1 or 2 VMs, these features add up:
| Scenario | Basic Scheduling | With Granular Control |
|---|---|---|
| 2 VMs, simple 9-5 | 8 hours saved/day | 14+ hours saved/day |
| Monthly savings | £74 | £129+ |
| Annual savings | £888 | £1,548+ |
The more precisely you can match capacity to demand, the more you save—regardless of your deployment size.
Why We Chose This Model
Our goal is to make AVD cost optimisation accessible to everyone—from small businesses with a single host pool to MSPs managing hundreds.
Per-host-pool pricing means:
- Low barrier to entry — Try us on one host pool for free, add more at just £5 each
- Simple budgeting — Know your costs without complex calculations
- Fair scaling — Your success (growing users and VMs) doesn’t penalise you
- Aligned incentives — We’re motivated to help you run efficiently, not to have you spin up more VMs
Your First Host Pool Is Free
Still not convinced? Your first host pool is completely free, forever. No credit card required.
This means you can:
- ✅ Connect your AVD environment
- ✅ Set up intelligent scaling schedules
- ✅ See real savings on your Azure bill
- ✅ Prove ROI before spending a penny
Only when you’re ready to manage additional host pools do you pay anything—and even then, it’s just £5 each.
The Bottom Line
With The Smart Scaler’s per-host-pool pricing:
- ROI is immediate — Typically pays for itself within hours, not months
- Costs are predictable — No surprises as you grow
- Risk is zero — Free tier lets you prove value first
Stop paying for complex pricing models that eat into your savings. Start with one free host pool today and see the difference simple, transparent pricing makes.
Ready to calculate your specific ROI? Get started free or contact us for a personalised savings estimate.