Updated 26 October 2026 · Published by Zoorik
Azure Cobalt is Microsoft’s own Arm-based processor for Azure virtual machines (VMs). Its first-generation chip, Cobalt 100, is the first 64-bit Arm (Arm64) CPU that Microsoft designed itself, based on Arm’s Neoverse N2. It runs at 3.4 GHz, and each virtual CPU (vCPU) gets a whole physical core.
The Azure Cobalt 100 VM series
The series differ by memory for each vCPU:
- 2 GiB: Dplsv6 and Dpldsv6, general purpose.
- 4 GiB: Dpsv6 and Dpdsv6, also general purpose.
- 8 GiB: Epsv6 and Epdsv6, memory optimized.
They run Linux systems such as Ubuntu and Azure Linux, and Windows 11 Client. Windows Server isn’t on Microsoft’s list.
Azure Cobalt vs AWS Graviton
- Cobalt VMs and Graviton instances both run on Arm64.
- On both clouds, every image on an Arm node needs an Arm build, DaemonSets included.
- Azure’s earlier Arm VMs, such as Dpsv5, use Ampere Altra chips, not Cobalt.
Why it matters for your cloud cost
- Microsoft says Arm64 VMs can give up to 50% better price-performance than similar x86 VMs for scale-out work (October 2026).
- AWS’s own figure for Graviton is up to 40% (October 2026). Neither figure compares Cobalt with Graviton.
- Check where Cobalt VMs are offered, and Azure Arm VM pricing there. Prices change.
- AKS Windows node pools can’t use Arm64 VMs.
- You can’t switch an existing AKS node pool to an Arm64 VM. Plan a new pool instead, as for a node pool VM size change.
The free assessment works out what your clusters and disks could save.
Read next: How to change an AKS node pool VM size
Sources: Microsoft Learn, “Azure Cobalt processor-based Virtual Machines” (opens in a new tab); Microsoft Learn, “Dpsv5 size series” (opens in a new tab); Microsoft Learn, “Use Arm64 Virtual Machines in Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) for cost effectiveness” (opens in a new tab); Amazon Web Services, “Graviton instance migration” (opens in a new tab) (AWS Prescriptive Guidance).