Azure AI Foundry: Claude, regions, CCU 2026

TL;DR

Azure AI Foundry, now Microsoft Foundry, is Azure’s platform for models, agents and tools. Claude ships there as a Marketplace offer: Hosted on Azure or Hosted on Anthropic. Billing uses CCU at 0.01 USD. There is no EU data zone for Claude. For processing in EU member states, use Bedrock EU or Google Europe.

What is Azure AI Foundry, and what is the product called now?

Azure AI Foundry is the query people type. Microsoft now calls the product Microsoft Foundry. It groups agents, models and tools under one Azure resource provider, with shared IAM, networking and policy. The catalog has more than 10,000 models from Microsoft, OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta and others. Earlier brands were Azure AI Studio and Azure AI Foundry.

The product page of 6 October 2026 names three building blocks. Agents run as portal prompt agents or as hosted code. Models come from the Foundry catalog. Tools and knowledge attach through the Foundry Toolbox. You work in the portal, SDKs, Azure Developer CLI, VS Code or MCP.

Two resource models sit side by side. New work uses a Foundry resource with projects. Older hub projects stay in the classic portal. Azure OpenAI resources can upgrade to a Foundry resource and keep endpoint and keys. For Claude, use the new portal with the New Foundry toggle on.

Claude is not an Azure-sold model. Microsoft treats partner models that Azure does not sell as Non-Microsoft Products. You buy through Azure Marketplace and pay on the Azure invoice. The processor chain is in our Claude GDPR comparison.

Which Claude models run in Foundry, and where are they hosted?

Foundry offers Claude in two versions. Version 2, Hosted on Azure, runs end to end on Azure and is GA. Version 1, Hosted on Anthropic, runs outside Azure. Not every model exists in both. Deploy defaults to version 2 when it exists.

The Claude models page and the hosting comparison of 6 October 2026 give this matrix:

Model	Hosted on Azure	Hosted on Anthropic	Context / output	Data zone
claude-opus-5-5	GA	GA	1M / 128K	Global, US
claude-sonnet-5-5	GA	GA	1M / 128K	Global, US
claude-sonnet-5	GA	GA	1M / 128K	Global, US
claude-haiku-4-5	GA	GA	200K / 64K	Global only
claude-fable-5-1	no	Preview	1M / 128K	Global only
claude-mythos-5-1	no	gated Preview	1M / 128K	Global only

Hosted on Azure supports Messages and token counting. Hosted on Anthropic adds the Files API and Skills. Skills need code execution and are missing on Bedrock and Google Cloud, see Claude Skills for enterprise. Foundry does not filter Claude content at deploy time. You add content safety in the app.

Microsoft lists EU watermarking for claude-mythos-5-1, claude-fable-5-1 and claude-fable-5. Fable 5 uses one key. The 5.1 variants use two keys plus C2PA. The detection API is early access and outside the Foundry launch.

We recommend Hosted on Azure with claude-sonnet-5-5 or claude-opus-5-5 for production. Use Hosted on Anthropic only when you need Skills or the Files API and you have documented the transfer.

What does Claude cost in Azure AI Foundry?

Claude in Foundry bills through Azure Marketplace in Claude Consumption Units. Anthropic rates tokens at list price, converts the amount to CCU at 0.01 USD and reports hourly to Azure. One hundred CCU equals 1.00 USD. There are no prepaid CCU credits. Spend decrements MACC.

Anthropic’s Foundry pricing section and Microsoft’s CCU page of 6 October 2026 use the same token rates as the Claude API:

Model	Input	Output	5m cache write	Cache read	US zone (1.1x)
Claude Sonnet 5.5	2 USD	10 USD	2.50 USD	0.20 USD	2.20 / 11
Claude Opus 5.5	4 USD	20 USD	5 USD	0.20 USD	4.40 / 22
Claude Haiku 4.5	1 USD	5 USD	1.25 USD	0.10 USD	n/a, Global only
Claude Fable 5.1	10 USD	50 USD	12.50 USD	0.25 USD	n/a, Global only

USD per million tokens. A chatbot that burns 1 million input tokens and 100,000 output tokens on Sonnet 5.5 costs 3.00 USD, or 300 CCU. The same load on Opus 5.5 costs 6.00 USD, or 600 CCU. The US data zone multiplies every token category by 1.1.

Pay-as-you-go starts tight. Sonnet 5.5 and Opus 5.5 get 40 requests per minute, 40,000 uncached input tokens and 8,000 output tokens per minute. Haiku 4.5 gets 80 / 80,000 / 16,000. Enterprise and MCA-E lift Sonnet 5.5 and Opus 5.5 to 10,000 requests, 10 million input tokens and 2 million output tokens. Fable on pay-as-you-go is 0 / 0 / 0. Cache reads do not count toward ITPM. The quota page has the tables.

Unsupported subscriptions: free trial, student, credit-based accounts, CSP and enterprise accounts in South Korea. The Azure invoice shows one CCU line. Per-model tokens sit in the Foundry monitor. Nobody publishes euro list prices. Bedrock and Google tables are in Claude API pricing EU.

Does processing stay in the EU?

No. For Claude, Microsoft lists Global Standard and Data Zone Standard for the United States only. There is no EU data zone. Global Standard may process prompts in any Azure region. Hosted on Anthropic may leave Azure and the selected region. Anthropic remains an independent processor on both paths.

The hosting comparison and the privacy page of 6 October 2026 split three roles. Anthropic sells and operates the model and processes prompts and outputs. Microsoft provides the portal, endpoint, identity and invoice and may share usage and contact data with Anthropic. On Hosted on Azure, prompts and completions stay in Azure, data at rest in the chosen geography. Automatic safeguards may send content to Anthropic Trust and Safety. Staff review exceptions only.

That is not an EU path. If personal data enters the prompt, use Bedrock with an eu. profile or Google’s Europe multi-region, both at a 10% premium. The Vertex route is in Claude on Vertex AI in Europe, the AWS route in Amazon Bedrock in the EU. Foundry fits Azure-only procurement when the prompt carries no personal data.

SLA and support go through Microsoft. Model operations stay with Anthropic. Get in writing which DPA covers Claude in your tenant: Anthropic’s DPA, the Microsoft Products and Services DPA, or both for separate data.

How do you deploy Claude in Azure AI Foundry?

You need a paid Azure subscription, Contributor or Owner on the resource group, Marketplace rights and a Foundry project. Then you subscribe to the Claude offer, create a deployment and call the Messages API on the resource Anthropic endpoint.

The steps follow the deploy guide and the Anthropic Foundry page of 6 October 2026:

1. Open the Foundry portal, turn New Foundry on, then Discover and Models.
2. Pick a Claude model. If both versions exist, version 2 Hosted on Azure opens.
3. Deploy, Custom settings. Read the Marketplace terms, pick an industry, Agree and Proceed.
4. Set the deployment name. Region scope: Global, or Data Zone for the US zone if the model offers it.
5. Under Model version pick the host: version 2 Azure, version 1 Anthropic.
6. Deploy. Copy Target URI and Key from the Details tab.
7. Call https://{resource}.services.ai.azure.com/anthropic/v1/messages with header anthropic-version: 2023-06-01.

import os
from anthropic import AnthropicFoundry

client = AnthropicFoundry(
    api_key=os.environ.get("ANTHROPIC_FOUNDRY_API_KEY"),
    resource="example-resource",
)

message = client.messages.create(
    model="claude-sonnet-5-5",
    max_tokens=1024,
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Name three Azure regions in the EU."}],
)
print(message.content)

Install with pip install -U "anthropic". For Entra ID add azure-identity. TypeScript uses @anthropic-ai/foundry-sdk. The deployment name goes in the model field. Ruby has no native Foundry client yet.

A Foundry resource may hold at most 32 deployments, per the general Foundry limits. Idle deployments do not burn tokens, they occupy slots. On HTTP 429 use exponential backoff, then request quota.

Foundry or Bedrock: when to pick which?

Foundry wins when Azure already owns procurement, MACC and identity and the prompt does not need EU residency. Bedrock or Google win when inference must stay in member states. Global token prices match. The 10% EU premium exists only on Bedrock and Google.

Criterion	Azure AI Foundry	Amazon Bedrock	Google Cloud
Claude inference in the EU	no	eu. profile, in-region	Europe multi-region
Processor for prompts	Anthropic	AWS	Google
Billing	CCU 0.01 USD, Azure invoice	AWS tokens or CCU on Claude Platform	Google tokens
Skills and Files API	Hosted on Anthropic only	not supported	not supported
EU premium	none, because there is no EU route	10% from Sonnet 4.5	10% from Sonnet 4.5

Our position: put regulated workloads with personal data on Bedrock EU or Google Europe. Use Foundry for internal text without personal data, prototypes and teams that can buy only through Azure. Skills force Hosted on Anthropic and processing outside Azure. That is its own transfer, not an Azure residency promise.

FAQ

Answers reflect Microsoft and Anthropic docs as of 6 October 2026. Model cards and quotas move. Recheck the pages before you sign a DPA.

What is Azure AI Foundry in one sentence?

Azure AI Foundry is the common search name for Microsoft Foundry, Azure’s platform with more than 10,000 models, agents and tools, through which you run Claude as a Marketplace offer on your Azure bill.

What does Claude cost in Azure AI Foundry?

You pay Claude list rates, invoiced as CCU at 0.01 USD. Sonnet 5.5 is 2 / 10 USD per million tokens, Opus 5.5 is 4 / 20, Haiku 4.5 is 1 / 5. The US data zone multiplies by 1.1. There is no base fee and no prepaid CCU.

Azure AI Foundry or Amazon Bedrock: which is better for Claude in the EU?

Bedrock when processing must stay in EU member states. Foundry when procurement is Azure-only and the prompt has no personal data. Global token prices match. Bedrock charges 10% for the EU profile. Foundry has no EU route you can buy.

Do prompts stay in the EU if the project is in Sweden Central?

No. Global Standard may process in any Azure region. Hosted on Anthropic may leave Azure. Microsoft does not list an EU data zone for Claude. A Sweden Central project region is not a residency guarantee.

Who is the processor for Claude in Foundry?

Anthropic, on both hosting paths. Microsoft processes portal, endpoint, identity and billing data under the Microsoft DPA and may share usage and contact data with Anthropic. Claude is a Non-Microsoft Product.

Can I use a free trial or CSP subscription for Claude in Foundry?

No. Microsoft excludes free trial, student, credit-based accounts, CSP and enterprise accounts in South Korea. You need a paid subscription with a payment method in a country where Anthropic sells the offer.

Sources

1. Microsoft Learn: What is Microsoft Foundry (6 October 2026)
2. Microsoft Learn: Claude models in Foundry (6 October 2026)
3. Microsoft Learn: Claude hosting comparison (6 October 2026)
4. Microsoft Learn: CCU billing for Claude (6 October 2026)
5. Microsoft Learn: Claude quotas (6 October 2026)
6. Microsoft Learn: Deploy Claude in Foundry (6 October 2026)
7. Microsoft Learn: Claude data privacy in Foundry (6 October 2026)
8. Microsoft Learn: Partner models (6 October 2026)
9. Anthropic Docs: Claude in Microsoft Foundry (6 October 2026)
10. Anthropic Docs: Pricing (6 October 2026)