I only want an add-on. Do I have to buy an Atlas AVD plan?
No. Deploy the free Community plan and use the add-ons you need. Community costs nothing, needs no credit card, and never charges you for the core AVD features, whether you use them or not. The only thing you ever pay for is add-on usage beyond your free monthly units.
Which add-ons can I use on Community?
All four unit-metered add-ons are available on every plan, Community included, and Atlas Resolve comes with Atlas Reach:
- Atlas Ink: managed Microsoft 365 email signatures. One unit per user with a managed signature, per month.
- Atlas Reach: remote access and management for Windows, macOS and Linux devices outside AVD. One unit per managed device per month. Only AVD session hosts in synced host pools are free; every other managed device, an Azure VM that is not a session host included, is a unit.
- Atlas Resolve: DNS filtering on the devices that run the Atlas Reach agent. Included with Atlas Reach: it uses no units of its own.
- End User Portal: a branded home page where your users see and launch their virtual desktops. One unit per user who signs in that month.
- Atlas Spool: managed direct-IP printing for AVD session hosts. Five units per printer, per month.
Atlas Ink and Atlas Reach are fully useful on their own, with no AVD environment at all. The End User Portal and Atlas Spool serve AVD users and session hosts, so they make sense when you already run Azure Virtual Desktop.
How do I get started?
- Start a free trial at atlasavd.com/deploy. There is no separate add-on signup: every trial starts the same way.
- Open your setup link, approve Atlas in your Microsoft Entra directory, and deploy Atlas into your own Azure subscription from the same page.
- Set up the add-on you want. You can skip anything to do with host pools.
- When your 30-day trial ends, open the plan picker from Choose a plan on the Licensing page (Administration > Platform > License Overview). Pick Community with the units you want and click Continue to payment, or, if your free 10 units a month are enough, choose Downgrade to Community (free). Your add-ons keep working.
Add-on usage is free during your trial, so you can roll Atlas Ink out to real mailboxes or enroll real devices in Atlas Reach before you spend anything.
What does it cost?
The Community plan is free. Add-ons are billed in units, and a unit is always $1, on every plan. Community includes 10 free units every month, shared across all four metered add-ons. Atlas Resolve uses none: it is included with Atlas Reach.
For example, 8 people with managed Atlas Ink signatures and 2 Macs in Atlas Reach use exactly your 10 free units, so that month costs nothing.
What happens when I need more than 10 units?
Buy prepaid units. They stack on top of your 10 free units: a 40-unit pack gives you 50 units a month. Purchased units you do not use roll over to the next month while your subscription is active. Units are prepaid on every plan, so you are never billed more than you bought. When your pool runs out, the add-ons pause new usage (new portal users, signature updates, new device enrollments, new printers) until you add units or the next month begins. Community has no grace period.
Set a monthly pack with Change plan, or buy a one-time top-off with Add units, both on the Licensing page. Each opens the Atlas plan picker and a secure Stripe checkout. There is no Azure Marketplace step. See Buying More Units.
Where does Atlas run, and what does Azure cost me?
Atlas deploys into your own Azure subscription, so your data stays in your tenant. The Atlas resources (a small web app and database) are billed by Microsoft on your Azure invoice, not by Atlas. The defaults suit a small add-on deployment.
Can I move to a paid plan later?
Yes, at any time, with Change plan on the Licensing page. Your add-ons, settings, and purchased units carry over. A paid plan adds the full Atlas AVD platform and a larger included unit allowance. Units stay prepaid on every plan, with no overage bills. The first time a paid plan's pool runs out, Atlas keeps admitting usage for a one-time 14-day grace window while you add units.
Is Community free forever?
Yes. The Community plan has no end date and no platform fee. You only ever pay for the units you buy.