Differences Between Azure Web App and Azure Static Web App

Question

What are the key differences between Azure Web App and Azure Static Web App in terms of use cases features and pricing? Which option is better suited for hosting a React-based single-page application with backend APIs and why?

Vijay Pratap Singh · Answer

Azure Web App Purpose: Designed for hosting dynamic web applications APIs and backends that require server-side processing. Key Features: Server-Side Processing: Supports server-side languages and frameworks such as .NET Java Node.js Python PHP and Ruby. Can host web applications with complex business logic and dynamic content generation. Deployment Options: Integrated with Azure DevOps GitHub and other CI/CD pipelines. Allows manual deployment via FTP or Azure CLI. Target Audience: Best for full-stack web applications or web APIs requiring backend logic. Azure Static Web App Purpose: Designed for hosting static front-end web applications with optional serverless backend APIs. Key Features: Static Content Hosting: Optimized for static assets such as HTML CSS JavaScript and images. Supports frameworks like Angular React Vue and Gatsby. Serverless Backend: Allows integration with Azure Functions for serverless APIs. API is deployed alongside the static content for simplicity. Global Content Delivery: Content is served through a global Content Delivery Network (CDN) for low latency and high availability. Deployment: Automatic deployment from GitHub or Azure DevOps repositories. Includes build automation for static site generators. Target Audience: Best for front-end-only applications or SPAs (Single Page Applications) with minimal or no backend requirements. Which Option is Better for a React SPA with Backend APIs? Azure Static Web App When to Use Azure Web App Instead? If your backend APIs are not serverless or you require a tightly coupled backend hosted alongside the app (e.g. using Express.js or ASP.NET) Azure Web App might be a better choice. For most React SPAs with lightweight serverless APIs Azure Static Web App is the optimal solution due to its simplicity performance and cost advantages. Hope this will help. Thanks