Is there a performance benefit of choosing the `azure function` vs the `http request` action?

Question

Is there a performance benefit of choosing the azure function vs the http request action?

There seems to be two ways to add an azure function to your logic app.

The first way is to simply trigger an Http Request:

Alternatively, we can choose Azure function as the action:

Is there a performance benefit of choosing the azure function vs the http request action?

Answer 1

There is no control over how quickly azure functions are invoked and their performance is tied to the plan selected. MSDN's Understanding Serverless Cold Start and this blog post explain there is a 2 - 10 second overhead when calling an azure function that have not been called recently. The start up time depends on the language it is written it and its dependencies. Running your azure functions using a dedicated plan avoids the problem.

An http request only has a drawback of making an HTTP call. This action is preferable when calling an API and the response does not need to be heavily processed.

Calling an azure function through an API using an http request should be avoided because it incurs the cost of two operations. Presumably an azure function is not invoked via a simple HTTP when chosen directly.