diff --git a/changelog/unreleased/issue-5531 b/changelog/unreleased/issue-5531
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3cad4e624
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog/unreleased/issue-5531
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+Enhancement: Reduce Azure storage costs by optimizing upload method
+
+Restic previously used Azure's PutBlock and PutBlockList APIs for all file
+uploads, which resulted in two transactions per file and doubled the storage
+operation costs. For backups with many pack files, this could lead to
+significant Azure storage transaction fees.
+
+Restic now uses the more efficient PutBlob API for files up to 256 MiB,
+requiring only a single transaction per file. This reduces Azure storage
+operation costs by approximately 50% for typical backup workloads. Files
+larger than 256 MiB continue to use the block-based upload method as required
+by Azure's API limits.
+
+https://github.com/restic/restic/issues/5531
+https://github.com/restic/restic/pull/5544
diff --git a/internal/backend/azure/azure.go b/internal/backend/azure/azure.go
index 46df66113..576985b5b 100644
--- a/internal/backend/azure/azure.go
+++ b/internal/backend/azure/azure.go
@@ -41,7 +41,8 @@ type Backend struct {
 	accessTier blob.AccessTier
 }
 
-const saveLargeSize = 256 * 1024 * 1024
+const singleUploadMaxSize = 256 * 1024 * 1024
+const singleBlockMaxSize = 100 * 1024 * 1024
 const defaultListMaxItems = 5000
 
 // make sure that *Backend implements backend.Backend
@@ -53,6 +54,7 @@ func NewFactory() location.Factory {
 
 func open(cfg Config, rt http.RoundTripper) (*Backend, error) {
 	debug.Log("open, config %#v", cfg)
+
 	var client *azContainer.Client
 	var err error
 
@@ -255,23 +257,25 @@ func (be *Backend) Save(ctx context.Context, h backend.Handle, rd backend.Rewind
 	}
 
 	var err error
-	if rd.Length() < saveLargeSize {
-		// if it's smaller than 256miB, then just create the file directly from the reader
-		err = be.saveSmall(ctx, objName, rd, accessTier)
+	fileSize := rd.Length()
+
+	// If the file size is less than or equal to the max size for a single blob, use the single blob upload
+	// otherwise, use the block-based upload
+	if fileSize <= singleUploadMaxSize {
+		err = be.saveSingleBlob(ctx, objName, rd, accessTier)
 	} else {
-		// otherwise use the more complicated method
 		err = be.saveLarge(ctx, objName, rd, accessTier)
 	}
 
 	return err
 }
 
-func (be *Backend) saveSmall(ctx context.Context, objName string, rd backend.RewindReader, accessTier blob.AccessTier) error {
+// saveSingleBlob uploads data using a single Put Blob operation.
+// This method is more efficient for files under 5000 MiB as it requires only one API call
+// instead of the two calls (StageBlock + CommitBlockList) required by the block-based approach.
+func (be *Backend) saveSingleBlob(ctx context.Context, objName string, rd backend.RewindReader, accessTier blob.AccessTier) error {
 	blockBlobClient := be.container.NewBlockBlobClient(objName)
 
-	// upload it as a new "block", use the base64 hash for the ID
-	id := base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString(rd.Hash())
-
 	buf := make([]byte, rd.Length())
 	_, err := io.ReadFull(rd, buf)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -279,24 +283,20 @@ func (be *Backend) saveSmall(ctx context.Context, objName string, rd backend.Rew
 	}
 
 	reader := bytes.NewReader(buf)
-	_, err = blockBlobClient.StageBlock(ctx, id, streaming.NopCloser(reader), &blockblob.StageBlockOptions{
+	opts := &blockblob.UploadOptions{
+		Tier:                    &accessTier,
 		TransactionalValidation: blob.TransferValidationTypeMD5(rd.Hash()),
-	})
-	if err != nil {
-		return errors.Wrap(err, "StageBlock")
 	}
 
-	blocks := []string{id}
-	_, err = blockBlobClient.CommitBlockList(ctx, blocks, &blockblob.CommitBlockListOptions{
-		Tier: &accessTier,
-	})
-	return errors.Wrap(err, "CommitBlockList")
+	debug.Log("Upload single blob %v with %d bytes", objName, len(buf))
+	_, err = blockBlobClient.Upload(ctx, streaming.NopCloser(reader), opts)
+	return errors.Wrap(err, "Upload")
 }
 
 func (be *Backend) saveLarge(ctx context.Context, objName string, rd backend.RewindReader, accessTier blob.AccessTier) error {
 	blockBlobClient := be.container.NewBlockBlobClient(objName)
 
-	buf := make([]byte, 100*1024*1024)
+	buf := make([]byte, singleBlockMaxSize)
 	blocks := []string{}
 	uploadedBytes := 0