Azure SQL Database Geo-Restore vs Geo Replication

Paraphrased from Azure SQL Databases Disaster Recovery 101

Azure SQL DB Geo-Restore Azure SQL DB Geo Replication
Purpose Geo Restore allows you to recover the database to a different region from backup. The automated backup of all Azure databases is replicated to a secondary region in background. Geo Restore always restores the database from the copy of backup files stored in the secondary region. Geo Replication will create a continuous copy of your database in one or more secondary region(s) (up to 4 secondary replicas). In event of disaster, you can simply failover to one of the secondary region and bring you database back online. You can also configure failover group to recover the databases automatically.
Data Loss RPO of geo restore (Recovery Point Objective, not SLA) - 1 hour 5 seconds
Recovery Time ~12 hours or more less than 30 seconds
Cost & Availability Automatically enabled for all service tiers at no extra cost Active geo-replication (opt-in feature) is available for all database tiers since April 2016Active geo-replication creates up to four online (readable) secondaries in any Azure region. Secondary active geo-replication databases are priced at 100% of primary database prices. The cost of geo-replication traffic between the primary and the online secondary is included in the cost of the online secondary.

Related: Azure SQL Database Service Tiers

Comments