Azure Functions is a serverless compute service that allows you to run event-triggered code without having to explicitly provision or manage infrastructure. It automatically scales based on demand and you are charged only for the compute resources used during the execution of your functions. Virtual Machines require management of the underlying infrastructure, whereas container services like Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) also involve orchestration. Logic Apps, although used for automated workflows, are not primarily compute services and do not offer the same kind of execution model.