VM licensing query

We provisioned a SQL Server VM in Azure with a SQL Standard Edition license, and have been getting billed for the SQL license. It turns out we don’t need SQL on this VM, but we do not want to rebuild the VM, so we can’t exactly delete and re-deploy without SQL.

The workaround I want to do, but I want to validate with Microsoft to make sure we’re okay from a licensing perspective, is to change the SQL edition on that VM to SQL developer edition, which is free. We won’t have any actual databases deployed, and in fact we will not even start the SQL services on the VM. The VM itself will be used in production, utilizing IIS and our internal software product deployed to it, but SQL server on that VM won’t be used. I want to verify that since the VM itself will be used for production purposes, but the SQL installed on it will not be, that we’ll be copacetic with that configuration from a licensing perspective.

Any suggestions\inputs please.

Many thanks!