What Are Private Offers?
A cloud marketplace private offer is a custom pricing and terms agreement negotiated between an ISV and a specific buyer, delivered through the marketplace transaction layer. Private offers allow sellers to offer discounts, custom contract lengths, and specialized terms to individual customers — without building a separate billing integration. The buyer still transacts through their cloud provider's marketplace, gaining the benefit of committed spend drawdown.
Every cloud marketplace has a public listing price — the rate any buyer can purchase at from your listing page. Private offers sit alongside that. When you negotiate a deal with a specific enterprise customer, you create a private offer for that buyer only. They see the custom price, accept it, and the transaction routes through the marketplace exactly as a public purchase would.
This means the buyer gets to use their pre-committed cloud spend (AWS EDP credits, Azure MACC, or GCP CCPP) against your software. That is often the deciding factor for enterprise buyers: they have committed budgets with the cloud provider that would otherwise go unspent. A marketplace private offer lets them apply that budget to your product without a separate procurement cycle.
Key benefit: Private offers do not bypass the marketplace transaction — they go through it. The buyer uses committed cloud spend. The ISV gets paid through the cloud provider's disbursement cycle. No separate invoicing or billing integration required.
Private Offers on AWS Marketplace
AWS Marketplace calls them "private offers" and they are created in the Seller Management Portal (seller.aws.amazon.com). AWS offers the most mature private offer system of the three hyperscalers, with several variants for different deal structures.
Creating a direct seller private offer
To create an AWS private offer, you specify the buyer's AWS account ID, set the custom price (which can be any amount above or below your public listing price), configure the contract duration, and set an expiration date for the offer. Once published, only that buyer's account can see and accept it.
Offer types on AWS
- Direct seller private offer: Standard ISV-to-buyer offer. You set the price; the buyer accepts.
- CPPO (Channel Partner Private Offer): A consulting or resell partner creates the offer on behalf of the ISV. The ISV sets a wholesale price for the partner, who then marks it up for the end customer. AWS handles the two-tier disbursement automatically.
- Flexible payment schedules: ISV Accelerate-eligible listings can offer installment-style payment terms — useful for multi-year deals where the buyer wants to spread cash outflow.
Fees and ISV Accelerate
The standard AWS Marketplace transaction fee is 3%. For ISVs enrolled in the ISV Accelerate program (requires AWS co-sell eligibility), the fee can be reduced — in some cases to 1.5% for eligible listings. Private offers carry the same fee structure as your public listing unless ISV Accelerate modifies it.
Renewal and expiry
Private offers have an expiration date you set at creation. When a contract expires, the buyer's subscription does not auto-renew on the private offer terms. You need to create a new private offer for renewal. Track expiry dates proactively — most marketplace management platforms send alerts, or you can monitor via the Seller Management Portal.
EDP drawdown: AWS private offers count toward the buyer's Enterprise Discount Program (EDP) committed spend. This is one of the primary reasons enterprise buyers prefer marketplace transactions over direct purchase orders.
Private Offers on Azure / Microsoft Marketplace
Microsoft's commercial marketplace (covering both Azure Marketplace and AppSource) uses the term "private plans" for custom pricing configured within an existing listing plan, and "private offers" for customer-specific deals created directly in Partner Center. Both flow through the same transaction layer.
Creating a private offer in Partner Center
Access Partner Center (partner.microsoft.com), navigate to the Marketplace Offers section, and select "Private offers." You specify the buyer by their Azure tenant ID or subscription ID, set the custom pricing (as a discount from the public plan price or a fully custom amount), and configure the contract duration. Azure supports both SaaS and VM-based listings for private offers.
MACC eligibility
Private offers on Azure Marketplace qualify for MACC (Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment) drawdown. This is a major driver of enterprise deal flow — buyers with MACC commitments can use private marketplace offers to consume that committed budget. Ensure your listing is MACC-eligible (most transactable SaaS listings are) and confirm with each buyer that their subscription has MACC balance available.
Multi-party private offers (MPPO)
Azure's equivalent of AWS CPPO is the Multi-party Private Offer (MPPO). A Microsoft partner (reseller or distributor) can extend a custom offer to their customer, with the ISV setting a wholesale price for the partner. The partner marks it up and presents the final offer to the end customer. Microsoft manages the disbursement to both the ISV and the partner automatically.
Transaction fee
The standard Azure Marketplace transaction fee is 3%, reduced from the previous 20% standard rate in 2021. Private offers carry the same 3% fee. There is no co-sell program that reduces this fee for Azure the way ISV Accelerate does for AWS — the 3% applies across the board.
Private Offers on Google Cloud Marketplace
Google Cloud Marketplace calls them "private offers" and they are managed in the Cloud Console Producer Portal. GCP's private offer system is the newest of the three and has been expanding in features since 2023.
Creating a private offer on GCP
In the GCP Producer Portal, navigate to your listing and create a new private offer. You identify the buyer by their GCP billing account ID. Set the custom pricing (percentage discount or a fixed custom amount), the contract duration, and the offer expiration date. The buyer accepts through their GCP procurement project.
CCPP drawdown
GCP private offers count toward the buyer's Cloud Consumption Commitment Program (CCPP) balance. Buyers with committed GCP spend can use private marketplace offers to draw down that commitment, making this the equivalent of AWS EDP and Azure MACC for GCP-heavy enterprises.
Eligible listing types
SaaS listings on Google Cloud Marketplace can create private offers. VM-based and Kubernetes listings use a different procurement mechanism. If you are running a SaaS listing, private offers are available from launch.
Transaction fee
GCP charges a standard 3% transaction fee on marketplace purchases, including private offers. There is no current GCP equivalent of AWS ISV Accelerate to reduce this fee, though GCP's ISV Advantage program provides other co-sell incentives.
Fees: What Private Offers Cost ISVs
All three cloud marketplaces charge a transaction fee on private offer purchases. This fee applies to the negotiated offer amount — not the public listing price. Here is a comparison:
| Marketplace | Standard Transaction Fee | Fee Reduction Program | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| AWS Marketplace | 3% | ISV Accelerate (can reduce to 1.5%) | Requires co-sell eligibility for fee reduction |
| Azure Marketplace | 3% | None (standard 3% applies) | Reduced from 20% in 2021; MPPO fee same rate |
| Google Cloud Marketplace | 3% | None (standard 3% applies) | ISV Advantage provides co-sell benefits, not fee reduction |
For context: on a $100,000 private offer, the cloud provider retains $3,000 as the transaction fee. The ISV receives $97,000 in disbursement. On a $1,000,000 annual deal, the marketplace fee is $30,000. Factor this into your pricing when negotiating private offer terms with enterprise buyers.
Positioning tip: ISVs often share the economics of the marketplace fee with buyers as a reason for the private offer pricing — the buyer gets a discount, the ISV reduces margin by approximately the fee amount, and both parties benefit from the MACC/EDP drawdown that would otherwise be forfeited.
When to Use Private Offers
Not every deal warrants a private offer. Here is when they make the most sense:
- Enterprise deals with custom pricing requirements: When a large customer requests a volume discount or pricing that differs from your public tiers, a private offer is the cleanest mechanism.
- Multi-year contracts at a negotiated rate: Buyers committing to 2–3 year terms typically expect preferential pricing. Private offers let you honor that without changing your public listing.
- Proof-of-concept or pilot pricing: Some ISVs create short-duration private offers at reduced rates for PoC engagements, converting to full-price upon success.
- Channel partner and reseller deals: If a GSI, VAR, or consulting partner is selling your software to their client, use CPPO (AWS) or MPPO (Azure) so the partner manages the customer relationship while you set the wholesale rate.
- Buyers with committed cloud spend to use: When a prospect mentions MACC balance, EDP credits, or CCPP budget, a private offer is almost always the right mechanism. It converts the committed spend into revenue for you and helps the buyer consume their pre-paid budget.
You do not need a private offer for standard transactional buyers who purchase at the public listing price. Private offers add operational overhead — tracking expiry dates, managing renewals, coordinating with partners on CPPO/MPPO workflows. Use them when the deal economics justify it.
Need help managing private offers?
Automatum handles private offer creation, renewal tracking, and CPPO/reseller workflows across AWS, Azure, and GCP. Our team has delivered 80+ marketplace listings to date. We manage the operational layer so your team focuses on closing deals.
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