What Counts Toward Your MACC: Marketplace Eligible Spend

Knowing what counts toward your MACC is the difference between reaching the commitment comfortably and forfeiting money at the true up. A Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment is drawn down by qualifying Azure consumption and eligible Azure Marketplace purchases, and anything outside that definition does not move you toward the number. Because unused commitment is generally lost rather than refunded, as of June 2026, the width of the eligible definition decides how much of your real spend actually protects you. Marketplace inclusion is often the single largest lever.

What counts toward your MACC and what does not

Most pay as you go Azure usage and many first party Azure services count toward the commitment. Reservation and Savings Plan purchases typically count as well. Eligible Azure Marketplace purchases can count, which is significant because third party software and services often make up a large share of cloud spend.

What does not count is where buyers get caught. Certain charges, some support plans, and specific Marketplace offers may sit outside the eligible definition. If a meaningful slice of your spend does not draw down the commitment, you can be spending heavily and still fall short on paper.

This is why what counts toward your macc has to be pinned in writing before you sign. A verbal assurance that everything counts is not the contract, and the eligible definition is what controls at the true up.

Why Marketplace eligible spend is the biggest lever

Azure Marketplace lets you buy third party software, SaaS, and services through Microsoft billing. For many enterprises this is a large and growing category. When eligible Marketplace purchases count toward the MACC, that spend becomes commitment progress instead of a separate line.

The lever is powerful because it converts spend you were already making into drawdown. Database platforms, security tooling, observability, and data services bought through Marketplace can all help reach the number, often more easily than forcing additional first party consumption.

Not every Marketplace offer is eligible, and the rules can change. Confirm which offers and transaction types count, and push to widen inclusion. A broad Marketplace definition can be worth more than an extra point on the headline rate.

How the eligible definition affects your effective discount

Your effective discount is the headline rate applied only to spend that counts. If half your real spend sits outside the eligible definition, the discount touches only the other half, and your blended saving is far lower than the headline suggests.

Sellers quote the rate, not the effective discount. The buyer who widens the eligible definition raises the effective discount without touching the rate, which is often the easier and larger win.

Model the effective discount across your actual spend mix before you sign. If a big category is excluded, either negotiate it in or size the commitment down so you are not committing to reach a number with one hand tied.

Common exclusions buyers miss

Support plans can be excluded or only partially eligible, yet enterprise support is a real and recurring cost. Confirm how your support spend is treated. Certain taxes, fees, and pass through charges may also sit outside the definition.

Some Marketplace categories or private offers may not count, and eligibility can differ between standard listings and negotiated private offers. Do not assume a private Marketplace deal automatically draws down the commitment.

Promotional credits and free tier usage generally do not count, since they are not spend. Build your forecast on net qualifying spend, not gross usage, so the number you commit to reflects what actually draws down.

How to widen what counts before you sign

List your full spend by category and map each line to the eligible definition. Flag every category that does not count and quantify it. That list is your negotiation agenda.

Push for the broadest reasonable inclusion, with Azure Marketplace at the top of the list. Where Microsoft will not widen the definition, reduce the committed number so it matches only the spend that counts. Both paths protect you from forfeiture.

Capture the agreed definition in the Microsoft Customer Agreement or an amendment. Eligibility that is not written into the agreement is eligibility you cannot enforce at the true up.

Why a buyer side review checks eligibility line by line

Eligibility is technical, it changes, and it hides in product terms rather than the headline order. Buyers rarely have time to read every clause against their actual spend mix, which is exactly where value leaks.

An independent buyer side review maps your spend to the eligible definition, quantifies excluded categories, and builds the negotiation agenda to widen what counts. It also models the effective discount so you see the real saving, not the headline.

We are independent and buyer side, paid only by the buyer, with no reseller margin and no Microsoft incentive. Getting the eligible definition right is one of the highest return moves in the entire MACC negotiation.

Sources, method, and as of date

The program mechanics and ranges on this page reflect publicly available Microsoft documentation and our buyer side negotiation experience, as of June 2026. Microsoft revises Azure commitment programs frequently, so treat every figure as a point in time reference and confirm the current terms directly with Microsoft before you act.

This page is commercial negotiation advisory, not legal, tax, or accounting advice. We are independent and buyer side, with no reseller margin and no hyperscaler incentive, and we are paid only by the buyer. For interpretation of any commitment contract or program term, engage your own legal counsel.

Make sure your real spend actually counts toward the number.

A CONFIDENTIAL COMMITMENT REVIEW BEFORE YOU SIGN