Editorial photograph of a cloud finance team mapping AWS EDP commit tiers to discount thresholds
Article · AWS · EDP

AWS EDP. Commit Tiers and Discounts.

Six commit tiers. Six discount thresholds. The EDP discount curve is a step function, not a straight line. The buyer side response is to land the deal at the right band, not the next one up.

Read the Framework AWS Hub
6 tiersOn the EDP discount curve
a leading industry analyst firmRecognized
Industry Recognized
500+ Enterprise Clients
$2B+ Under Advisory
11 Vendor Practices
100% Buyer Side Independent

The AWS Enterprise Discount Program prices on a step function. Each tier of annual commit unlocks a higher discount band. The thresholds are widely held inside AWS sales but rarely shared as a published rate card.

The buyer side response reads the commit profile, the ramp, the service exclusions, and the shortfall risk in one model.

Read this reference alongside the AWS knowledge hub, the AWS advisory practice, the EDP negotiation guide, and the Vendor Shield subscription.

Key Takeaways

What a CIO and head of procurement need to know in 90 seconds

  • Six commit tiers cover the EDP discount curve. 1M, 5M, 10M, 30M, 60M, 100M dollars annual.
  • The discount jumps at each tier. Typical jumps run 1 to 4 percentage points per band.
  • Ramp profiles trade growth for headline discount. A 100 percent ramp lands a higher headline. A flat profile lands less.
  • Marketplace spend counts toward commit. Most third party spend on AWS Marketplace flows toward the EDP.
  • Service exclusions matter. Reserved Instances, Savings Plans, and select services do not count toward commit on most paper.
  • Shortfall is the structural risk. Falling under commit by ten percent costs more than the discount delivered.
  • Five negotiation levers move the deal. Tier alignment, ramp, exclusions list, marketplace inclusion, true up clause.

Six commit tiers on the EDP curve

The six commit tiers cover the EDP buyer base. Each tier reads from the customer's annual AWS spend forecast.

Six commit tiers compared

TierAnnual commitTypical customer sizeDiscount band
Entry1M to 5MMid market5 to 8 percent
Growth5M to 10MLarge enterprise8 to 12 percent
Strategic10M to 30MStrategic enterprise12 to 17 percent
Major30M to 60MMajor enterprise17 to 22 percent
Top60M to 100MTop tier22 to 27 percent
Largest100M and aboveHyperscale customers27 percent and above

How to read the curve

The tier bands are indicative, not contractual. Discounts vary by region, service mix, term length, and ramp profile. The buyer side response is to score the deal against the indicative band, not against the AWS marketing position.

Discount thresholds and what moves them

The headline discount moves on five drivers. Each driver carries a specific weight inside the EDP pricing model.

Five discount drivers

  • Annual commit size. The primary driver. Each tier unlocks a higher band.
  • Term length. Three year terms carry higher discount than one year terms.
  • Ramp profile. Growth ramps carry higher headline. Flat ramps carry less.
  • Service mix. Heavy use of Reserved Instances and Savings Plans reduces the EDP discount.
  • Strategic value. Reference customer status, joint go to market, multi year stay all add weight.

Discount profile by term length

Annual commit1 year term3 year term5 year term
5M6 percent10 percent12 percent
10M10 percent15 percent17 percent
30M15 percent20 percent22 percent
60M20 percent25 percent27 percent
100M25 percent28 percent30 percent and above

Ramp profile trade offs

The ramp profile sets the year one, year two, and year three commit. AWS prefers a ramp because it backs revenue growth. The buyer side trade is a higher headline discount in return for a growth shape.

Three ramp profiles

  1. Flat ramp. Same commit every year. Lowest headline discount, lowest shortfall risk.
  2. Moderate ramp. 20 to 30 percent year on year. Medium headline discount, medium shortfall risk.
  3. Aggressive ramp. 50 to 100 percent year on year. Highest headline discount, highest shortfall risk.

Picking the right ramp

Match the ramp to the cloud migration plan. Aggressive ramps are appropriate when a major workload migration lands inside the term. Flat ramps fit estates that already run cloud first.

Service exclusions

Not every AWS service counts toward the EDP commit. The exclusions list shapes the effective discount.

Five common exclusions

  • Reserved Instances on Amazon RDS for Oracle. Typically excluded from EDP discount.
  • Marketplace SaaS subscriptions. Counts toward commit, but excluded from the EDP discount on most paper.
  • Professional Services. Excluded.
  • Support fees on Enterprise Support tier. Excluded on most paper.
  • AWS Outposts hardware. Excluded.

Service inclusion table

ServiceCounts toward commitReceives EDP discount
EC2, S3, RDS standardYesYes
Savings PlansYesNo additional EDP discount
Marketplace third partyYes on most paperNo
RDS for OracleYesNo on most paper
AWS OutpostsYesNo
Professional ServicesNoNo

Five negotiation levers

The buyer side has five specific levers on the EDP deal. Each lever moves either the tier alignment or the effective discount.

Five levers on the EDP deal

  1. Tier alignment. Commit at the bottom of the tier, not at the top of the lower band.
  2. Ramp shape. Match the ramp to the migration plan, not to AWS sales targets.
  3. Exclusions list. Negotiate Marketplace third party SaaS into the discount where the spend is large enough.
  4. True up clause. Negotiate a true up at year end rather than a hard commit.
  5. Multi region commitment. Score the commit against the region mix to avoid region specific waste.

The headline discount is not the only number

Procurement teams sometimes optimize the EDP deal for the headline percent. The buyer side response is to read the deal as the effective discount on the actual spend, after exclusions and shortfall risk. A nineteen percent headline on a clean inclusion list often beats a twenty two percent headline with a long exclusions list.

Shortfall risk

The EDP carries a hard commit obligation. Falling under commit by ten percent typically costs more than the discount delivered. Shortfall is the structural risk.

Shortfall cost across tier and gap

Annual commitDiscount band10% shortfall cost20% shortfall cost
10M15 percent$1.0M$2.0M
30M20 percent$3.0M$6.0M
60M25 percent$6.0M$12.0M
100M28 percent$10.0M$20.0M

The buyer side response on shortfall

Commit at the bottom of the tier. Forecast the spend conservatively. Use the rampshape to back into a credible growth number. Negotiate a year end true up clause to absorb the shortfall risk.

The EDP discount curve is a step function. Land the deal at the right band, not the next one up. The headline discount is one number. The effective discount, after exclusions and shortfall risk, is the real number.

What to do next

The eight step checklist is the buyer side starting position to land an AWS EDP deal at the right commit tier and the right effective discount.

  1. Score the annual spend forecast. Conservative number, not aggressive.
  2. Match the forecast to the right commit tier. Bottom of the band, not top of the lower band.
  3. Build the ramp shape. Match the ramp to the migration plan.
  4. Read the exclusions list. Marketplace, RDS for Oracle, Outposts, Professional Services.
  5. Negotiate the inclusion of Marketplace third party where the spend is large.
  6. Negotiate a year end true up clause. Absorb the shortfall risk.
  7. Score the effective discount. After exclusions, after shortfall risk.
  8. Engage an independent advisor. Score the deal on a buyer side scorecard.

Frequently asked questions

How many commit tiers does AWS run on the EDP?

AWS prices on a step function with six broad commit tiers. Entry at one to five million dollars annual. Growth at five to ten million. Strategic at ten to thirty million. Major at thirty to sixty million. Top at sixty to one hundred million. Largest above one hundred million. Each tier unlocks a higher discount band.

Does Marketplace spend count toward the EDP commit?

Most third party SaaS spend on AWS Marketplace counts toward the EDP commit on most paper. The third party SaaS spend usually does not receive the EDP discount, only the commit credit. The buyer side response is to negotiate the Marketplace third party SaaS into the discount where the annual spend is large enough.

Which AWS services are excluded from the EDP discount?

Common exclusions are Marketplace third party SaaS, Reserved Instances on RDS for Oracle, Professional Services, Enterprise Support fees, and AWS Outposts hardware. The exclusions list shapes the effective discount. The buyer side response is to score the deal on the effective number, after exclusions, not on the headline number.

What is the shortfall cost on a ten percent miss?

A ten percent shortfall on a thirty million dollar commit costs three million dollars at a twenty percent discount band. On a sixty million dollar commit the shortfall lands at six million dollars. The shortfall cost often runs higher than the discount delivered. The buyer side response is to commit at the bottom of the tier and forecast conservatively.

Is a five year term better than a three year term?

The five year term adds two to three percentage points of headline discount on most deals. The five year term locks the customer to a single price floor for the entire window. The buyer side response is to pick the term that matches the cloud migration timeline. A three year term fits most enterprises better than the five year term.

How does Redress engage on AWS EDP deals?

Redress runs AWS EDP deal scoring and negotiation inside Vendor Shield, the Renewal Program, the Benchmark Program, and the Software Spend Assessment. The work covers commit tier alignment, ramp shape, exclusions, shortfall risk, and the effective discount. Always buyer side, never AWS paid.

How Redress engages on AWS EDP deals

Redress runs AWS EDP deal scoring and negotiation inside the Vendor Shield subscription, the Renewal Program, the Benchmark Program, and the Software Spend Assessment. Every engagement is led by a former AWS commercial executive on the buyer side.

Read the related benchmarking, about us, locations, and contact pages.

Score your AWS EDP commit posture in under five minutes.
Open the EDP Calculator →
White Paper · AWS

Download the AWS EDP Negotiation Guide.

A buyer side reference on AWS EDP commit tiers, the discount curve, the ramp profile, the service exclusions, the shortfall risk, and the negotiation levers.

Independent. Buyer side. Written for CIOs, CFOs, and procurement leaders running EDP renewals or first time EDP deals. No AWS influence. No sales kickback.

AWS EDP Negotiation Guide

Open the white paper in your browser. Corporate email only.

Open the Paper →
6
Commit tiers
27%
Top discount band
5
Negotiation levers
500+
Enterprise clients
100%
Buyer side

The EDP discount curve is a step function. Land the deal at the right band, not the next one up. The headline discount is one number. The effective discount, after exclusions and shortfall risk, is the real number.

Head of FinOps
Global retail group
More Reading

More from this practice.

AWS Hub →
AWS Knowledge Hub
AWS · Hub
AWS Knowledge Hub
Master AWS reference.
16 min read
AWS EDP Negotiation Guide
AWS · White Paper
AWS EDP Negotiation Guide
Buyer side EDP framework.
18 min read
EDP Renewal Strategy
AWS · Article
EDP Renewal Strategy
Renewal negotiation tactics.
14 min read
AWS Advisory Services
AWS · Service
AWS Advisory Services
The AWS practice.
10 min read
EDP Commitment Calculator
AWS · Tool
EDP Commitment Calculator
Score your EDP commit.
5 min read
Editorial photograph of enterprise contract negotiation strategy

AWS EDP deals land cleaner at the bottom of the right tier.

We have run 500+ enterprise clients across 11 publishers. Every engagement starts with one conversation.

AWS intelligence, monthly.

EDP commit tier benchmarks, discount band readings, ramp profile design, exclusions list reviews, and shortfall risk modeling across every AWS engagement we run.