RISE with SAP License Costs and Enterprise Benchmarks

RISE with SAP License Costs

RISE with SAP converts traditional SAP licensing from one-time perpetual purchases to an annual subscription (FUE-based) model. This shifts major costs from upfront capital expenses to ongoing OpEx.

In many scenarios, the RISE bundle can lower initial year expenditures and simplify infrastructure and support, but its total license spend over time can exceed classic models.

CIOs and procurement heads should analyze multi-year TCO, price tiers, and negotiation strategies carefully to ensure RISE delivers value rather than unexpected cost increases.

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Understanding RISE with SAP licensing

RISE with SAP is a cloud subscription bundle launched in 2021 to accelerate S/4HANA migration. It includes the ERP software (public or private S/4HANA Cloud), cloud infrastructure, and support/upgrades under one contract.

Additional services (process intelligence, BTP credits, network access) are bundled to enable digital transformation.

SAP pitches RISE as simpler (“one throat to choke”) with up to 20% lower TCO vs on-premise when migration costs and operations are included.

Unlike perpetual licenses, RISE uses Full-Use Equivalents (FUEs) to meter usage (1 FUE = 1 advanced-professional user = 5 core users = 30 self-service users).

Customers subscribe to several FUEs rather than specific named-user licenses.

• Subscription model (OpEx): No large up-front license payment; customers pay an annual or monthly fee per FUE. This moves ERP costs from the capital budget to a predictable operational expense. Infrastructure (hardware and hosting) is bundled in RISE, eliminating separate data center costs. SAP manages upgrades and maintenance under service-level agreements.
• Trade-offs: RISE removes the option to keep running SAP on-prem if you cancel the subscription. You also cede some control (SAP owns the stack) and face a long-term commitment. Traditional on-premise licensing (CAPEX) gives full control, perpetual rights, and potentially lower long-term costs if you “sweat” the asset.

Read SAP RISE FUE Calculation for Contract Negotiation.

Pricing Model and Tiers

RISE pricing is based on FUEs and volume tiers, which can create counterintuitive outcomes. SAP lists per-FUE prices that drop steeply at higher brackets. For example, in one market:

This means a customer needing 5,000 FUEs would pay €320,000/month (≈€3.84M/year), but buying 6,001 FUEs drops the bill to €282,000/month (≈€3.38M/year).

Customers should be aware of the tier thresholds and negotiate to be just above a breakpoint to lower costs.

USU’s analysis shows typical mid-sized deals priced around $147–$178 per FUE/month (public vs private cloud) for 1,001–2,000 users.

However, published list prices can change; note that SAP revised tiering in 2025, potentially raising list prices for certain volumes. In practice, negotiated net rates can be much lower.

CIOs should model costs using realistic FUE counts (accounting for user roles) and ensure any unused perpetual licenses (shelfware) are traded in or removed before subscribing.

Cost Comparisons and Benchmarks

Real-world benchmarks illustrate RISE’s cost profile: it often saves money in the early years but can converge with or exceed on-prem costs over time.

For 1,000 users, for example:

(Assumptions from an illustrative scenario of 1,000 FUEs)

In this case, RISE avoids the heavy Year-1 outlay and yields 15–20% lower 3-year TCO. However, by Year 5 the total spend becomes similar ($13M each) as perpetual maintenance and hardware costs accumulate.

Thus, RISE often “wins” short-term on cash flow, but organizations must watch longer horizons.

Another benchmark (10-year view for 10,000 users) showed on-prem licensing costs ~€43.8M (excluding hosting) versus €42.5M for a RISE Private Cloud solution (including infrastructure).

That example even found RISE slightly cheaper over a decade, but it assumed static pricing. In reality, SAP may increase renewal prices, and hidden costs (e.g., overage fees, extended value-added services) can erode savings.

Key lessons: model multi-year TCO, including expected price inflation or renewal hikes. Compare equivalent scopes (if the RISE bundle includes extras, adjust on-prem costs accordingly). Many CIOs see initial RISE savings in Years 1–3, then on-prem catching up by Year 5.

Negotiation and Legacy License Strategies

Negotiation is crucial. Align RISE starts with your maintenance cycle to avoid paying double (full maintenance + full subscription).

For example, if support renews in January, try to begin RISE service in February (or negotiate proration) so you don’t overlap payments.

SAP often provides trade-in credits: early RISE adopters have received credits near 100% of their maintenance spend. One large company paying $5M annual maintenance in 2021 got ~$4.5M credit, nearly offsetting the Year-1 subscription.

Waiting a few years can cut those credits substantially, leaving an extra ~$2M/year out of pocket.

• Document unused licenses: Audit your existing contract for shelfware (licenses you’re not using). SAP negotiators may credit that unused value. In one case, a global enterprise with $10M in unused licenses secured a 50% cut in initial RISE fees by leveraging shelfware in talks.
• Limit scope creep: Avoid unwittingly subscribing to modules or services you won’t use. List and remove unnecessary products from the RISE scope.
• Dual-use period: Negotiate a defined overlap period (e.g., 6–12 months) for running the old ERP in read-only mode alongside RISE during migration. This avoids compliance issues if cutover lags. Ensure the contract caps any dual fees to zero during this transition.
• Understand new pricing: SAP’s 2025 changes introduced a “Cloud ERP Private” package with higher base prices per FUE than the old RISE Premium, according to user group DSAG. Review your bill of materials carefully – volume tiers and package contents have shifted. You may need to push for deeper discounts to match the net price of legacy RISE terms.

Read RISE with SAP Strategies and Alternatives.

Risks and Pitfalls

RISE brings specific licensing risks:

• Loss of Perpetual Rights: Once you move to RISE, your old on-prem licenses are effectively “shelved” and cannot be used unless you negotiate a new deal. If you stop paying the subscription, your ERP “turns off” – there’s no fallback perpetual license. This entrenches vendor lock-in.
• Subscription Commitment: Contracts are multi-year (typically 3–5 years) with limited mid-term flexibility. You commit to a set FUE count and services; standard RISE agreements do not allow reducing the user count mid-term. Upsizing is easy (at a higher cost), but downsizing usually must wait until renewal.
• Tier Pricing Traps: The volume-tier structure can cause surprises. As noted, sometimes buying more FUEs reduces overall cost. Without careful planning, a mid-tier seat count might cost significantly more than stepping up a bracket. Always check the per-FUE cost at each tier break.
• Overlapping Licensing: During migration, there is a risk of dual-licensing. If you run ECC and S/4HANA side by side without proper contract language, you might technically need licenses for both. SAP typically allows a limited dual-use window, but it must be explicitly granted.
• Hidden Fees and Shelfware: The RISE bundle includes extras (SAP Business Network, Signavio, BTP credits, etc.) that may sit unused. These “shelfware” components still factor into pricing. Also, watch out for unrelated costs like indirect access taxes on 3rd-party interfaces, which RISE might not cover. Review contracts closely for any caps, excluded modules, or data/storage limits.
• Renewal Cost Increases: After the initial term, renewal pricing can rise. SAP often increases list rates each year (e.g., maintenance hikes ~5% annually), and the 2025 license

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