Do you have to host on Azure to sell on Microsoft Marketplace?

Updated 13 Nov 2026

The short answer. To be bought in the Azure portal, Microsoft says a SaaS offer must be "primarily platformed on Microsoft Azure". Its co-sell page sets the same condition for Azure IP co-sell, which a customer's MACC also needs. If your product runs on another cloud, confirm with Microsoft what applies before you decide. At WeTransact, we recommend mapping where each part of your product runs before any migration talk.

In plain words. Microsoft sets conditions for SaaS products and ties the most useful extras to Azure: Microsoft's sellers working with you (co-sell), and a customer's MACC, which is a promise to spend a set amount on Azure.

Microsoft does not define "primarily platformed" in one sentence. It lists five setups it generally supports, which we quote below.

Do you have to move to Azure to sell on Microsoft Marketplace?

Software companies on AWS, Google Cloud or their own data centers ask us this every week. We understand why it worries a CEO. Moving infrastructure is a big, expensive decision.

Our recommendation: don't start with an engineering project. Start with a clear map of where your product runs, and a clear answer from Microsoft.

Microsoft's certification policy says a SaaS offer listed and purchasable in the Azure portal must be "primarily platformed on Microsoft Azure". What that means for your product is Microsoft's call, not ours. So confirm with Microsoft before you decide anything.

Here is the hard truth. A listing is not the prize. The extras that grow revenue, Microsoft's sellers working with you and customers spending their committed Azure budget on you, sit behind Azure IP co-sell. Microsoft's co-sell page ties that to Azure too.

So two questions decide it. Where does each part of your product run today? And how much of your Microsoft plan depends on co-sell and on customers' committed budget?

Probably yes, if your product runs on AWS, Google Cloud or your own data center, or you are not sure how Microsoft would classify it. Our guide to what Microsoft Marketplace is and how it works gives the wider picture.

Not yet, if you already run mainly on Azure. You meet the hosting condition. Other conditions still apply, as we show below.

Be careful, if only part of your product is in Azure. Microsoft's policy lists several mixed setups, and the details decide the answer.

Question 1: can a SaaS product hosted elsewhere be listed and sold?

Microsoft Learn, Microsoft's official documentation site, lists the SaaS technical requirements. They do not name Azure hosting. They name three things: the product must be multitenant, sign users in with Microsoft Entra ID (Microsoft's business sign-in system), and connect to the SaaS Fulfillment APIs, the link that tells your product when a customer buys. See our guide to selling on Microsoft Marketplace for the steps.

That is half the picture. Microsoft's certification policy, section 1000.1, is the other half. It says that for a SaaS offer to be listed on Microsoft Marketplace and purchasable within the Azure portal, it must be "primarily platformed on Microsoft Azure".

The same section describes a second route. A SaaS offer can be listed without being purchasable in the Azure portal if it meets two conditions:

• It integrates with or extends a Microsoft service or product, and the offer describes how.
• It accepts single sign-on from work accounts of any company that uses Microsoft's directory (Azure Active Directory in the policy's words, now Microsoft Entra ID).

What the pages do not say: whether an offer on that second route can be transactable, meaning Microsoft bills the customer. We found no Microsoft page that settles it. We recommend you confirm it with Microsoft before you build anything.

Microsoft Learn's billing text for SaaS also assumes Azure. It speaks of SaaS apps "that run in your (the publisher's) Azure subscription", where you pay the infrastructure and bundle it into your price.

Question 2: what does "primarily platformed on Azure" mean?

Microsoft's policy lists the setups it generally supports:

• Hosted: your entire product is hosted in your Azure infrastructure.
• Migrations to Azure: your migration tool has Azure as its only destination. The source can be on-premises or another cloud.
• Backup or data replication to Azure: your product copies data only to Azure. Its control side can run elsewhere.
• Azure platformed with external dependencies: your compute or data side runs on Azure, while smaller parts such as logging run elsewhere. The Azure part must be the resource whose use grows fastest as your users grow.
• Azure platformed with small agents: your compute or data side runs on Azure. Monitoring or security agents can run elsewhere or in the customer's tenant, if they send data to Azure.

For Azure IP co-sell, Microsoft adds a technical validation step. Its co-sell page says offers must be "actively platformed" on Azure at the time of the transaction.

Different wordings on different pages

Microsoft's pages do not use the same words. We would not assume they mean the same thing:

• Co-sell requirements and certification policy: SaaS must be "primarily platformed" on Azure. Other offer types must be deployed in Azure.
• MACC publisher page and customer benefit page: the MACC benefit applies to licenses "exclusively used in Azure".
• MACC customer FAQ: it applies to licenses "primarily hosted in Azure".
• Certification policy, section 3000.4: MACC is for solutions "primarily platformed on or extend" Microsoft cloud products or infrastructure.

"Exclusively" and "primarily" are different words. If your setup is mixed, ask Microsoft which one applies.

Does hosting on Azure make my product MACC eligible?

No. Hosting is one condition. Microsoft says Azure IP co-sell eligibility is a prerequisite for MACC eligibility, and an offer must meet all its requirements:

1. Co-sell ready status.
2. $100,000 of Azure consumed revenue over 12 months, or $100,000 of cumulative Marketplace billed revenue on the offer. Azure credits do not count.
3. Microsoft technical validation that you are primarily platformed on Azure.
4. A reference architecture diagram, not required for Azure application, container or virtual machine offers.
5. A transactable offer listed as "Sell through Microsoft".

That is Microsoft Learn's current rule. Microsoft's FY27 guide describes wider criteria as a pilot, listed below.

Microsoft says that once the requirements are met, you can expect MACC enrollment within one week. It applies to each offer separately. Free and bring-your-own-license offers are not transactable, so they do not qualify.

Co-sell-ready status is a lower step. Microsoft says it exposes your solution to its sales teams, and its list of requirements for it does not mention Azure. Referrals and MACC need the Azure IP step. For the full co-sell picture, see co-selling with Microsoft and the MACC explained.

Question 3: what do the FY27 incentives require about Azure?

Frontier Accelerate for Marketplace is Microsoft's FY27 program that holds the incentives. Here is what each one needs, from Microsoft's FY27 guide updated 20 October 2026, unless stated.

• Enrolling. Microsoft Learn says the enrollment form confirms your solution is "built on a Microsoft Cloud platform". The page does not define that phrase, so a product with no Microsoft tie should ask.
• AI Build & Publish, up to $80,000 in cash. Your SaaS offer must run mainly on Azure and use an AI service plus an app or data service. See AI Build & Publish for Marketplace.
• Azure sponsorship. Azure credit for your deals and free trials, sized by your Marketplace billed sales. It covers first-party Azure services. See Azure sponsorship.
• Customer Migrate & Modernize, up to $200,000. Pays for moving a customer to your solution on Azure, and you submit the customer's Azure subscription IDs. It also needs a certified software designation. See Customer Migrate & Modernize.
• Co-sell. Microsoft Learn's rule is in the section above. Microsoft's FY27 guide describes wider criteria as a pilot: $100,000 of billed sales, $100,000 of Azure use from your solution, or an Azure commitment of $1 million or more.

In the sources we read, Azure sponsorship has no stated Azure-hosting test. It follows billed sales, so the open question is Question 1: can your offer transact at all?

What it means in practice if you are not on Azure

• The fee. The 3% store service fee applies to transactable sales only. See our fees guide.
• Co-sell. The Azure IP route needs Azure. Microsoft Learn's co-sell-ready step does not name Azure, but ask Microsoft what it brings in practice.
• MACC. A customer's purchase counts only if the offer is Azure benefit eligible and bought in the Azure portal. Card checkout on Microsoft Marketplace does not count.
• Incentives. AI Build & Publish and Customer Migrate & Modernize assume Azure. Sponsorship depends on billed sales.

What to do if your product is not mainly on Azure

We can't tell you which route is open to you. That is Microsoft's decision, and it depends on how your product is built. Here is what we recommend:

1. Write down where each part of your product runs: the compute, the data, and any agents. Microsoft's policy sorts products by exactly that, in the five setups above.
2. Ask Microsoft the specific question. For example: "Can our SaaS offer be transactable, listed as Sell through Microsoft, with this hosting setup?" Microsoft's July 2026 update tells partners with gaps that block Marketplace transactions to work with their Partner Development Manager, the Microsoft contact some partners have.
3. Ask your platform partner to check the Microsoft pages that apply to your setup, and to confirm the answer in writing.
4. Decide the engineering question only after you have the answer. Moving or adding an Azure workload is an engineering and cost decision, so price it first.

Frequently asked questions

Do we have to run on Azure to sell on Microsoft Marketplace?

Microsoft's policy says a SaaS offer that is listed and purchasable in the Azure portal must be primarily platformed on Azure. Azure IP co-sell and MACC eligibility also depend on Azure. Confirm your case with Microsoft.

What if we are on AWS or Google Cloud?

Microsoft's pages do not give a separate rule for them. Its test is whether your product is primarily platformed on Azure. Confirm your case with Microsoft.

Can I list a SaaS hosted outside Azure?

Microsoft's policy describes a narrower case: an offer listed without being purchasable in the Azure portal, if it integrates with or extends a Microsoft service and accepts work-account sign-in. The pages we read do not say whether such an offer can be transactable, so confirm it with Microsoft.

Does hosting on Azure make my product MACC eligible?

No. Azure IP co-sell eligibility comes first, with a $100,000 threshold, technical validation and a transactable offer.

Do I need Azure to get Microsoft incentives?

Enrolling needs a solution built on a Microsoft Cloud platform. AI Build & Publish needs your SaaS offer to run mainly on Azure. Customer Migrate & Modernize assumes your solution runs on Azure.

What does "primarily platformed on Azure" mean?

Microsoft lists five setups, from fully hosted in Azure to Azure compute with small agents elsewhere. Check which of the five setups matches your product, and confirm it with Microsoft.

Sources: Microsoft Learn: Microsoft Marketplace certification policies (sections 1000.1, 3000.2 and 3000.4); Co-sell requirements; Co-sell overview; Plan a SaaS offer for Microsoft Marketplace; Microsoft Marketplace transact capabilities; Azure consumption commitment enrollment; Azure consumption commitment benefit; MACC frequently asked questions; Introduction to listing options; Frontier Accelerate for Marketplace eligibility criteria; July 2026 Partner Center announcements (all read 8 November 2026). Microsoft's FY27 incentive guide, updated 20 October 2026. Microsoft may change its rules at any time.

Want the full picture?

Everything here is also in our complete guide to Microsoft FY27 Marketplace incentives, with plain-words notes for newcomers. Get the complete FY27 guide

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