Purchase a SaaS offer in the Azure portal
This article explains the different options and requirements for searching, trying, and purchasing a software as a service (SaaS) offer from the Azure portal.
Requirements
- An Azure user account with access to an appropriate Azure subscription. This subscription is used for billing and for compartmentalization of your purchased cloud resources. To learn more about Azure subscriptions, see Create an additional Azure subscription.
- Permission to purchase from Azure Marketplace.
In the Azure portal, in Marketplace, select the SaaS offer you want.
SaaS offers discovery in the Azure portal
In the Azure portal, there are a few ways to narrow your search to focus on SaaS offers.
From the home page, under Azure services, select + Create a resource or Marketplace. Or use the shortcut G + N anywhere in the platform.
- Narrow down results to SaaS offers by using the Offer Type filter, and then selecting SaaS.
- Use the global search bar (located in the top navigation area) to find a specific SaaS offer.
Find a private SaaS offer by selecting the banner at the top of the Marketplace home page. Not all offers or plans are available in all geographies, and some might only appear for certain tenants.
The filtered view shows each available SaaS offer, represented by a title. Select one to see the product details page. This page includes the following sections:
- Overview: Details about the service, and marketing and learning materials.
- Plans + Pricing: Each offer includes at least one plan with different billing terms and payment options.
- Usage Information + Support: Includes the publisher ID, offer ID, and plan ID.
- Rating and Reviews: Includes various evaluations of the specific SaaS offer.
Available billing models for SaaS offers
Each offer has a pricing model associated with it: flat rate or per user. Each SaaS offer has one or more plans, and each plan price is a recurring fee. Here are the types of plans available:
- Monthly plans: You pay up front each month. Monthly plans can be configured as either flat rate or per user pricing. When the term ends, the plan renews automatically.
- Annual plans: You can pay either monthly or annually up front. Annual plans can be configured as either flat rate or per user pricing. When the one-year term ends, the plan renews automatically.
Multiyear SaaS
- Two-year plans: You can pay either monthly, annually, or for the entire two-year term up front. Two-year plans can be configured as either flat rate or per user pricing. When the two-year term ends, the plan renews automatically.
- Three-year plans: You can pay either monthly, annually, or for the entire three-year term up front. Three-year plans can be configured as either flat rate or per user pricing. When the three-year term ends, the plan renews automatically.
- Usage fees: In addition to the recurring fees, a flat rate plan can include additional usage fees, also called metered billing. These fees are for usage that's not included in the flat rate, such as bandwidth, tickets, or emails processed. Such overage costs start only after you have consumed all the usage that's included in the flat fee.
- Free trial: In some cases, the plan includes a trial period of one month, during which you can use the software for free. When the trial period is over, you'll then be charged according to your plan. Trial offers aren't compatible with custom meters.
The SaaS purchase experience
Here are the steps you take to purchase a SaaS offer:
On the product page, select a plan that meets your needs, and then select Set up + subscribe.
You're redirected to the Basics tab, where you:
- Define which subscription you want to use for billing. The Azure subscription that you use should have a valid purchase method defined for it. You should have the right level of permissions, or have a resource group under that subscription with the right level of permissions. The billing country/region of the subscription should be a country/region where the offer is available for purchase. Azure subscriptions without a valid payment method (for example, an MSDN subscription) can only be used to purchase free plans.
Note
The following Azure subscriptions can't be used to purchase SaaS: Student, Visual Studio Enterprise, or Free credit.
- Choose or create a resource group to hold the SaaS application.
- Type a name for the SaaS subscription, to easily identify it later. You can't change this name after you have purchased the SaaS subscription.
- Under Plan, the plan you selected in the product details page (PDP) appears. If you haven't made an active selection in the PDP, the default plan appears. You can change your selection by selecting the Change plan link. Then select the plan and billing term you want.
Note
You can only change to another plan that has the same billing term and payment option. For more information, see SaaS subscription lifecycle management.
- In cases where the pricing model is per user, you'll be required to specify the number of users. The price that you see will change based on the subscription, plan, term, and payment frequency that you've selected.
- Define which subscription you want to use for billing. The Azure subscription that you use should have a valid purchase method defined for it. You should have the right level of permissions, or have a resource group under that subscription with the right level of permissions. The billing country/region of the subscription should be a country/region where the offer is available for purchase. Azure subscriptions without a valid payment method (for example, an MSDN subscription) can only be used to purchase free plans.
Proceed to the Tags tab. Tags are key/value pairs that you can define. You place tags directly on a resource or a resource group, which helps you find your SaaS resource later on. Azure currently supports up to 50 tags per resource and resource group. Place tags on a resource at the time of creation, or add them to an existing resource.
Continue to Review + Subscribe to go through the offer and plan details.
- Review the terms of use, amendments, and privacy policy of the publisher, and also Azure Marketplace.
- You might be asked to add your contact details.
- Review details for Basics and Tags.
Upon confirmation, select Subscribe.
SaaS subscription and configuration
When you select Subscribe, you see the following message: Your SaaS subscription is in progress. This process takes a few minutes. Don't close the window until it's finished.
After the subscription is completed, you'll receive an email requesting you to activate the new subscription. If you aren't the one who will configure the SaaS account, forward this email to the relevant person.
To complete the process and start using the SaaS offer, you're required to configure your subscription. In the SaaS offer in the online store, select Configure account now or in the email, select Configure now. You're redirected to the publisher's website. Billing starts after your account is configured on the publisher's website.
Important
If you don't complete the configuration process within 30 days, the SaaS subscription is automatically deleted.
You can check your subscription status by selecting Notifications (bell).
Common error messages and solutions
These are common error messages you might come across during the process, along with common solutions:
The plan [name of the plan selected] cannot be purchased on a free subscription.
- Upgrade your account. For more information, see Upgrade your Azure free account.
Purchase has failed because we couldn't find a valid credit card, nor a payment method associated with your Azure subscription.
- Use a different Azure subscription, or add or update current credit card or payment method information for this subscription. Then retry the purchase.
Plan [name of the plan selected] of offer [offer name] by publisher [publisher of offer] is not available to you for purchase per the rules set by your IT Admin.
- Contact your IT Admin.
Plan [name of plan selected] of offer [plan selected] by publisher [publisher of offer] is not available to you for purchase due to private marketplace settings made by your tenant's IT Admin.
- Contact your IT Admin.
Purchase failed because requested billing term is empty or invalid.
- Try to purchase a different plan or billing term.
Purchase has failed because we couldn't verify your signing on legal agreement.
- Retry. If the error persists, try to make the purchase by using a different Azure subscription, or contact support.
Purchase of offer [offer ID] by publisher [publisher ID] has failed. This offer is currently not available for purchasing.
- Try again later. If after an hour you keep getting this error message, contact support.
Purchase of plan [plan ID] of offer [offer ID] by publisher [publisher ID] has failed. This plan is currently not available for purchasing.
- Try again later. If after an hour you keep getting this error message, contact support.
The client [email address] with object ID [Object ID] does not have authorization to perform action [Deployment Validation Action] over scope [Resource Group; Deployment Scope] or the scope is invalid.
- You get this message if you don't have the right permissions on the Azure subscription or resource group. If access was recently granted, refresh your credentials. To deploy resources into a resource group, you must have at least contributor access. Check your access status under Resource Groups, and then Access Control. This shows who the owner is, and you can then ask that person to assign you as a contributor.
Subscription used for this purchase doesn't allow Marketplace purchases.
- Use a different subscription, or ask your administrator to change the definition for this subscription. Then retry the purchase.
For more information, watch the video tutorial at Purchasing a SaaS offer.