Forum Discussion

arymandeshwal's avatar
arymandeshwal
Copper Contributor
Nov 04, 2026

Are In-App Seat Purchases Allowed in a Transactable Azure Marketplace VM Offer?

Hi everyone,

We're planning to publish a transactable Azure Marketplace VM offer with the following licensing model:

  • Usage-based pricing: Customers pay Microsoft for VM usage, including our software IP.
  • Internal licensing: Our application manages user seats independently.
  • In-app purchases: Customers can purchase additional seats directly through our application using our own payment system.

We're not combining BYOL and usage-based Marketplace plans. The offer itself would only use usage-based pricing.

Microsoft Support confirmed that our VM offer would be transactable and potentially MACC eligible, but couldn't confirm whether external in-app payments are permitted. They referred us to Technical Presales and Deployment, which we cannot access without eligible partner benefits.

Does Microsoft allow this licensing model? Would it affect Marketplace certification or MACC eligibility?

Any official documentation or experience with a similar implementation would be appreciated.

Thanks!

marketplace channel
partner center
transactable apps

3 Replies

  • Jamony's avatar
    Jamony
    MCT
    Nov 10, 2026

    You want one usage-priced VM offer, with extra seats sold inside the application through your own checkout. Microsoft’s general Marketplace policy 100.4 explicitly permits third-party payment systems for in-offer purchases when Microsoft’s APIs cannot support those purchases. It also requires disclosure of extra charges and dependencies, supported pricing models, and purchase transactions starting from the Marketplace listing. That is a conditional allowance, rather than confirmation that your specific implementation will pass certification. Document the base VM entitlement, additional seat pricing, checkout flow, and why Marketplace APIs cannot meet the requirement. Give certification testers access to that complete flow and request written guidance from Marketplace publisher support in Partner Center; that support route is separate from Technical Presales benefits. MACC treatment is separate: eligible amounts purchased through the required Azure Marketplace checkout count; payments collected directly by you do not become MACC spend merely because the VM is eligible.