Should a security vendor sell through cloud marketplaces and partners?
Cloud marketplaces let customers buy your security product through an account they already have with AWS, Microsoft or Google, which can shorten procurement. Channel partners such as MSPs, resellers and MSSPs bring customers you cannot reach alone. Both cost money and both need marketing support. This page sets out the published fees and what each route expects from you.
Should a security vendor sell through cloud marketplaces and partners?
Yes for most cloud-delivered security products that sell to mid-market and enterprise buyers, once the product is stable enough for self-serve procurement. Marketplaces can shorten purchasing because the customer buys on an existing cloud agreement. Partners make sense once you can train them and protect their margin. Services firms usually gain more from referral partners than from marketplace listings.
The main draw for buyers is procurement. A purchase through a marketplace can avoid onboarding a new supplier, and some cloud commitments let customers count eligible marketplace purchases toward what they already promised to spend. The rules on committed spend differ by cloud; the product vendor guide covers them.
What do AWS, Microsoft and Google charge security vendors?
All three publish their fees. AWS lists a 3% fee on SaaS public offers (in effect since January 5, 2024). Private offers are tiered by total contract value: 3% under $1 million, 2% from $1 million to under $10 million and 1.5% at $10 million or more, with all renewals at 1.5%. Channel partner private offers add 0.5%, and professional services private offers carry 0.5%.
Microsoft's publisher FAQ says publishing is free and transact offers carry a 3% standard store service fee. It sells on an agency model: the customer buys on its Microsoft agreement, and Microsoft bills the customer and pays the publisher monthly. Microsoft also offers renewal discounts on private offers. Google Cloud's schedule, effective April 21, 2025, sets 3% on standard offers; private offers are 3% under $1 million in total contract value, 2% from $1 million to under $10 million and 1.5% at $10 million or more, while native renewals, channel shifts and migrations carry 1.5%.
| Offer type | AWS Marketplace | Microsoft Marketplace | Google Cloud Marketplace |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public SaaS or standard offer | 3% | 3% (transact offers) | 3% |
| Private offer under $1M total contract value | 3% | Not stated; FAQ gives 3% standard fee on transact offers | 3% |
| Private offer $1M to under $10M | 2% | Not stated; FAQ gives 3% standard fee on transact offers | 2% |
| Private offer $10M or more | 1.5% | Not stated; FAQ gives 3% standard fee on transact offers | 1.5% |
| Renewals | 1.5% (all renewals) | Discount available on private offer renewals | 1.5% (native renewals) |
| Channel partner private offer | Adds 0.5% | See Microsoft terms | Not listed separately; channel shifts 1.5% |
What does a good security marketplace listing look like?
A strong listing states what the product does in one sentence, names the environments it protects, shows a price model a buyer can understand and offers a trial or private offer. It avoids words such as "best" or "complete protection" that no engineer believes. Here is the same fictional cloud security product, Bluefjord, listed on all three marketplaces.
Finds misconfigured storage, identities and network rules across your AWS accounts and shows the fix for each finding.
| Plan or unit | Price | Billed |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 25 cloud accounts | $2,000 | per month |
| Each additional account | $60 | per month |
| Annual contract | Private offer | custom terms |
Checks Azure subscriptions and Entra ID settings against your own policy baseline, with evidence exports for auditors.
| Plan or unit | Price | Billed |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | $1,900 | per month, up to 20 subscriptions |
| Enterprise | Private offer | annual |
Maps Google Cloud projects, service accounts and firewall rules, then ranks findings by exposure to the internet.
| Plan or unit | Price | Billed |
|---|---|---|
| Per project | $40 | per month |
| Minimum | $800 | per month |
How do private offers and partner-led deals work?
ShoutEx view: larger security deals usually go through private offers rather than the public price. A private offer is a custom price and terms for one customer, transacted through the marketplace. On AWS, a channel partner private offer, arranged with a reseller or consulting partner, adds 0.5% to the fee. Google Cloud lists separate rates for channel shifts. Microsoft's agency model means Microsoft bills the customer on its agreement.
For marketing, private offers change what you need to prepare: a listing good enough for procurement to approve, a one-page explanation of how to buy through each cloud, and sales training on when to suggest the marketplace route. Buyers comparing a trial first will look at your free trial and proof-of-value options before they ask about price.
Let the buyer choose the paper.
Some customers want to buy on their cloud account, some through a reseller, some directly. Make all three easy and price them honestly, rather than pushing the route that suits your commission plan.
How do you get MSPs, resellers and MSSPs to sell your product?
Partners sell what is easy to sell and what earns them money. An MSP serving small businesses will add your product to its stack only if deployment is quick, billing fits its model and support does not land on its help desk. An MSSP or MDR provider will want multi-tenant management and alerts that fit its own analyst workflow.
- A partner page that explains the programme, margins or discount structure in plain words.
- A deployment guide written for a technician who has never seen your product.
- Co-brandable content: a customer-facing one-pager, a short demo video, an email the partner can send under its own name.
- Deal registration so partners know you will not sell around them.
- Training short enough to finish in an afternoon, with a test that proves the technician can deploy.
- Joint marketing funds or events only after the partner has closed a first deal.
| Partner type | What they want | What marketing supplies |
|---|---|---|
| MSP | Fast deployment, monthly billing, low support load | Deployment guide, client-facing one-pager, billing explainer |
| Value-added reseller | Margin, deal protection, a product enterprise customers ask for | Deal registration, battle card, reference customers |
| MSSP or MDR provider | Multi-tenant console, alert quality, API access | Technical integration guide, joint case study |
| Consulting or audit firm | A tool that helps their engagements | Methodology notes, sample outputs, referral terms |
What are the trade-offs and common mistakes?
- Listing and waiting. Marketplaces rarely send traffic on their own; your sales team must offer the route.
- Pricing that hides the fee. Decide whether you absorb the marketplace fee or build it into the price, and be consistent across routes.
- One listing copied to three clouds. Each audience uses different services and words; write each listing for its cloud.
- Signing partners without enabling them. A partner with no training or content sells nothing and blames the product.
- Channel conflict. If direct sales undercut a registered partner deal once, that partner stops bringing you deals.
- Going to US marketplaces without US readiness. Contracts, support hours and references matter as much as the listing. See US expansion.
What should you measure for marketplaces and partners?
| Measure | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Opportunities where the customer chose a marketplace route | Shows whether procurement benefit is real for your buyers |
| Days from verbal yes to signed order, by route | Tests whether the marketplace shortens purchasing |
| Net revenue after marketplace and partner fees | Keeps margin visible |
| Partner-sourced versus partner-influenced pipeline | Separates partners that find deals from those that only transact |
| Partners with a deal in the last two quarters | Shows how many partners are active, not just signed |
Frequently asked questions
What fee does AWS Marketplace charge for SaaS?
AWS lists 3% for SaaS public offers. Private offers are 3% under $1 million in total contract value, 2% from $1 million to under $10 million and 1.5% at $10 million or more; all renewals are 1.5%.
What does Microsoft charge to sell on its marketplace?
Microsoft says publishing is free and transact offers carry a 3% standard store service fee. Microsoft bills the customer and pays the publisher monthly.
What are Google Cloud Marketplace fees?
Google Cloud's schedule, effective April 21, 2025, sets 3% for standard offers, 3% for private offers under $1 million, 2% from $1 million to under $10 million, and 1.5% at $10 million or more.
What is a channel partner private offer on AWS?
A private offer on AWS Marketplace that runs through a channel partner such as a reseller or consulting partner. AWS adds 0.5% to the listing fee for these offers.
Should a services firm list on a cloud marketplace?
Usually not first. Pen-test, MDR and compliance firms tend to gain more from referral partners, such as auditors and MSPs, than from a marketplace listing.
Which marketplace should we list on first?
The one your target customers buy through most. Ask prospects which cloud agreement their procurement team prefers to use.
Do partners need marketing support?
Yes. Partners need a deployment guide, customer-facing content they can send under their own name, deal registration and short training before they will sell.
Can we make absolute claims in a marketplace listing?
Avoid them. Claims such as complete protection are hard to prove, and Canadian law requires performance claims to be based on adequate and proper testing.
Sources & further reading
Regulations, platform policies and market data change. These sources let you check the facts on this page, last checked October 7, 2026.