How Much Does SAP Cost

Why is SAP so expensive? Seven reasons, each with a source

The price of SAP is a structure more than a number. Each layer is defensible on its own. Together they produce a bill that rises while the system stays the same.

By The editors · Updated · 6 min read

An accounts clerk in a records room pulls a grey ring binder from a long shelf of identical binders, daylight coming from a high window.
The same system, paid for again each year.
Contents
  1. The reader’s situation
  2. 1. Maintenance is charged on licences already paid for
  3. 2. The maintenance rises every year
  4. 3. Staying costs more after 2027
  5. 4. Each new version is a new project
  6. 5. AI was added to the price structure, not to the system
  7. 6. Other software touching SAP can cost licences
  8. 7. Leaving has been made costly
  9. What this adds up to
  10. A plan
  11. Questions buyers ask
  12. Sources

People who ask this question are rarely looking at one large number. They are looking at a bill that went up again, for a system that did not change. In the German-speaking user group’s 2026 survey, 79% of 198 member companies named the cost-effectiveness of SAP software as a challenge for their investment decisions⁠1.

The reader’s situation

A company that bought SAP fifteen years ago has paid for it several times: once in licences, again in implementation, and every year since in maintenance. It is now told that the version it runs loses mainstream maintenance at the end of 2027⁠2, that the next version requires a new project, and that the AI features in the announcements belong to a different contract. The frustration is reasonable. What follows is how the structure produces it.

1. Maintenance is charged on licences already paid for

SAP set Enterprise Support at 22% of software licence fees in a 2009 agreement with user groups, up from 17% for the earlier service⁠3. Recent deals sit between 17% and 22% in Vendr’s marketplace data⁠4. At 22%, the licence is paid for again in under five years. Across all customers, on-premise support came to €10.5 billion in 2025⁠5.

2. The maintenance rises every year

Support fees were raised by up to 3.3% in January 2023, after a period SAP described as nearly a decade without adjustment⁠6. SAP says adjustments now follow local price indices with a cap of 5.0%⁠7, and an adjustment capped at 5% has been announced for January 2027⁠8. For cloud contracts, Gartner reported renewal increases of 10% or more where customers had not negotiated a cap; SAP called the analysis factually incorrect⁠79.

3. Staying costs more after 2027

Extended maintenance for ECC from 2028 to 2030 carries a premium of two percentage points on the maintenance basis⁠10. The private edition transition option, which runs from 2031 to 2033, carries a standard 20% uplift for customers signing in 2026 and requires the Max Success Plan, whose fee is charged on top⁠11.

4. Each new version is a new project

Moving from ECC to S/4HANA is, in the words of ASUG’s research, “not a simple lift-and-shift”⁠12. Market data puts implementation at one to three times the annual subscription⁠4, and ISG found nearly 60% of SAP migrations delayed and over budget⁠13. The implementation cost guide covers this layer.

5. AI was added to the price structure, not to the system

SAP’s AI assistant, Joule, was built for its cloud products. In July 2023 the chief executive told analysts: “Our new innovations will not be available for on-premise or hosted on-premise ERP customers on hyperscalers.” DSAG, which represents more than 3,800 companies, reported a 30% additional cost for the premium package and called the announcement “a real showstopper”⁠14.

In May 2026 SAP changed course in part. Some Joule assistants and agents will work on ECC and on-premise S/4HANA, described by the chief executive as “an interim solution”, for customers that have started RISE with SAP and hold the Max Success Plan⁠15. CIO.com reported the threshold: at least 50% of maintenance spending moved to the cloud. SAP’s chief strategy officer added that the assistants and agents “are designed for cloud”⁠16.

This matters for cost because AI depends on data. A system with rigid data structures, held in the vendor’s environment, with AI offered as a separate product under a separate contract, makes every AI project an integration project. Customers appear to have noticed: among DSAG members with AI use cases in production, 77% ran them on non-SAP solutions and 3% on SAP solutions⁠1.

6. Other software touching SAP can cost licences

In 2017 the High Court in England held that Diageo needed named-user licences for people reaching SAP data through Salesforce-based systems. SAP’s claim was £54,503,578 in additional licence and maintenance fees⁠17. The practical effect is that the cost of connecting anything to SAP, including AI agents, has to be checked against the licence terms.

7. Leaving has been made costly

The European Commission opened a formal investigation in September 2025 into whether SAP restricted competition in support for its on-premise software. Its concerns included the requirement to take SAP support for the whole estate, the inability to end maintenance on unused licences, and reinstatement and back-maintenance fees charged to customers who return⁠18. SAP said its policies complied with competition rules. In July 2026 the Commission accepted commitments that permit outside support for each part of the estate and termination of licences with their maintenance in specific scenarios, for ten years⁠19.

What this adds up to

LayerWhat it costsSource
Maintenance17% to 22% of licence value a year⁠34
Yearly adjustmentUp to 5% a year⁠78
Staying on ECC, 2028 to 2030Two percentage points more⁠10
Migration1 to 3 × the annual subscription, often over budget⁠413
AIA premium or cloud contract first⁠1416
Connected softwarePossible named-user licences⁠17

This guide’s position follows from the table. A company pays these layers to keep a rigid system that it does not own and that does not give it AI on its own data. In the period when that system was the only way to run a large business on software, the price was the price. Software can now be built for a company’s own purpose with no-code tools, and the argument for the recurring layers has gone.

A plan

  1. Separate the layers on your own bill. Maintenance, adjustment, cloud subscription, partner fees and premium plans, each on its own line.
  2. Stop the layers that can be stopped now. Unused licences and whole-estate support are covered by the 2026 commitments⁠19.
  3. Refuse to buy AI as a contract upgrade. Run the first AI use case on the company’s own data, outside the ERP contract, as most DSAG members already do⁠1.
  4. Check licence terms before connecting anything. The Diageo ruling is the reference⁠17.
  5. Redirect each saving. The reallocation guide shows how the released budget becomes a system the company owns.

The end state is a company whose software cost follows its own decisions: hosting, AI usage and the engineering it commissions, with no percentage of a past purchase in the budget.

Questions buyers ask

Why is SAP so expensive?

Because its cost recurs in layers. Customers pay yearly maintenance on licences they already own, the maintenance is adjusted upwards each year, new capabilities such as AI are tied to premium or cloud contracts, access from other software can need extra licences, implementation costs a multiple of the subscription, and end-of-maintenance dates force paid migrations.

Is SAP worth the cost?

That depends on what a company gets for the recurring part. In DSAG’s 2026 survey, 79% of member companies named the cost-effectiveness of SAP software as a challenge for their investment decisions. This guide’s position is that for most established companies the cost is no longer justified, because software can now be built for a company’s own purpose and owned.

Does SAP ECC get AI?

Only under conditions. In May 2026 SAP said some Joule assistants and agents would work on ECC and on-premise S/4HANA as an interim measure for customers that have started RISE with SAP and hold the Max Success Plan. CIO.com reported that customers must first move at least 50% of their maintenance spending to the cloud.

How much does SAP Joule cost?

We found no published price for Joule that we could open. What is documented is the route to it: a cloud contract, and for on-premise systems a RISE commitment with the Max Success Plan. In 2023 DSAG reported a 30% additional cost for the premium package that carried new innovations.

Why does SAP charge maintenance on software we already bought?

Maintenance is the contract for fixes, legal changes and support, charged as a percentage of licence value. SAP set Enterprise Support at 22% in 2009. In July 2026 SAP gave commitments to the European Commission that let customers use outside support providers for each part of an on-premise estate.

Sources

  1. DSAG Investment Report 2026: AI establishes itself. DSAG, 26 Feb 2026. Accessed 11 Nov 2026.
  2. Maintenance strategy: SAP S/4HANA and SAP Business Suite 7. SAP Support Portal. Accessed 11 Nov 2026.
  3. SAP agrees to delay full Enterprise Support price rise. InfoWorld, 29 Apr 2009. Accessed 11 Nov 2026.
  4. SAP software pricing and plans 2026. Vendr. Accessed 11 Nov 2026.
  5. SAP’s grand cloud escape plan €2B short of the runway. The Register, 19 Mar 2026. Accessed 11 Nov 2026.
  6. SAP support fees to rise in January to offset inflation cost. The Register, 12 Sep 2022. Accessed 11 Nov 2026.
  7. SAP private cloud users face 10% renewal hikes, says Gartner. The Register, 14 Oct 2025. Accessed 11 Nov 2026.
  8. SAP passt Wartungsgebühren 2027 an. Complion. Accessed 11 Nov 2026.
  9. SAP share price slides, but renewal discounts stay off table. The Register, 2 Feb 2026. Accessed 11 Nov 2026.
  10. SAP S/4HANA: commitment to innovation and maintenance until 2040. SAP News Center, 4 Feb 2020. Accessed 11 Nov 2026.
  11. Navigating your RISE with SAP journey: updates for SAP ERP, private edition, transition option. SAP News Center, 4 Aug 2025. Accessed 11 Nov 2026.
  12. Two-fifths of SAP Americas users yet to ditch legacy ERP. The Register, 5 Nov 2025. Accessed 11 Nov 2026.
  13. Most SAP migrations bust budgets and deadlines, study finds. The Register, 5 Feb 2026. Accessed 11 Nov 2026.
  14. User groups unhappy over SAP push on cloud-only ‘innovation’. The Register, 3 Aug 2023. Accessed 11 Nov 2026.
  15. SAP U-turn brings AI features to ECC and on-prem S/4HANA. The Register, 13 May 2026. Accessed 11 Nov 2026.
  16. SAP’s AI offer to legacy customers comes with a catch. CIO.com, 13 May 2026. Accessed 11 Nov 2026.
  17. Ditching your call centre for an app? Be careful not to get SAP-slapped. The Register, 20 Feb 2017. Accessed 11 Nov 2026.
  18. EU probes SAP over alleged software support stranglehold. The Register, 25 Sep 2025. Accessed 11 Nov 2026.
  19. SAP loosens ERP maintenance and support rules. CIO Dive, 9 Jul 2026. Accessed 11 Nov 2026.

Updated 11 Nov 2026: First published.

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