Databricks committed-use contracts are Orders in which a customer commits to spend a stated value on Databricks services over a Term. In return, the customer gets “discounts and other benefits”, which grow with the size of the commitment and can include “options to flexibly use commitments across multiple clouds”.[3] The alternative is pay-as-you-go (PAYG), with no up-front cost and per-second metering at Price List rates.[3] Two published documents supply the mechanics of a commitment. The Usage Commit Terms (last revised November 2025) define the types of commitment, how they are satisfied, and what happens on overage and shortfall.[1] The Additional Billing and Commitment Terms define billing in arrears, interim and final reconciliation, and Billing Sources for Orders that incorporate them.[2] In both documents, the Order prevails in a conflict.[1][2]
Editions
Pay-as-you-go
A PAYG customer becomes bound by the MCSA when it first uses the service. Databricks may change the MCSA and pricing for PayGo Customers, and continued use counts as consent.[4] Card accounts are “billed monthly based on your usage” at Price List rates and may be charged more often as fees accrue. Invoice billing and annual plans are available on request.[3] On AWS, a PAYG account can pay by credit card or through one or more AWS Marketplace accounts. Each AWS Marketplace account can be linked to only one Databricks account.[6] On Google Cloud, the subscription is tied to a Google billing account through an order on Google Cloud Marketplace.[7] Free trial accounts that have a payment method or an AWS Marketplace subscription “will automatically be converted to a pay-as-you-go account” when the trial credits run out.[8] See Pay-as-you-go. Catalog proof: Pay-as-you-go usage is billed per second at Price List rates; Trial converts to pay-as-you-go after credits are exhausted.
Universal Usage Commitment
The Usage Commit Terms define the Universal Usage Commitment (UUC) as “the total commitment that you make in your Order for the use of Databricks Data + AI Platform Services and/or Databricks Powered Services (e.g. Azure Databricks)”. The UUC can be split into Specified Commitments, each for a stated value on a stated platform:[1]
| Specified Commitment | Platform | How it is satisfied |
|---|---|---|
| AWS Direct Commit, AWS Marketplace Commit | Databricks on AWS | Consumption of and payment for Platform Services during the Term |
| GCP Direct Commit, GCP Marketplace Commit | Databricks on Google Cloud | Same |
| SAP Commit | SAP Databricks | Only charges attributable to actual SAP Databricks usage |
| Azure Commit | Azure Databricks (Powered Service) | Only charges attributable to actual Azure Databricks usage |
| Flexible Commit | Any platform with an Original Specified Commitment | Consumed after that platform’s commitment is used up |
Usage commitments “are satisfied through consumption by Customer (or End Customer, if applicable) of the full value of each Specified Commitment during your Order’s stated Term”, together with the payment obligations in the Order.[1] For Azure Databricks and SAP Databricks, other charges do not count, such as separately charged compute or other Microsoft or SAP solutions.[1] An Azure Commit can also make “ADI Services” available. These are Databricks Platform Services that integrate with Azure Databricks and are billed in arrears directly by Databricks.[1] See Universal Usage Commitment. Catalog proof: Universal Usage Commitment is satisfied by consumption and payment during the Term.
Flexible Commit
A Flexible Commit is an additional stated value that “can be consumed by usage on any of the Original Specified Commitment platforms”. Usage on a platform “will only consume the Flexible Commit after the full consumption of your Original Specified Commitment with respect to such platform”.[1] The terms give an example. With commitments for AWS and GCP plus a Flexible Commit, AWS usage beyond the AWS commitment draws on the Flexible Commit until it is used up, and the same applies to GCP.[1] Catalog proof: Flexible Commit is consumed only after the platform commitment.
Metrics
Commitments are stated in currency, not units. Usage counts toward them at the fees incurred under the Order. The Additional Billing and Commitment Terms measure progress through the “Universal Commit Usage Value”, defined as “an amount equal to the fees incurred under this Order Form for Databricks Usage paid for by applying Universal Commit Payments”.[2] The underlying consumption is still metered in DBUs and the other units, at prices per SKU or per SKU Group. Some SKUs are excluded from Cross-service SKU Groups.[11]
“Databricks Usage” includes Databricks on AWS, Databricks on GCP, Azure Databricks, ADI Services, SAP Databricks, Support Services and Eligible Databricks Marketplace Purchases.[2] Third-party purchases on Databricks Marketplace count only if they meet listed conditions. They must be made after 2026-06-15, marked as eligible for commit drawdown, invoiced in USD and submitted within 45 days. Fees above 10% of the Universal Commit are not eligible.[2] Catalog proof: Databricks Marketplace purchases count toward the commit up to 10%.
Counting / floors
Overage
“Burst Usage” is use of Databricks on AWS or Google Cloud after the applicable Specified Commitment has been consumed. It “is invoiced monthly in arrears”. For SAP Databricks and Azure Databricks, usage beyond the commitment is billed under the terms of the Order.[1] Support fees can also run over. If an Order includes Multicloud Support or Single-Cloud Support, the fees are based on “Support-Eligible Fees”. Any amount above the scheduled support payments is billed monthly in arrears.[1] Support plans are described in the Databricks Support Policy.[12] Catalog proof: Burst usage above the commit is invoiced monthly in arrears; Support is limited to documentation unless an Order specifies a plan.
Shortfall and true-up
The commitment is a floor. A customer “may owe Databricks a ‘True-up Payment’”, equal to any value of the UUC that remains unpaid at the end of the Term.[1] Pre-purchases count only to the extent they are used or expire unused during the Term. Under the Additional Billing and Commitment Terms, this applies to Microsoft Pre-Purchase Plans.[1][2] The general true-up concept applies, but here it settles spend, not deployed licences. Catalog proof: Unconsumed commitment is payable as a True-up Payment.
Reconciliation
The Additional Billing and Commitment Terms reconcile payments against usage. Before each invoice near an anniversary of the Start Date, any excess of payments over the greater of usage value and paid Scheduled Payments is applied to the next Scheduled Payment. This is the Interim Reconciliation Amount.[2] After the Term, if payments exceed both the Universal Commit and the usage value, Databricks credits the difference to the customer’s next order. If the customer does not place a new order, Databricks refunds the “Final Reconciliation Amount within 90 days of the end of the Term”.[2] Catalog proof: Overpayments are credited or refunded at final reconciliation.
Virtualization & partitioning
Not applicable. Commitments are monetary and do not depend on infrastructure.
Cloud / BYOL
Billing Sources and marketplaces
Each platform has a Billing Source. For Databricks on AWS it is “Databricks or, if indicated in the Billing Schedule of the Order Form, AWS Marketplace”. For Databricks on GCP it is Databricks or GCP Marketplace. Azure is the source for Azure Databricks, and SAP is the source for SAP Databricks.[2] The customer is billed monthly in arrears when its usage value exceeds its commit payments. This also happens when the Billing Source is Azure, GCP Marketplace, SAP or a Marketplace Billing Source and no unused prepayment is available for that source.[2] A cloud marketplace route therefore changes who invoices the customer. It also changes which cloud agreement, and which cloud commitment drawdown, the spend flows through. See Marketplace commit. Catalog proof: Billing Source determines who invoices each platform.
Azure Databricks and Powered Services
Azure Databricks is billed by Microsoft under the Azure subscription terms.[3] A Databricks commitment can include an Azure Commit.[1] However, the Cloud Provider Directory warns that usage of Databricks Powered Services, and of some Platform Services workspaces, “may not count towards your Universal Commitment / Minimum Commitment unless we confirm otherwise in writing from billing@databricks.com”.[5] A commit that relies on Azure or marketplace usage should therefore have that confirmation in the Order or in writing. Catalog proof: Powered Services and some workspaces may not count toward the commitment.
Programs
- Promotional Discounts. Databricks publishes whether a promotion combines (“cumulates”) with Committed Use Contract discounts.[3]
- Trial credits. Trial credits “are not transferable, cannot be combined with other promotions or negotiated terms”.[3]
- U.S. public sector. For U.S. Public Sector Customers, “all Commit, Support, and Subscriptions are payable in full upfront in U.S. Dollars on a Net 30 basis” unless the Order says otherwise. Sums are non-refundable once paid. Auto-renewal and late-payment interest do not apply where the Anti-Deficiency Act restricts them.[13] See U.S. Public Sector Services Schedule.
Tracking a commitment
Databricks provides tools to track spend, but they work at list price. Budgets “are measured in USD and use the list price of the SKU, including platform add-ons”.[9] The legacy usage page notes that “The actual cost varies depending on your contract” and lets administrators enter a contract price per DBU for each SKU to estimate cost.[10] To compare consumption with a monetary commitment, list-price usage has to be converted at the Order’s discount for each SKU or SKU Group. It also has to be checked against what each Billing Source has already invoiced. Catalog proof: Budgets track spend in USD at list price and do not reflect discounts.
Invoices issued by Databricks are due within 30 days in U.S. dollars, and undisputed past-due amounts accrue interest at 1.5% per month. Databricks may suspend Workspaces after giving notice of delinquent, undisputed Fees.[4] Catalog proof: Invoices are due in 30 days in USD with 1.5% monthly interest.
Out of scope
This page does not cover the commercial terms of Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitments or Microsoft Pre-Purchase Plans for Azure Databricks, AWS or Google Cloud private-offer mechanics, or SAP Business Data Cloud contracts. Negotiated discount levels are confidential to each Order and are not published.