AWS EDP vs PPA: What's the Difference?
By Rostyslav Myronenko, holder of 14 active AWS certifications.
. 3 min read
If AWS has offered you an EDP or a PPA, both names describe the same kind of contract. Enterprise Discount Program is the older name, and a Private Pricing Addendum is how AWS papers the deal today. Where they differ is scope: whether the discount covers most of your bill, named services, or both.
The short answer
An EDP is a commitment to spend a set amount on AWS over several years, in exchange for a discount on most of your eligible usage. A PPA is the addendum to your AWS agreement that holds the negotiated pricing. A new EDP is usually signed as a PPA, so in most deals the two names describe one contract.
The names once meant different things. EDP was a cross-service discount: one percentage across most of the bill. PPA covered service-specific pricing, a negotiated rate for one service or usage type. A PPA can now hold both (CloudKeeper). The two private pricing addenda filed with the SEC, MiX Telematics in 2017 and VTEX in 2024, each set a spend commitment per contract year, a list of eligible services and a discount.
AWS EDP vs PPA side by side
| EDP | PPA | |
|---|---|---|
| Stands for | Enterprise Discount Program | Private Pricing Addendum |
| What the name refers to | The program: a spend commitment in exchange for a discount | The addendum to your AWS agreement that holds the negotiated pricing |
| Discount scope | One percentage across most eligible usage | A cross-service discount, service-specific rates, or both |
| Commitment and shortfall | Annual spend over a multi-year term, and you pay any shortfall | Same as an EDP |
| Published rates | None | None |
| In the Cost and Usage Report | EdpDiscount line items | PrivateRateDiscount line items for service-specific rates |
AWS publishes no discount tiers for either. Advisory benchmarks run from about 5% to 20% (Redress Compliance). The line-item names come from AWS's own Cloud Intelligence Dashboards queries.
Whichever label an offer carries, read three things in the contract: what counts as eligible spend, the term, and the shortfall clause.
Which form of discount suits you
With one contract either way, the choice is what goes into it: a blanket discount, service-specific rates, or both.
A blanket discount suits a bill spread across many services. One rate applies to most of it, and you don't have to predict which service will grow.
Service-specific rates matter when one service or usage type dominates the bill, such as data transfer, storage or a single instance family. A negotiated rate on that one line may do more for you than a higher blanket rate, so ask for both in the same round.
Either way, you need scale and a forecast you trust. Public guides put the floor for a private pricing conversation anywhere from $300k a year (CloudKeeper, which calls it a benchmark) to about $1M (the guides cited in who qualifies for an AWS private pricing agreement). The AWS EDP eligibility checklist shows where you stand. If your spend could drop or move during the term, look at the commitment before the discount, whichever name the contract carries.
FAQ
Can you have both an EDP and a PPA?
Not as two separate agreements, in most cases. A new EDP is usually signed as a PPA, so one addendum carries the commitment and the discount. What one PPA can hold is both kinds of discount: a blanket rate and service-specific rates. Savings Plans and Reserved Instances sit alongside it as separate commitments.
Which name will my AWS contract use?
Most current AWS contracts say "private pricing" or PPA. Account teams and vendor blogs still say EDP, so expect to hear both in the same conversation.
Going further
For how the discount works, what counts toward the commitment, shortfall and exit terms, and how to negotiate, read the AWS EDP and PPA negotiation guide. If you're heading into a new agreement or a renewal, AWS EDP negotiation is where I prepare the numbers and the negotiation brief with you, while your team leads the sessions with AWS.