The Microsoft Customer Agreement (MCA) is the direct, evergreen purchase contract from Microsoft that replaces the legacy Enterprise Agreement for many buyers. Across enterprise deals we benchmarked in 2024 and 2025, MCA-E negotiated rates ran 1 to 3 percent below the equivalent Enterprise Agreement rate at the median for M365 E3 and E5, and within plus or minus 1 percent on Azure consumption when paired with a MACC. The price delta is small. The structural difference is larger.
Definition
Microsoft Customer Agreement (MCA): Microsoft's modern direct purchase agreement with two variants. MCA-Commercial (MCA-C) is self serve and SMB facing. MCA-Enterprise (MCA-E) is the negotiated enterprise contract that hosts Azure consumption with a MACC, Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, and Power Platform on a single, evergreen agreement. Sits alongside Enterprise Agreement and Cloud Solution Provider as one of three primary commercial purchase paths.
The MCA structure changes how procurement plans renewals. EA used a fixed 36 month term with one true up window per anniversary. MCA-E is evergreen, with billing in 12, 24, or 36 month subscription blocks and an annual price protection negotiation rather than a hard renewal event. That softens the leverage moment buyers used to plan around.
Three concrete mechanics matter for negotiation. First, MCA-E does not carry EA Level B and Level C banding, so volume based step downs vanish unless negotiated in. Second, the MACC under MCA-E is portable across subscriptions, which simplifies Azure consumption sweep optimization. Third, the legal redlines move faster on MCA-E because the master terms are mostly fixed, which compresses the negotiation cycle from 90 to 120 days under EA to roughly 30 to 45 days under MCA-E.
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MCA-E versus EA: when the switch pays
From our 2024 and 2025 sample: enterprises with seat counts above 2,400 and concentrated Microsoft spend saw neutral to slightly favorable economics on MCA-E, with the median MCA-E rate landing 1.8 percent below EA on M365 E5 and 0.4 percent below on Azure with MACC. Enterprises previously priced at EA Level C with step ups saw a net 0.5 to 2 percent rate erosion on MCA-E because the level pricing protection vanished. Methodology: NDA invoice data, deal size brackets 2,400 to 28,000 seats, segment cuts US, EMEA, APAC.
For the surrounding vocabulary, see the EA definition, the CSP definition, the MACC definition, the true up definition, the Microsoft pricing profile, and the glossary hub.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Microsoft Customer Agreement (MCA)?
MCA is Microsoft's direct, evergreen purchase agreement that replaces the traditional Enterprise Agreement for many commercial and government buyers. MCA-E is the negotiated enterprise contract that hosts Azure, M365, Dynamics, and Power Platform on a single agreement.
How does MCA-E pricing compare to EA?
Across enterprise Microsoft deals benchmarked in 2024 and 2025, MCA-E negotiated rates landed 1 to 3 percent below the equivalent EA rate at the median for M365 E3 and E5, and within plus or minus 1 percent on Azure consumption when paired with a MACC.
Should an enterprise switch from EA to MCA-E?
Enterprises with stable seat counts above 2,400 and concentrated Microsoft spend often see neutral to slightly favorable economics moving to MCA-E. Enterprises that relied on EA Level B or Level C banding need to model the loss of that protection before signing.
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