From AWS Reserved Instances and Azure Savings Plans to Google Committed Use discounts, here are the most popular cloud discounts being used in 2026, according to a new report by Flexera.
Cloud partners and customers are relying heavily on cloud discounts to reduce overall costs and optimize budgets for AWS, Microsoft, Google, IBM and Oracle.
Nearly half of all cloud customers are leveraging discounts around Microsoft Azure, AWS, Google Cloud Platform, IBM Cloud and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, according to a new report by market research firm Flexera.
The three most popular discounts in the market being leveraged today by cloud partners and customers are AWS Reserved Instances, Azure’s Enterprise Agreements and the Google Committed Use discount.
Flexera’s new “2026 State of the Cloud” report surveyed over 750 executive leaders and professionals regarding what cloud provider discounts they are currently using to save money and optimize cloud costs.
CRN breaks down the most popular cloud discounts from AWS, Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), IBM Cloud and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure.
AWS’ Most Popular Discounts
For AWS customers, 45 percent are leveraging AWS Reserved Instances, while 41 percent use the AWS Enterprise Discount Program.
Approximately 40 percent say they are using AWS Savings Plans, and 29 percent use AWS Spot Instances.
About 23 percent rely on ad hoc negotiated discounts for AWS.
Microsoft Azure Most-Used Discounts
For Microsoft Azure customers, 43 percent use the Azure Enterprise Agreement discount, while 40 percent use Azure Reserved Instances.
About 35 percent use Azure Savings Plans, and 22 percent take advantage of the Azure Hybrid Use Benefit.
Approximately 19 percent leverage ad hoc negotiated discounts for Azure, while 16 percent use Azure low‑priority virtual machines discounts.
Google Cloud Platform Top Discounts
For GCP customers, nearly half—48 percent—of respondents use Google Committed Use discounts.
About 24 percent use ad hoc negotiated discounts for the Google Cloud Platform.
IBM And Oracle Discounts
IBM Cloud users report that 29 percent use IBM Cloud Subscriptions, 28 percent use IBM Cloud negotiated discounts, and 26 percent use IBM Cloud Reserved Instances.
For Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, 30 percent use negotiated discounts, and 25 percent use Universal Credits.
Key Cloud Discounts Downward Trend
The steepest declines in discount usage from last year to 2026 are seen with IBM and Oracle.
IBM cloud subscriptions dropped by 10 percentage points to 29 percent, while IBM Reserved Instances saw a 12-point decrease to 26 percent.
Oracle experienced the largest dip, with usage of universal credits falling from 39 percent to 25 percent year over year.
However, Flexera said as organizations “progress in their FinOps maturity, we expect to see increased usage of reserved instances and savings plans.”
Key Cloud Discount Upward Trends
There has been an uptick in the adoption of commitment-based discounts being leveraged by customers—such as reserved instances and savings plans—across the major cloud providers in 2026 compared with 2025.
In addition, 48 percent of respondents are now using Google Committed Use discounts, representing a 4-percentage-point increase from last year.
With 45 percent taking advantage of AWS Reserved Instances, it represents a 3-percentage-point increase compared with last year.
Azure reserved instances and savings plans have also increased by 4 percentage points year over year.
“These programs deliver tangible savings, so the rise in their use is a positive trend,” said Flexera in its report. “This may signal that customers are cautious about long-term commitments on these cloud platforms and are prioritizing greater flexibility.”
