When partners evaluate SAP BTP ABAP Environment, one of the first questions is simple: What does it actually cost to get started?

With the introduction of 0.5 ABAP Compute Units (ACU), the answer has become much more attractive.

Instead of starting at 1 ACU, partners can now begin with 0.5 ACU (8 GB runtime memory), making development, test and demo landscapes significantly more cost-efficient.

At the same time, SAP BTP ABAP Environment supports two delivery options:

• Multitenant SaaS solution – operated by the partner
• Add-On Product – installed and operated by the customer

Both options can be combined depending on your business model.

To build and commercialize solutions on SAP BTP ABAP Environment, partners operate within the SAP PartnerEdge – Build (PE Build) commercial model.

This model provides the foundation for:

• Developing and running solutions
• Delivering them as multitenant SaaS or Add-On Products
• Publishing offerings via the SAP Store

A realistic setup for partners usually includes a small development landscape.

Development & Demo (TDD PAYG)

• Development system → 0.5 ACU
• Test/Demo system → 0.5 ACU
• Persistence → 2 HCU per system

This setup is typically used for:

• Development
• Testing
• Customer demos and workshops

All following calculations are based on the Pay-As-You-Go for SAP BTP for cloud test, demo, and development for SAP BTP ABAP Environment. Please also refer to SAP BTP Pricing Options for more details and an online cost estimator. 

Pricing basis:

• Runtime: 0.48 € / hour per 1 ACU (16 GB)
• For this example, we use 0.5 ACU → 0.24 € / hour
• Persistence: 0.10 € / hour per block (16 GB)
• Minimum persistence: 2 blocks → 0.20 € / hour

For the latest pricing details, refer to the SAP BTP Discovery Center.

Monthly Costs per System (0.5 ACU, 2 HCU)

For the latest pricing details, refer to the SAP BTP Discovery Center.

What This Looks Like in Practice

A simple Dev and Demo setup results in:

This is your starting point without any optimization.

Reducing Costs with System Hibernation

For non-productive systems, System Hibernation provides an effective way to reduce costs when using a consumption-based commercial model. See this blog post for more information.

When a system is stopped:

• Runtime costs (ACU) → 0%
• Persistence costs (HCU) → 12.5%

Example Usage Pattern

• Active: 12 hours per day on 20 working days
• Stopped: nights and weekends

Resulting Monthly Cost per System (0.5 ACU, 2 HCU)

Development & Demo Landscape

This shows how significantly costs can be reduced when systems are only used during working hours.

If you operate your solution as a SaaS offering, you typically add a production system:

• Runtime → 1 ACU
• Persistence → 4 HCU (recommended)

Production systems are typically sized more conservatively than development systems to ensure performance and availability.

Pricing (PE Build)

Persistence requires 4 units:

• 4 × 111.94 € = 447.76 €

Total production cost: ~1083 € / month

Full SaaS Landscape Example

If you deliver your solution as an Add-On Product:

• You only need development and test systems
• The customer operates the production system

Result:

• No production infrastructure cost on the partner side
• Lower operational responsibility
• Developer extensibility for customer
• Flexible delivery model, especially for enterprise customers

SAP currently offers free test, demo, and development (TDD) capacity as part of SAP Build runtime.

This includes:

cloud test, demo, and development for SAP Build runtime
(Fair use limit: 2,250 capacity units per month)

More information:

https://partneredge.sap.com/en/partnership/licenses/wp_payg_btp.html
https://partneredge.sap.com/en/products/sap-bld/about/sap_build_tdd.html

To get started:

• Order “Pay-As-You-Go for SAP BTP for cloud test, demo, and development” (Material 8009282)
• Activate services in the SAP BTP cockpit

What This Means in Practice

For SAP BTP ABAP Environment:

• 1 capacity unit ≈ 1 € consumption value
• Fair use limit: 2,250 capacity units per month

SAP Build runtime free capacity covers runtime (ACU), but does not cover persistence (HCU), which must still be paid.

Comparison

In many cases, the free quota can cover the runtime of development and demo systems, while persistence costs remain.

What Happens Beyond the Free Limit

If the fair use limit is exceeded:

• Consumption continues seamlessly
• Billing automatically switches to PAYG pricing

• Start with 0.5 ACU systems for development and demos
• Enable System Hibernation to reduce costs
• Use the free TDD quota during the initial phase
• Choose the delivery model based on your business model
• Add a production system only when you are ready to go live