SAP RISE vs On-Premise S/4HANA TCO Calculator
Choosing between RISE with SAP and running S/4HANA yourself is as much a cost question as a strategy question. This calculator lets a CIO or program manager compare five or ten year totals using their own figures instead of generic vendor numbers.
Your numbers
Typical business cases use five years.
Often zero for existing customers using contract conversion; enter actual figure if not.
Use your quote. RISE bundles licence, infrastructure and technical services.
Your results
Illustrative model based entirely on your inputs. RISE contents and pricing vary by contract. Obtain written quotes, include risk and flexibility value, and have finance validate before using in a business case.
Cumulative cost by horizon
Sweeps Comparison horizon from 1 to 10, holding your other inputs fixed.
Independent review of your TCO assumptions
Share your inputs and get a short critique of missing cost lines and risks. Optional and separate from the calculator.
Optional. The tool and every export work without this. No spam.
How to use the calculator
Fill in the on-prem block first using your real figures: hardware refresh, SAP maintenance, data centre and Basis staffing. Then enter the RISE quote and remaining internal staff. Adjust the horizon slider to see how the picture changes, and read the chart: on-prem carries a large upfront cost that flattens over time, while RISE is closer to a straight line. The primary results show the net difference and the average yearly cost of each option. Export the result to PDF for the business case appendix.
- Use quotes, not list prices
- Include staff time honestly
- Test at five and ten years
- Run a downside case with higher RISE extras
The model behind the numbers
On-prem total is licence cost plus hardware capex plus upgrade projects plus annual run cost times years, where run cost is maintenance, data centre and people. RISE total is one-time transition cost plus annual subscription, extras and retained staff times years. There is no discounting; if your finance team uses net present value, adjust the horizon figures or apply a discount to later years. The model deliberately leaves out business benefits, because those apply to both options and cancel out in a pure cost comparison.
Reading the result
A negative difference means RISE is cheaper over your horizon under these assumptions. Small differences, under about ten percent, should not decide the question, because estimation error is larger than that. Look at which assumptions drive the gap: if the answer flips when you lower the retained FTE or hardware capex, the decision depends on operating model choices, not price. Remember that RISE shifts capacity and responsibility to SAP and its hosting provider, which has value that raw cost cannot show.
Common mistakes
The commonest error is understating on-prem people costs, such as monitoring, patching, security and audit support. The opposite error is treating the RISE subscription as the whole bill and forgetting BTP, integration, additional environments and the cost of hyperscaler or SAP service add-ons. Also check contract term, price escalation clauses and exit costs, which are not modelled here.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is included in RISE with SAP?
RISE is a bundled offering that packages S/4HANA Cloud software, infrastructure and technical operations, plus access to certain tools and services. Exact scope varies by edition and contract, so read your order form and the service descriptions carefully before comparing costs.
Does RISE always cost less than on-prem?
No. It depends on the size of your existing infrastructure, staffing, maintenance and negotiated terms. Some organisations find RISE cheaper, others find an on-prem or hyperscaler-hosted option cheaper over a long horizon. This calculator shows which way your own numbers lean.
How should I treat existing licence investment?
Enter the one-time conversion or new licence cost for the on-prem option. For many existing customers this is small or zero under contract conversion, but terms differ, and the licence position should be verified with SAP or a licensing adviser.
Should I discount future years?
For board-level business cases, yes. This tool shows undiscounted totals for clarity. Export the figures and apply your finance team's discount rate, or run the calculator at different horizons to approximate the effect.
If you want help pressure-testing a RISE quote or sizing the on-prem alternative, we can review your assumptions with you. The calculator needs no contact to use.
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