Oracle support costs 22% of the net license fee, every year, for as long as the software runs.
Third-party support replaces Oracle’s annual support with a contract from an independent provider, usually for at least 50% less. We compare providers independently and plan the move against Oracle’s support rules, so the saving survives them.
50%or more below Oracle’s support fee, typically
| At list price | Per year |
|---|---|
| Oracle support (22%) | $10,450 |
| Third-party support | $5,225 or less |
License $47,500 on Oracle’s price list of 15 September 2026. Third-party fee at the typical 50% or more below Oracle’s.
Third-party support is an alternative to Oracle’s own support, provided by independent companies. Your perpetual licenses stay yours: you keep running the versions you have, and the provider looks after them in Oracle’s place.
A lower feeUsually at least 50% below Oracle’s, and it can come down each year as you use fewer of the licensed products.
Support for older versionsIt extends the life of releases Oracle has moved to limited support.
Fixes and updatesBreak/fix, security and vulnerability management, and global tax and regulatory updates from the provider.
New versions and Oracle patchesYou no longer receive Oracle’s releases; the provider supplies its own fixes and updates.
Services that need active Oracle supportSome Oracle services and cloud offers require the licenses behind them to be on Oracle support. Check each one before you leave.
A cheap way backReturning to Oracle costs a reinstatement fee of 150% of the last annual support fee for the time you were away, plus the new period.
Break/fix servicesProblems in the versions you run, diagnosed and fixed.
DBA and applications technical supportDay-to-day technical help for databases and applications.
Data fixesCorrections to data problems inside the applications.
Global tax and regulatory updatesThe changes Oracle used to ship, supplied by the provider.
Security and vulnerability managementProtection for versions that no longer get Oracle’s patches.
Support for custom codeYour own customizations, which Oracle support does not cover.
The best-known providers are Rimini Street and Spinnaker Support, alongside smaller specialists. They differ in the products and versions they cover, how they deliver the work and what they charge. Compare them on the points that decide whether the move works:
| What to check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Your products and versions | Coverage varies by product and release. Confirm every product on your support renewal, not just the main ones. |
| How the work is delivered | The provider should work on systems you control and never share one customer’s work with another. This is what keeps it within Oracle’s rights (see below). |
| Security and tax updates | Without Oracle’s patches, the provider’s own security and regulatory updates are what protect you. |
| Custom code | Whether your own customizations are covered, and how. |
| Response times | The service levels for critical problems, written into the contract. |
| Fee and term | How the fee falls as you retire products, and what happens at the end of the term. |
Oracle support costs at least 22% of the license fees paid, every year, and Oracle also raises past support fees by 2% to 8% a year. For a company that has bought Oracle products several times over ten years, support typically reaches 26% of the license fees paid.
| Oracle support | Third-party support | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | 22% of the license fee a year | At least 50% lower than Oracle’s fee |
| Annual increase | 2% to 8% a year | The provider can reduce the fee as your use of the products falls |
| Dropping a product | Oracle reprices the rest of the order upward | The fee comes down |
Oracle’s Software Technical Support Policies decide what a move really saves, so read them against your own orders before you give notice.
License setsAll licenses in a license set must be supported at the same level, and you may not support a subset of licenses within a license set.
RepricingWhen a subset of the licenses on a single order is terminated, support for the remaining licenses on that order is repriced at Oracle’s list price for support, minus the standard discount. Ending support on part of an order can cancel out the saving.
Whole orders and whole productsWhen everything on an order is unused, or a product is retired across the estate, ending all of its support leaves nothing to reprice.
A company paying Oracle $100,000 a year moves to third-party support at half the fee, then returns to Oracle two years later.
Coming back costs three times the saving (150% × $100,000 × 2 years), before the new year’s fee of $100,000
Third-party support pays when you do not plan to return to Oracle support for those products.
We model every option against these rules before anything goes to Oracle. Our guide to Oracle support cost reduction explains how we bring the bill down.
Third-party support is one of several ways to bring the support bill down. The right one depends on what you run and what you plan:
| Option | What it does | Fits |
|---|---|---|
| End support on whole orders or products | Removes support with nothing left on the order to reprice | Products no longer used anywhere in the estate |
| Move to the right edition | Standard Edition 2 is $17,500 per processor at list against $47,500 for Enterprise Edition, with support at the same 22% | Databases that use no Enterprise Edition features |
| Oracle Support Rewards | OCI spend used to pay on-premises support | Organizations with real Oracle Cloud plans |
| Negotiate when Oracle wants something | Support put on the table during a renewal, a cloud commitment or a new purchase | Any estate with a purchase or renewal ahead |
| Third-party support | Support from an independent provider at 50% or more below Oracle’s fee | Stable systems that will not be upgraded |
Yes, when it is delivered in a way that respects Oracle’s intellectual property. In the long-running case Oracle v. Rimini Street, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (2018) described third-party support as “lawful competition with Oracle’s direct maintenance services”, while upholding findings against the provider for how it had copied Oracle software. How the provider works matters as much as whether you use one.
Release dates matter. Oracle has extended Premier Support for E-Business Suite 12.2 through at least 2037, so a company on 12.2 that plans to stay gives up more by leaving than a company on an older release in Sustaining Support.
We follow a process that does not infringe Oracle’s intellectual property.
The best-known are Rimini Street and Spinnaker Support, alongside smaller specialists. They differ in product and version coverage, delivery model and fees, so compare them against your own renewal.
Third-party support typically costs at least 50% less than Oracle support. The real saving depends on Oracle’s repricing rules: ending support on only some licenses in an order can raise the price of the rest.
Another name for third-party support: an independent provider maintains your Oracle software in place of Oracle’s annual support and maintenance.
Yes. Perpetual licenses remain yours. What you lose is the right to new versions and Oracle’s patches, and the right to rejoin Oracle support without the reinstatement fee.
Yes, but Oracle charges a reinstatement fee of 150% of the last annual support fee for the time you were away, plus the fee for the new support period.
Yes, when it respects Oracle’s intellectual property. The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (2018) called it lawful competition with Oracle’s maintenance services in Oracle v. Rimini Street.
Ending support on whole unused orders or products, moving databases to Standard Edition 2 where the features allow, Oracle Support Rewards against OCI spend, negotiating support when Oracle wants something, and third-party support.
It is strongest for releases already in Sustaining Support, and for companies moving off E-Business Suite. With Premier Support for 12.2 running through at least 2037, a company that plans to stay on 12.2 should compare the saving with what it gives up.
No. Rythium is independent and does not resell licenses or support, or earn income from Oracle or any support provider.
Tell us what you run and when your Oracle support renews. We will show you what a move would save after Oracle’s rules, and which providers fit.
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