25 Useful SaaS Statistics and Trends (2024)
There is a lot happening in the SaaS world. As one of the fastest-growing industries, it has reached a market value of around $242 billion, and it’s set to continue growing, with more and more SaaS firms emerging every single day.
Businesses around the world are quickly adapting to using software-as-a-service applications on a daily basis, which have become a staple across various industries and niches.
Nowadays, there are many SaaS providers offering their SaaS solutions. These companies have to compete with each other by offering competitive pricing plans in hopes of increasing their SaaS sales.
In this blog, we’ll cover the features and characteristics of SaaS and the statistics to be aware of, including projections and trends about:
- SaaS services
- SaaS tools
- SaaS firms around the world.
SaaS Statistics and Trends (Highlights)
- The SaaS industry is currently worth around $242 billion
- Companies that have over 1000 employees use more than 150 SaaS applications
- As of June 2020, there were 15,529 SaaS companies around the globe
- SaaS products currently make up around 70% of total company software use
- The biggest users of cloud-based SaaS are software engineers
- The US has more than 8x the number of SaaS companies than any other country in the world
SaaS Industry Statistics
1. The SaaS industry is currently worth around $242 billion
(Garter)
The global SaaS market has experienced enormous growth in the past seven years, having increased its worth by approximately five times.
It has grown from $31.5 billion to an astounding $242 billion in that time. Additionally, it’s projected to experience the largest compound annual growth rate between 2021 and 2022.
Currently, the annual growth rate for the SaaS industry is predicted to surpass 17% in 2022. With more and more companies regularly purchasing cloud computing tools, the figures are only going to continue growing.
2. Annual as-a-service contract values have reportedly increased by more than 5 times in six years
(Information Services Group)
The annual contract value, or ACV, in the SaaS sector, has been growing steadily ever since 2015.
Annual contracts and their value in the SaaS sector reached $2.1 billion in the second quarter of 2015. This figure then grew to more than $6 billion by the second quarter of 2018.
SaaS organization statistics also indicate that as of Q1 of 2021, the annual contract value surpassed $10 billion. This means that it experienced growth of over $2 billion in just under two years.
3. SaaS is considered the #1 most important technology when it comes to business success
(Harvey Nash)
It’s no surprise that software-as-a-service technology represents one of the most important aspects of business success.
Current SaaS trends indicate that more than 70% of those surveyed stated that they found SaaS solutions to be of some importance.
Out of those surveyed, 38% said that SaaS was very important for the success of their business, whereas 35% of them stated that it was quite important.
Almost any company in the world uses at least one cloud computing tool from the leading cloud vendor, Microsoft, which is the biggest SaaS company in the world.
4. The United States SaaS industry is predicted to grow by more than 2 times by the end of 2025
(Reply)
The US SaaS sector is by far the biggest in the world by far, according to numerous SaaS statistics and trends.
Back in 2020, SaaS growth statistics show that the US SaaS market was worth an estimated $108 billion.
Additionally, this figure is projected to increase to $225 billion in 2025, which represents significant SaaS market growth.
The latest SaaS statistics also indicate that the United States will remain the #1 largest SaaS market in the world in the upcoming years. Data also shows that the Latin American SaaS industry value will outgrow $1 billion in 2022.
5. The SaaS industry in the UK is set to almost double between the years 2020 and 2025
(Reply)
The UK SaaS industry is another major market for SaaS apps. Back in 2020, UK’s SaaS market share was worth approximately $7.5 billion. This number is expected to double over the upcoming three years.
Similarly, the SaaS industry value is expected to further increase in China, India, and Brazil.
Japan’s SaaS market is projected to exceed $1.5 billion in 2023. The Japanese SaaS market value has been steadily growing steadily since 2017.
6. The industry value of SaaS is expected to grow by more than double in all major European markets
(Statista)
The German SaaS market is the current leader among European SaaS markets and their values. It’s currently estimated at $6.85 billion.
However, this number is set to increase to $16.3 billion by the end of 2025. The second-highest SaaS market in Europe is France, with market revenue of $4.75 billion in 2021.
The rest of the top 5 of Europe’s software as a service market is split among Italy, the Netherlands, and Belgium.
7. The end-user SaaS expenditure is expected to grow by an astounding $365 million in 2022
(Gartner)
SaaS spending among end-users of cloud SaaS in Australia has increased significantly from 2019 to 2021.
Back in 2019, end-user cloud SaaS expenditure was approximately $243 million. In 2021, it reached $305 million.
Further forecasts indicate that end-user spending on public cloud SaaS, or public cloud services, will reach $362 million in 2022.
SaaS Business Statistics
8. Companies that have over 1000 employees use more than 150 SaaS applications
(BetterCloud)
The cloud application market is particularly popular among enterprise-level businesses and companies that have more than 1000 employees.
These companies use an average of 150 SaaS products for their day-to-day tasks. On the flip side, companies with less than 50 employees only use an average of 16 apps.
Furthermore, companies with 50 to 100 employees use 24 SaaS applications on average, which is 50% more compared to smaller businesses.
Also, large corporations and organizations with 100 to 500 employees generally use almost double the amount of SaaS apps compared to those who have 100 employees maximum.
9. The biggest SaaS-related security concern among businesses is encryption-related
(Thales Group)
Cloud security and encryption-related issues represent the biggest concern among companies that use SaaS applications on a daily basis.
These concerns are mainly related to the encryption of the organization's data within the infrastructure of the service provider, with keys managed and stored by the provider.
Among those surveyed, respondents stated that the least security concern was the support for hardware modules, or HSMs, either as infrastructure for rent in the cloud or for a local generation.
10. SaaS businesses are the #1 startup model in Brazil
(Tracxn)
SaaS startups are particularly popular in Brazil, where they represent the top business model. In Brazil, there were two times more SaaS startups than any other models last year.
According to startup statistics, up to 42% of all Brazilian startups in 2020 were SaaS companies. A SaaS startup is becoming an increasingly popular business model mostly to the high revenue churn rate.
11. As of June 2020, there were 15,529 SaaS companies around the globe
(Card Connect)
Even though there has been a decline in SaaS companies founded between 2018 and 2019, the number has been steadily rising ever since.
Currently, there are approximately 30,000 SaaS companies around the world, with most SaaS companies being based in the US.
It’s important to note that this number includes companies that were founded as far back as 1998 but transitioned into providing SaaS. One such example is Salesforce, founded back in 1999, which is one of the top SaaS companies in the world.
12. Businesses that use SaaS bring new capabilities to the market more quickly
(McKinsey)
SaaS stats show that businesses that have adopted cloud-based SaaS apps are able to bring new capabilities to the market by approximately 20%-40% faster compared to those who did not adopt cloud SaaS.
Experts say that this is mainly due to the fact that cloud-native companies possess the ability to release code into production thousands of times per day by using automation.
This, in turn, makes it easier to quickly respond to market demands and test what works and what does not.
13. Up to 86% of companies expect SaaS to meet their software-related needs in 2022
(Insider)
According to a survey, up to 86% of organizations expect SaaS to meet the majority of software needs in 2022.
It is not surprising because some people, including those who might not even know or understand what SaaS represents, have probably used Dropbox, Slack, Salesforce, or Google cloud services, such as Google Drive.
SaaS Usage Statistics
14. SaaS applications currently make up around 70% of total company software use
(BetterCloud)
SaaS companies offer a variety of apps that can be used in many industries and branches. The average number of apps used by businesses and organizations around the world has rapidly increased in recent years.
From an average of 8 apps back in 2015, this figure has gradually increased to 12 apps in 2016, further up to 16 apps in 2017.
Just last year, the average number of SaaS apps used by organizations was estimated to be 80, which is a significant increase. Experts predict that up to 85% of software that businesses use will be SaaS by the end of 2025.
15. It takes approximately 7 hours to implement a new SaaS solution
(Price Intelligently)
Deploying a SaaS app is much easier now. Currently, the average time to fully implement a new SaaS solution has dramatically gone down.
Just a decade ago, the time it would take to implement such an app was 57 hours, but today, that time has gone down to just 7 hours on average. This makes it possible for SaaS users and customers to get up and running in a record time.
16. A survey reported that approximately 88% of respondents used some form of cloud service
(O'Reilly)
SaaS companies and their products are becoming a staple among businesses and many industries. According to a survey, around 88% of respondents use at least some form of cloud services.
Additionally, 25% of survey respondents believe that their companies will begin moving all of their apps to the cloud in the following year. The majority also stated that their company will grow the usage of cloud-based services in that same time frame.
17. The biggest users of cloud-based SaaS are software engineers
(O’Reilly)
Software engineers make up 20% of all cloud-based SaaS users. The next on the list are architects and technical leads, which represent approximately 11% of users.
Other important roles that use SaaS applications daily include system engineers, system admins, technical directors, and project managers.
18. 1 in 3 employees use SaaS applications that were not approved by the IT
(The Next Web)
A recent survey found that up to 1 out of every 3 employees at Fortune 100 use SaaS products that were not approved by their IT departments.
Even though there is no malicious intent behind the use, it poses a significant security risk for companies.
For example, storing files that are highly confidential in apps such as Dropbox is risky since it may not have the same security level as approved apps.
19. IT companies fear that data loss might occur due to SaaS environments
(Better Cloud)
According to SaaS stats, up to 40% of SaaS data is unmanaged. One of the biggest fears IT companies face while using SaaS environments is the loss of data.
Other major concerns include the lack of control and visibility. According to a recent survey, companies believe that SaaS software is more likely to hold sensitive customer and business data.
This type of data frequently includes chats, emails, calendars, and other important company assets.
SaaS Companies Statistics
20. 1 in 5 companies’ SaaS budget and spending was not affected by the pandemic
(IDC)
SaaS brands and their products are becoming increasingly popular. With so many SaaS companies available to choose from, their pricing models are becoming rather competitive. Data shows that the average SaaS company has around 36,000 customers.
Additionally, more than 50,000 SaaS vendors offer more than 30% discounts to their user base.
Of course, Microsoft, which is the largest SaaS company in the world, has as many as 300 million active daily users. It also has a market capitalization of $1.95 trillion.
According to a survey, 22.5% of respondents stated that the COVID-19 pandemic did not impact their SaaS spending. However, 23% of respondents reported that they’ve actually lowered their spending on these apps.
Up to 30% of respondents have actually experienced an increase in spending due to the pandemic. Of course, it’s important to note that SaaS businesses charge based on usage, meaning that customers only pay when they use a product or service.
21. More than 50% of all companies that use multiple SaaS apps will centralize their management in the next 5 years
(Gartner)
Experts predict that by the end of 2027, more than half of all companies that use several SaaS products will centralize their management.
This centralization will include the usage metrics of these applications using project management tools.
22. The US has more than 8x the amount of SaaS companies than any other country in the world
(The Latka Agency)
It is no doubt that the US represents the leader when it comes to the number of SaaS companies based in the country. It’s also the home to some of the best SaaS companies in the world.
Another important SaaS market that’s currently taking off is India. Currently, there is an estimated 8,000 Indian SaaS companies, but experts predict that India’s SaaS industry market will continue growing in the following years.
23. Zoom has increased its market revenue by 5x from 2018 to 2020, largely due to COVID-19
(Statista)
Zoom, which has been one of the fastest-growing SaaS companies ever, experienced a massive spike in daily active users during the pandemic.
Its numbers grew by 5x from 2018 up until 2020, increasing its value and market revenue significantly.
24. Salesforce has more than 73,000 employees as of 2022
(Macrotrends)
Whereas the average SaaS company has around 36,000 employees, Salesforce, a giant in the industry, has more than 73,000 employees as of 2022.
This San Francisco-based cloud software company provides excellent SaaS CRM (customer relationship management) software and numerous apps that focus on sales, marketing automation, analytics, customer service, and project management tools.
25. Adobe has a market capital value of more than $170 billion
(Mike Sonders)
Considering the 50 biggest US public SaaS companies, their average worth is $27 billion.. Adobe is the leader with an astounding market value of over $170 billion.
As one of the leaders among SaaS businesses, Adobe provides business apps such as Photoshop, Stock Images and other cloud services. It has become a staple among numerous departments, including marketing, sales, and graphic design.
How Can These SaaS Statistics Benefit Your Business?
The SaaS market is projected to reach $240 billion in value in 2022. With so many SaaS platforms available, SaaS businesses are competing with each other by offering the best and most customizable solutions to their users.
Having a set of SaaS tools has become a staple for any small, medium, or enterprise-level business. It enables businesses to access important files at any time of the day, from anywhere in the world.
Today, there are more than 30,000 SaaS platforms to choose from, ranging from marketing tools, development software, and many more essential business tools, according to SaaS category statistics.
SaaS organizations employ many different pricing models, such as user-based pricing, to stay competitive, attract a greater customer base and ultimately make more SaaS sales. The SaaS business model is also becoming one of the most popular startup models.
With so many SaaS organizations and hundreds more being founded every single day, the SaaS business model is not going away any time soon. Whether you’re small business owner or enterprise-scale CEO, SaaS services can help you save money, time, and human resources.