Dive Brief:
- The average organization now spends $55.7 million annually on software-as-a-service applications, with artificial intelligence-driven tools showing the fastest growth, SaaS management firm Zylo said in a report released Thursday.
- Even with software portfolios holding steady at an average of 305 applications, spending rose nearly 8% in 2025 compared with the prior year, according to the findings. Large enterprises with 10,000 or more employees spent anywhere between $123.5 million and $375.5 million on average, Zylo said. The report was based on an analysis of more than 40 million SaaS licenses.
- “AI is quickly becoming the most expensive ‘invisible worker’ in the organization,” Ben Pippenger, vice president of strategic partnerships at Zylo, said in a press release. “As more work is absorbed by AI-driven software, companies are adding opaque, usage-driven expenses that are harder to forecast and govern.”
Dive Insight:
Global software spending is projected by Gartner to reach $1.43 trillion in 2026, a 15.2% year-over-year increase.
New pricing mechanics and AI feature monetization are now leading factors behind rising SaaS costs, overtaking application sprawl, according to Indianapolis, Indiana-based Zylo, which annually publishes research on SaaS spending trends.
Software giants like Salesforce and Microsoft are updating plan structures, bundling AI features and accelerating the move to consumption-based pricing, Zylo said.
“The number of applications organizations have has effectively flattened, yet spend continues to rise, signaling that the pressure is now coming from pricing mechanics rather than growth in application count,” the report said.
In December, Microsoft announced plans to increase commercial pricing for Microsoft 365 suite subscriptions starting July 1. The price increases are due to expanded availability of AI, as well as security and management capabilities coming to Microsoft 365 offerings, the company said at the time.
In August 2025, Salesforce raised prices 6% on average for key clouds and introduced new AI-infused editions of Agentforce ranging from $125 to $550 per user, Zylo noted in its report, adding that Slack’s Business+ plan also rose 20%.
“SaaS pricing is undergoing the most significant shift the market has seen,” the report said. “Seat-based models are giving way to hybrid and consumption-based approaches that make forecasting more difficult and widen the gap between planned and actual spend. As vendors introduce variable pricing tied to usage, AI features, or automated overages, leaders are encountering surprise bills that strain budgets and disrupt project plans.”
As AI continues to drive pricing volatility and reshape commercial terms, organizations will need “stronger financial control and a tighter operating rhythm” across technology, procurement, and finance teams, Zylo said.
