We have reached the time when paying for software to keep business running is essential for survival.

Software as a Service, also known as SaaS, is making rounds to become the biggest industry by market value in the future.

Suddenly, today is like living in Netflix’s Black Mirror episode.

Everything is digital.

How many SaaS companies are there?

Which one has the biggest market capitalization? Let’s see!

How Many SaaS Companies Are There in 2024?

How Many SaaS Companies Are There

There are between 30,000 to 72,000 SaaS companies, operating in 2023.

The number is much higher and could hit 175,000 if we take into account firms that are mainly operating in the artificial intelligence sphere.

SaaS companies operate in different segments.

According to the site Vainu, there are more than 24,000 SaaS companies in the Productivity Tools and Collaboration Application segment alone.

Another 17,000 tech firms like Salesforce are in the Customer Service Solutions segment, while 15,000 are in the Marketing Software segment. 

Moreover, a growing segment under E-commerce is home to nearly 14,000 service providers.

Data & Analytics and Sales are at 12,000 and 11,500 companies, respectively.  

As companies continue to invest in migrating their operations online, business owners are realizing the lucrative profit potential of the software industry.

What is SaaS?

Software as a Service or SaaS is undeniably an intimidating term for outsiders.

But before you give me that frown, let me tell you: SaaS is easier to understand than you think.

In fact, you are already using it in your everyday life, and even in your line of work.

Simply put, SaaS is a third-party company that fulfills the software needs of a business.

This software or a group of which can be accessed on the internet as long as there is a connection.

Among the most common types of SaaS is the public cloud, which your organization buys and exclusively uses for collaboration, communication, and delivering other work-related tasks.

Another example is a private cloud which is a service storage that anyone can use, and most of the time this is offered for free.

An example of which is Google Drive.

Top SaaS Companies by Market Capitalization

You have learned that SaaS is where users access a particular service, be it personal, professional, or a combination of both, through the internet.

It is time to name the top SaaS companies, measured by the highest market capitalization as of this writing.

  1. Adobe Inc – this company holds a market capitalization of nearly $175 billion
  2. Salesforce – this company holds a market capitalization of $171 billion
  3. Intuit Inc – this company holds a market capitalization of $122 billion
  4. ServiceNow Inc – this company holds a market capitalization of $95.7 billion
  5. Shopify Inc – this company holds a market capitalization of $63.28 billion
  6. Snowflake Inc – this company holds a market capitalization of $53 billion
  7. Block Inc – this company holds a market capitalization of $50 billion
  8. Autodesk Inc – this company holds a market capitalization of $48 billion
  9. Atlassian Corporation PLC – this company holds a market capitalization of $43.5 billion
  10. Crowdstrike Holdings Inc – this company holds a market capitalization of $28 billion

Top SaaS Companies for Productivity

Top SaaS Companies for Productivity

Here are the top SaaS companies under the Productivity Tools and Collaboration Application segment. 

  • Webflow – this SaaS company was founded in 2013 and is centered on website building and related services 
  • Github – this SaaS company was founded in 2008 and used as an internet hosting service
  • Adobe Creative Cloud – this SaaS company was founded in 2013
  • Atlassian – this SaaS company was founded in 2002. Services under it include Trello, Jira, Confluence, and Bitbucket
  • Xero – this SaaS company was founded in 2006
  • Zoom – this SaaS company was founded in 2011. Services under the brand include Zoom, Zoom Rooms, and Zoom Video Webinar.
  • MailChimp – this SaaS company was founded in 2000, centered on marketing automation and email marketing services
  • Hubspot – this SaaS company was founded in 2006. Brands under it are Sales Hub, Marketing Hub, CMS Hub, and Academy

Top SaaS Companies: Annual Growth

Aside from knowing how many SaaS companies there are, it is also worth sticking our noses in the top players in the field in terms of annual growth in 2022.

  • Microsoft – the company’s SaaS department recorded a 45% annual growth during the period 
  • Oracle – the company’s SaaS department recorded a 43% annual growth during the period
  • SAP – the company’s SaaS department recorded a 36% annual growth during the period
  • Adobe – the company’s SaaS department recorded a 32% annual growth during the period
  • Salesforce – the company’s SaaS department recorded a 25% annual growth during the period

SaaS Spending from 2015 to 2022

SaaS Spending from 2015 to 2022

New SaaS startups launching in the space peaked in 2017 when nearly 1,500 companies entered the market during the year.

Many businesses are realizing the underlying revenue potential of the industry after seeing how much companies are willing to spend to get internet-exclusive services.

Take a look at this data from Statista on SaaS end-user spending in a seven-year period.

  • 2015 – SaaS end-user spending came at $31.4 billion during the year
  • 2016 – SaaS end-user spending came at $48.2 billion during the year
  • 2017 – SaaS end-user spending came at $58.8 billion during the year
  • 2018 – SaaS end-user spending came at $85.7 billion during the year
  • 2019 – SaaS end-user spending came at $102.7 billion during the year
  • 2020 – SaaS end-user spending came at $120.7 during the year
  • 2021 – SaaS end-user spending came at $145.5 billion during the year
  • 2022 – SaaS end-user spending came at $171.9 billion during the year

Conclusion

The latest data shows there are between 30,000 to 72,000 SaaS companies operating today. 

This number is expected to keep growing in the coming years as businesses continually invest in migrating their operations over the internet.

Sources

ComptiaVainuSalesforce
Exploding TopicsInvestopediaCledara
CyclrDatapineStatista
StatistaStatistaInsight
FinancesOnlineHistory-Computer