2026 SaaS Pricing Report: How 200 Software Companies Price Their Products

SaaS pricing is getting more complex — and more expensive

We analyzed public pricing data from 200 SaaS companies across 8 categories — CRM, project management, email marketing, HR, cybersecurity, accounting, analytics, and ERP — to understand how software pricing has evolved heading into 2026. The findings reveal a market that is simultaneously getting more expensive per seat and more creative about how those seats are priced.

Average per-seat costs by category

The shift to usage-based pricing

The most significant trend in SaaS pricing is the move away from simple per-seat models toward usage-based or hybrid pricing. Approximately 38% of the companies we analyzed now offer some form of usage-based pricing, up from an estimated 25% two years ago.

This shift is driven by AI features. Companies are adding AI capabilities that consume compute resources, and per-seat pricing doesn't capture the cost of heavy AI usage. The result is a new pricing layer: AI credits, token limits, or compute-based billing that sits on top of the traditional seat license. Salesforce, HubSpot, and Zendesk have all introduced AI-specific pricing tiers in the past 12 months.

Which categories saw the biggest increases

Cybersecurity software prices increased the most aggressively year-over-year, with an average 18% increase across mid-tier plans. The driving factor is the inclusion of AI-powered threat detection, extended detection and response (XDR), and identity management features that were previously sold as separate products. Vendors are consolidating capabilities and raising prices accordingly.

Email marketing saw a 15% increase driven primarily by Mailchimp's continued price adjustments and the addition of SMS and multi-channel capabilities to what were previously email-only platforms. The exception is Brevo, which has maintained aggressive pricing to capture market share from incumbents.

Analytics and BI prices increased 14% as the category shifts from dashboard tools to AI-powered insight platforms. Natural language querying, automated anomaly detection, and predictive analytics are driving the price increases.

The free tier is disappearing

One of the most notable trends is the shrinking of free tiers across the industry. Of the 200 companies we analyzed, 62% still offer a free plan — but the feature limits on those free plans have tightened considerably. Three years ago, a typical CRM free tier included unlimited contacts and basic automation. Today, most CRM free tiers cap contacts at 250-1,000 and restrict automation to the most basic workflows.

The companies bucking this trend — notably ClickUp, Brevo, and Notion — are using generous free tiers as a growth strategy, betting that free users will convert to paid plans as their teams and usage grow. This strategy works for products with strong network effects but is less viable for tools where individual users don't naturally invite colleagues.

What this means for buyers

For businesses evaluating software in 2026, the pricing landscape is more complex than simply comparing per-seat costs. Buyers should pay attention to how AI features are priced (included vs. add-on), whether usage limits apply to features they'll actually use, and what the real cost looks like at their expected team size — not the starting price advertised on the website.

Annual commitments continue to offer 15-25% discounts over monthly billing across nearly every category. For companies confident in their tool choice, annual billing remains the most straightforward way to reduce software costs.

For detailed rankings and pricing comparisons across all 8 categories, visit Software Industry Reviews.