Most popular SaaS vendors by spend
Q1 2026 SaaS analysis: The rise of AI infrastructure
While Salesforce and Microsoft remain two of the biggest names in SaaS, this quarter shows a major shift. According to Vertice’s data, SMEs and mid-market companies are investing significantly more in AI, with OpenAI now the second most popular software application by spend.
Enterprises are also shifting their budgets toward the "behind-the-scenes" tools that make AI possible:
- SMEs and mid-market: Snowflake has moved up to the #4 spot, showing increased spend on organizing and "cleaning" data to make it ready for AI applications.
- Enterprises: MongoDB’s substantial jump into the top 10 (up 69 places) highlights growing enterprise investment in flexible database structures needed for custom AI models.
- Project management & developer tools: Atlassian’s growth (+5 for SMEs, +2 for Enterprises) indicates companies are also investing in tools to build and manage AI systems effectively.
Where SaaS budgets are shifting – and why (Q1, 2026)
OpenAI’s rise to the #2 positions for SMEs and mid-market companies signals a broader shift in software hierarchies. Several factors are influencing budget decisions:
1. Usage-based pricing: Organizations are increasingly moving away from flat, per-seat pricing models toward consumption-based pricing. This shift puts legacy contracts under scrutiny, as companies look to scale costs more precisely with actual usage.
2. Stack rationalization: IT teams are actively eliminating “shelfware” – unused or redundant tools – to simplify their tech stacks, reduce spend and minimize security exposure.
These trends can impact legacy platforms. For example, some organizations are reallocating budgets from tools like ServiceNow, NetSuite and Workday toward more flexible, performance-driven solutions, though the degree of impact varies by company.
Top SaaS market trends and industry leaders in 2026
Current market share data shows a “dual-track” approach to software adoption:
- Track 1 – Established giants: Microsoft, Salesforce and SAP remain foundational platforms, consistently holding top spots in enterprise spending.
- Track 2 – Specialized tools: Vendors like OpenAI, Twilio (+5 in SMEs), MongoDB and Oracle (+1 in Enterprise) are expanding their footprint, reflecting demand for high-performance, flexible tools beyond standard suites.
Data source: These insights are derived from over $30bn of global processed spend managed by Vertice in 2026. The analysis includes both SME/mid-market and enterprise-level spend, with year-over-year changes captured for emerging and established vendors.
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The need-to-knows about Vertice
Microsoft, Salesforce, SAP and Google lead in spend, while emerging vendors like OpenAI and MongoDB are growing rapidly due to AI adoption and flexible infrastructure demands.
SMEs and mid-market companies are investing heavily in AI tools like OpenAI and Snowflake, alongside core productivity and business platforms such as Microsoft, Google, NetSuite and Hubspot, while enterprises continue to allocate budgets to foundational platforms (Microsoft, Salesforce, SAP) and flexible infrastructure solutions (MongoDB).
SMEs and mid-market companies are increasingly prioritizing a mix of AI adoption, data infrastructure and core business platforms, including tools like OpenAI, Snowflake, Microsoft, Google, HubSpot and NetSuite. They are also investing in project management and developer tools, such as Atlassian, to support implementation and team workflows. Enterprises, meanwhile, maintain large budgets for foundational platforms like Microsoft, Salesforce and SAP, while also allocating spend toward flexible back-end infrastructure (e.g. MongoDB), specialized AI applications, and high-performance productivity and developer tools to enable advanced initiatives and scale operations efficiently.
ERP, CRM and AI infrastructure platforms often represent the highest enterprise costs. Adoption of usage-based pricing is enabling companies to scale spend more efficiently and allocate budgets toward performance-driven solutions.