SaaS spend per employee

2026 SaaS spend per employee: Benchmarks, rightsizing and growth trends

Annual software expenditure per head has reached a critical plateau. Vertice’s data shows that while spending rose from $6,900 in Q3 2023 to $9,200 in Q1 2026, the cost has remained flat for three consecutive quarters.

Why is SaaS spend per employee flatlining at $9,200?

• The maturity of AI spend: The huge jumps seen in late 2023 and early 2024 (+23% in six months) were largely driven by the rush to add Generative AI capabilities. In 2026, these costs have moved from "experimental" to "operational," and many businesses have started optimizing these licenses rather than adding new ones.
• Delayed rightsizing: The aggressive layoffs seen in recent years did not result in immediate SaaS savings, with many enterprise contracts locked in for annual or multi-year commitments. The $9,200 plateau may be a result of organizations finally being able to rightsize their agreements to match their smaller, leaner teams.

Future outlook: Why SaaS spend per employee is likely to rise again

Per-employee SaaS costs may have stabilized for now, but current market pressures suggest this figure will surge again in 2026. Reasons for this include:

• SaaS inflation pressure: Most software vendors continue to hike their prices by an average of 13.2% each year. Without active negotiation, the cost for the same headcount will naturally rise year-over year.
• The “AI premium” impact: As AI features move from free trials to paid add-ons, the base cost of equipping employees with the relevant tools will increase.
• Unaddressed waste: With 15% of apps unused and 51% underutilized, the average tech stack remains inefficient. As vendors shift to usage-based models, this inefficiency will become even more expensive, likely breaking the $9,200 ceiling.

Data source: These insights are derived from over0bn of global processed spend managed by Vertice in 2026.

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