B2B software pricing is up 16.4% and your customers know it
Software prices rose between 12% and 16.4% through 2026. General inflation sat near 2.7% during the same period. Your customers’ procurement teams have a calculator too.
The average enterprise now spends $55.7M per year on software, up 8% year over year, even though the number of apps in use slipped slightly. Every dollar of that growth came from price, not volume.
What the Numbers Show
A survey of 141 CIOs turned up some uncomfortable data for SaaS founders:
- 79% of IT leaders saw a price increase at renewal
- 78% received surprise AI or usage charges
- 45% are funding AI tools by cutting existing software budgets
- 54% are actively reducing vendor counts
- Only about 28 cents of each new AI dollar is fresh budget
The Operator Implication
If you sell B2B software, your next renewal price increase is competing directly with your customer’s AI budget. The article argues that seat-based pricing is dying and three new models are emerging to replace it. The specific models are covered in the full Saastr piece.
If you buy B2B software, the data confirms what you already suspected: vendors are pricing aggressively, and the AI upsell is often baked into the renewal rather than offered as a transparent add-on.
What to Do With This
For founders: if your pricing model still runs on seats alone, the data suggests customers are actively shopping for consolidation targets. Tying your price to outcomes or usage, rather than headcount, makes the renewal conversation easier when procurement is already looking for cuts.
For operators buying tools: with 54% of CIOs reducing vendor counts, the moment to audit your stack is before renewal season, not during it.
I’m founder of BizStack at Cagri Sarigoz LLC and a passionate advocate for entrepreneurs.
With over 14 years in tech, marketing, and AI, including my role as Head of SEO at CitizenShipper and co-founder of TaleBot at Intale AI, I’m dedicated to sharing genuine, useful product insights and tips.
At BizStack, I aim to cut through the digital noise to provide clear, actionable advice.
And more than all else, I’m a father to a (always) little girl and a husband.
Contact me at [email protected] for assistance.
