How to Avoid Overpaying for SaaS: Insights from Industry Leaders

From my experience running a digital marketing agency and online education platforms like SkillsBooster and SaasBooster, one of the biggest cost-saving opportunities for SaaS companies today lies in content creation, especially through AI.

Many founders still see AI as something abstract or experimental, but we’ve seen a clear shift: forward-thinking SaaS teams are already leveraging tools like Heygen, ElevenLabs, Gamma App, and Trupeer to produce high-quality content faster and at a fraction of the traditional cost. This includes everything from website copy and social media creatives to educational videos featuring AI avatars.

In our own work creating courses for platforms like Udemy and Coursera, AI has dramatically reduced production time and budget. My advice to SaaS founders: stop treating AI as a trend, start using it systematically. Educate your models, integrate the tools, and you’ll not only save costs but gain a competitive edge in speed and consistency.

Most experts would advise you on cutting SaaS costs circles around audits and negotiations. But not me..

I’m sharing 3 unconventional strategies that move beyond basic budgeting and turn your whole team into savvy, empowered cost-cutters.. and instantly boost your profits for the year

(P.S You can combine them for maximum impact, or implement them individually, depending on the size of your business)

Ask each department (or your whole company, if you’re a team of 10 or under) to go 30 days without any non-essential SaaS tools, i.e., without Emails
Tell teams to switch off project management apps, time trackers or email signature tools that aren’t mission-critical. What breaks? What actually matters?
You’ll be surprised.

In most cases, usage stats don’t tell the full story, a tool might look popular but is only marginally useful.

When it’s gone, does anyone really notice?

This challenge quickly separates the must-have, from the nice-to-have.

How to do it:

If 30 days sound like a lot, try it for 7 or 14 days.

Next, take what you’ve learned from the challenge and get creative with your remaining stack.

If you found tools you can’t live without, but they’re pricey, don’t just accept the bill. Reach out to those vendors and offer something in return:

How to do it:

Now, make cost-cutting a company-wide game (works awesome if you are 50 or more).

Announce an internal “SaaS Bounty:” Reward any employee who spots an unused, redundant, or overpriced tool that can be eliminated or replaced.

Sometimes the best savings come from the people closest to work.

PLUS, you’ll create a culture of ownership and vigilance instead of one person shouldering all the responsibility.

How to do it:

Putting It All Together

Start with the 30-day challenge to clear out the clutter and spotlight your “can’t live without” software.

For what remains, negotiate creatively through bartering or partnerships. Meanwhile, empower your entire team with a SaaS bounty to keep costs under control moving forward.

This three-step approach isn’t just about reducing spend, it’s about building a culture where every dollar works harder for your business. Try it, and watch your SaaS expenses shrink without sacrificing performance.

There’s a special category for some SaaS tools that fall under the category of “Non-essential, but must-have”

Deploy your tech team to use AI tools, like Lovable, Bolt, etc. to build such tools

One of the biggest reasons companies overpay for SaaS isn’t always the price of the software itself, it’s poor adoption and fragmented implementation. Even the most feature-rich platform delivers limited value if teams aren’t using it effectively.

I’ve seen firsthand that when technology is deployed with clear onboarding, stakeholder alignment, and embedded into daily workflows, the time to value shrinks dramatically. SaaS only pays off when it’s used, understood, and integrated into how a company truly operates, not when it sits in a silo with a login no one touches.

To reduce costs, companies must regularly audit their tech stack and ask: are tools being used to their full potential? Are systems integrated and sharing data? Are stakeholders across departments actually leveraging the solution in their day-to-day roles?

At SINGU, we’ve learned that successful CAFM deployments come down to one thing, expert implementation. When software is aligned with real business needs, actively used, and part of a connected ecosystem, it doesn’t just save money, it drives real, lasting impact.

To cut SaaS spend effectively, start with visibility. Most companies don’t know what tools are being used, by whom, and why.

Once you have that clarity, consolidate overlapping tools, eliminate unused licenses, and renegotiate contracts.

You’d be surprised how much is left on the table just because nobody’s tracking usage.

One of the biggest sources of wasted spend in SaaS is going too broad with your target audience. When you try to speak to everyone, you often end up converting no one, and paying a premium for the privilege.

Before scaling any campaign, the smartest investment is in research. Identify your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP), understand their pain points, and then narrow your targeting accordingly. Focused targeting not only reduces wasted impressions and clicks but often leads to better engagement and higher conversion rates.

Once your audience is clear, attribution data becomes your best tool for making confident decisions about where to cut or reinvest. It is not just about tracking vanity metrics like impressions or clicks. You need to understand which campaigns actually drive pipeline and revenue.

Use UTM tags consistently across all channels to track where your traffic is coming from and how each campaign performs. Layer on qualitative insights by adding a “How did you hear about us?” field to your contact forms. This small addition can help uncover influential touchpoints that might not show up in your analytics, like a podcast mention or a LinkedIn comment thread.

Attribution enables SaaS marketers to:

With a solid attribution model and a focused ICP, you are not just reducing spend, you are making every pound work harder. That is the difference between cost-cutting and strategic optimisation.

In today’s world, companies are racing to automate workflows to boost speed and efficiency by 20x.

Teams are encouraged to experiment freely, leading to tool duplications and forgotten subscriptions. Meanwhile, AI pricing remains uncertain, many face pushback due to market pressure and competition.

Instead of rushing to cut costs, it’s smarter to scrutinize spending more deeply. Bring transparency with spend management tools to monitor usage and renewals.

The goal isn’t to eliminate spend but to ensure it aligns with strategy, not convenience. When spend follows purpose, efficiency follows.

It’s good to note that “Smart spending isn’t about spending less; it’s about spending right.

B2B SaaS companies often chase scale without first fixing the fundamentals. The smartest way to reduce costs is to act like you’re bootstrapping, even if you’re not.

Start by aligning marketing and sales around revenue outcomes, not activity.

Cut tools and campaigns that don’t tie back to pipeline contribution, and refocus efforts on channels that convert with intent.

Efficiency isn’t about spending les, it’s about making every move count.

Let me teach you how to get the most out of your SaaS investments, no matter where your business is right now:

When you’re just getting an idea off the ground, every penny counts.

Go Free First: Kick things off with free trials or open-source tools. This way, you can test the waters and figure out exactly what you need without spending a dime.

Ask for More Time: If a trial period isn’t quite enough, don’t be shy! Reach out to the SaaS company and ask for an extension. Most are happy to give you more time if they see you’re
genuinely interested.

You’ve got your first customers, and you’re building momentum. Now’s the time to find smart deals.

Hunt for Lifetime Deals. You can often snag amazing lifetime deals on SaaS products. Just remember, some of these might still be in their early stages, so make sure they’re a good fit and stable enough for your needs.

Cash in on Startup Credits: Programs like AWS Activate and WeWork Labs offer fantastic startup credits. These can give you big discounts or even free access to essential tools as you get going.

Your company is scaling, and you’re probably adding more and more tools.

Negotiate Annual Plans: When you’re ready to commit, opt for annual subscriptions. Then, get in touch with the customer success team and negotiate! Companies are often willing to offer better deals if you commit for a full year upfront.

Always Shop Around: There’s almost always another option out there. Don’t rush into a decision. Take your time to explore alternatives on sites like Product Hunt to make sure you’re
getting the best value for your money.

No matter what stage you’re in, always stay on your toes. The SaaS world is constantly changing, with new deals and alternatives popping up all the time.

Take your time to do your research, negotiate, and make smart choices. Doing so can save your company thousands and help you build a stronger, more sustainable tech stack.

The biggest SaaS spend mistake I see in startups is tool overload without actual adoption. We chase productivity, then drown in overlapping tools nobody really uses.

At OLI, we follow a principle I call ‘radical simplicity’: if a tool doesn’t directly improve the closing rate, speed up onboarding, or reduce admin time, we don’t use it.

We cut spend in three steps:

1. Audit by outcomes. Not just usage, but whether the tool helps us achieve specific outcomes (like shortening deal cycles or improving data hygiene).

2. Kill overlap early. If Slack, Notion, and Asana all serve as ‘project tools,’ we reduce to one. That’s saved us thousands.

3. Automate before you buy. We use lightweight AI automation to connect tools before paying for expensive integrations or onboarding software.

Most of the times, cutting SaaS isn’t about switching vendors, it’s about switching mindsets. If you can track (measure), iterate, and have a clear impact, there is no need.

Most B2B SaaS companies don’t need to cut spend, they need to stop wasting it. The biggest leak? Headcount misaligned with pipeline reality. If you’re hiring AEs without at least 3x coverage in qualified pipeline per rep, you’re not scaling. You’re inflating payroll. The fix isn’t more sellers. It’s better systems.

Before adding another SDR or AE, ask: Do we know our real win rate by segment? Do we have precision on outbound conversion by persona? If not, you’re funding chaos, not revenue.

Second, kill the tool sprawl. The average mid-market GTM team now uses 15 to 22 tools, many of which overlap or go underused. If 65 to 90 percent of sales content isn’t even touched by reps (Forrester), and over a third of marketing tech gets logged into less than monthly, what exactly are you paying for?

Consolidate on platforms that actually drive activation, not just visibility. Anything that doesn’t directly connect to revenue execution should be on the chopping block.

And finally: stop measuring marketing by volume and start measuring by efficiency. That means retiring the MQL hamster wheel and pushing toward GTM alignment.

Shared pipeline goals. Shared target account lists. Shared accountability. If CAC is up 45 percent and payback periods now stretch past 20 months, you can’t afford to fund activity that doesn’t directly tie to opportunity progression. Cut the noise. Double down on precision. Make spend serve strategy, not the other way around.

Many SaaS companies in 2025 remain over-reliant on paid advertising. While paid ads deliver results, they often come with significantly higher customer acquisition costs (CAC) versus other channels.

With our own brands Endorsely.com and AffiliateFinder.ai, we’ve discovered that recruiting affiliates and partnering with influencers converts user far cheaper than paid ads.

We offer a 30% affiliate commission for 12 months. If the average customer stays 2 years, that is a 6:1 LTV-to-CAC ratio. This substantially outperforms most paid advertising campaigns and creates a sustainable growth model.

Reducing SaaS costs isn’t solely about cutting tools or reducing headcount. Instead, expand your lowest-cost acquisition channels.

Here is my simple step by step strategy:

1. Define RPE Ranges: Set your RPE ranges for “firing,” “healthy,” and “hiring” based on company benchmarks and industry research.

2. Remove B and C Players: Remove all B- and C-players in your business to improve efficiency and raise RPE

3. Optimize A-Players: Empower your A-players with better tools, AI, and automation so they can do more with their time.

4. Identify Next Hire: Determine who your next right hire should be based onstrategic goals and skill gaps.

5. Act on RPE Signals:

If RPE drops below your healthy range → remove underperformers or redundant roles.

If RPE rises above your healthy range → make your next right hire to support growth.

If RPE is healthy → focus on optimizing output from your current team.

6. Repeat Steps 1–5.

How I’ve Learned to Cut SaaS Spend 💡

At Clodura.AI, where I’m leading the marketing, we performed a comprehensive audit and discovered nearly 30% of our SaaS licenses were sitting unused. This aligns with broader industry data, Zylo reports that approximately 51% of SaaS licenses are typically underutilized, leading to millions in unnecessary expenditure. A quarterly audit of finance and procurement records enabled us to immediately reclaim budgets and redirect them into growth initiatives.

In my previous role at Machintel Systems, our marketing stack had grown fragmented with multiple overlapping solutions for campaign management, analytics, and email automation. By consolidating tools, choosing HubSpot as our central marketing automation platform, we reduced costs by about 25% and significantly streamlined our internal processes. The impact was clear: improved efficiency, quicker onboarding, and better cross-team collaboration.

One of the most powerful tactics I learned at Clodura.AI was leveraging benchmark data  during vendor negotiations. Equipped with this data, we successfully negotiated vendor renewals, cutting costs by 15–20% and securing better contract terms. Benchmarking gave us the confidence and leverage needed to optimize spend effectively.

Implementing clear governance policies at Clodura.AI ensured transparency around departmental SaaS spend. Monthly spend dashboards and executive sponsorship by finance and IT teams helped us detect and curb shadow IT proactively, reducing unintended expenses by another 10–15%.

Not every SaaS tool is equally valuable. According to CloudZero, 58% of businesses feel their cloud and SaaS expenses are excessive. At Clodura.AI, we developed clear criteria—tools either had to directly increase revenue, substantially improve efficiency, or be essential for scalability. This strict ROI-focused approach naturally weeded out underperforming tools, allowing us to reinvest strategically in solutions driving real value.

Why This Approach Works

Reducing SaaS spend isn’t about compromising productivity, it’s about intelligent optimization. Drawing from over 12 years of SaaS marketing leadership, I’ve found these tactics indispensable for building leaner, more impactful SaaS stacks.

“The real secret to cutting SaaS spend sustainably is fostering a culture where teams proactively evaluate and challenge the necessity of each tool. At Clodura.AI, empowering teams to openly discuss and assess the effectiveness of their SaaS usage has led not just to cost savings, but also to greater ownership and accountability across the board.”

It depends if you are working in volume or high-ticket SaaS. With the former (volume), you are likely heavily dependent on Google ads as a source of signups. If budget cuts are on the table, you need to cut away inefficiencies. I can almost guarantee that you have some inefficiencies in your ad spend. Review all campaigns and try to do the (not so simple) exercise of understanding exactly which campaigns are delivering revenue. You should try get as granular as possible here; break it down to campaigns, ad groups, and keywords. Which of these are converting into revenue. Cut anything that’s not. You will see a cut in traffic, but unlikely a cut in revenue.

On the latter (high-ticket SaaS), you will need to review your budget line by line and see where you can cut the fat. The key to this type of SaaS is relationship building. It will be tempting to cut bigger line items like events, but instead of completely cutting, I would scale back. Instead of a 60m2 booth, go with the smaller option. Perhaps instead of a booth presence, you just send a few of the team. Look at areas that are nice to have and may not be well managed at the minute. Things like PR are usually terribly managed, and the likelihood is that you’re paying an agency a lot of money for something that’s not being used effectively.

Rule of thumb: if you don’t have the proper resource to manage something, cut it!

You will ultimately need to look at headcount here as well. One of the first things normally to go are SDRs. This, in my opinion, is lazy and uninformed. The SDR is the way into a prospect organization. They do the relationship build work that marketing campaigns can’t. They are most of the time seen as “not working” because they’re mismanaged. Focus on cutting back marketing spend to be more brand-focused, which is cheaper, and double down on enabling an outbound “attack” from your SDR team. This way you’re saving on cutting on campaigns AND making whatever you are doing the most effective it can be.

How to avoid overspending for SaaS (as a CMO): prioritize tools and automation strategies that align with your core business objectives (whatever they are: driving pipeline acceleration, optimizing customer journey, or scaling content).

If it doesn’t meet a business KPI, it’s a cost center, not an asset. Avoid setting goals that don’t align with the business KPIs. Consolidate one solution tool for multiple marketing tactics. Negotiate contracts. Always. Engage partnerships that ensure long-term collaboration, and go for an annual contract instead of a monthly subscription.

Adopt a data-savvy culture across your departments. Data = information = power = leads = beginning of a sales cycle.

Ensure your marketing team is trained on automation, negotiation, and data analytics. Spend smarter, not smaller: always track your budget.

Cutting SaaS spend isn’t about negotiating harder, it’s about thinking smarter from the start.

I’ve been on both sides of the equation: running agencies frustrated with bloated, overpriced tool stacks, and now building lean SaaS products like Allfred.io and Kontentino. And honestly? Most teams overspend not because tools are expensive, but because they use five tools to do the job of one.

That’s why consolidation is the first step. At Allfred, we’ve helped agencies cut software costs by up to 50% just by replacing fragmented setups with one integrated system for project management, time tracking, finance, and resource planning.

Another underrated move? Get in early. Founders often reward early adopters with lifetime deals or generous legacy pricing. I’m still paying 7 bucks a month for Harvest — because I signed up in 2014.

And sometimes, the best tactic is… patience. Cancel a tool you’re not using and stay on their mailing list. You’d be surprised how many reactivation offers land in your inbox within weeks.

In my case, when tools felt overpriced or didn’t fit how we worked, I just built the thing we needed, and ended up selling it to others. That’s how both Kontentino and Allfred were born. So yeah, if a SaaS product frustrates you enough… maybe it’s a sign to build your own 😅

Bottom line: cutting SaaS spend isn’t about being cheap. It’s about aligning your stack with how your team actually works — and making every tool earn its keep.