10 best SaaS management platforms [2023]

SaaS Management

SaaS management platforms help IT teams get a handle on their spend, reduce shadow IT, and optimize their vendor contracts. Here’s how to choose a solution.

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Vendr Team
Published on
September 26, 2022
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If you know anything about SaaS management platforms, you know variety abounds. Some platforms are built to cater to different needs, while others try to be as comprehensive as possible.

Therefore, choosing one winner from a long list of contenders is difficult. They each have their use cases, strengths, and weaknesses. Some cater better to smaller business needs, while others are built for enterprise needs.

So if you’re asking, “What’s the best SaaS management platform I can use?”, the less-than-ideal answer is that it depends. 

We’re here to help! To make it easier to navigate the slew of different SaaS platforms, we’ve created a list of the best solutions and each of their use cases, top features, and price points.

But first, it’s important to understand the categories SaaS management platforms tend to fall under and why that matters. 

Let’s dive in. 

SaaS management platform categories

While there is variety in the SaaS platform market, most tools tend to address some of the biggest issues needing to be tamed by SaaS management initiatives. These include—

  • Shadow IT and app visibility
  • Operations management
  • Vendor management to handle SaaS subscriptions
  • Spend management to optimize for cost savings

Most of the tools that made it to our list address these four categories, each with its own mix of features. Let’s look at some of the most critical ones. 

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SaaS management platform tools and features

Software as a service has turned how businesses run internal operations on its head. The majority once depended on clunky legacy software installs that were time-consuming to update and didn’t always play friendly with each other.

Today’s reality couldn’t be more different, thanks to innovations like cloud technology. This has led to businesses needing software to manage their existing stack of software that makes their world go round. This means SaaS management platform can include some or all of the following—

  • Contract management tools: Know when a vendor contract will expire and when it’s time to renew.
  • Software usage data and analytics: Track how much of the SaaS you purchase you’re actually using.
  • SaaS expense tracking: Track expenses that turn into insights you can leverage to save on SaaS spend.
  • IT SaaS security management: Streamline and automate the user onboarding experience and keep security in check when accounts are no longer active.
  • Application discovery tools: Solve shadow IT by discovering applications in your organization that were onboarded independently.
  • Vendor bidding features: Manage the vendor contract bidding process by organizing it from start to finish.
  • Compliance management: Make it easy to access, establish, and follow company policies and guidelines concerning SaaS usage and management.

Let’s walk through some of the best SaaS management solutions worth considering. 

10 best SaaS management platforms

[1] Vendr

Use case

Vendr is best for companies looking to leverage data to lower SaaS spend and optimize cost savings. As a SaaS management solution, it analyzes SaaS usage and finds pockets of savings for you—enabling you to renegotiate your contracts and only pay for what you use. 

Especially with a growing tech stack, Vendr acts as your right-hand man by ensuring you’re sourcing your SaaS strategically, opting for better pricing model structures, and staying compliant. Best of all, it does this without IT teams having to spend time on the phone with vendors. 

Top features

  • Rule-based workflows
  • Finance budget signoff tools
  • Strategic SaaS sourcing

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[2] BetterCloud

As a SaaS management platform, BetterCloud sets out to level up your team’s operational efficiency with a series of features that enhance data protection. Features like sensitive data discovery, risky application mitigation, and least privilege access ensure you’re staying on top of possible security threats. 

Use case

BetterCloud works best for IT teams in SMBs and enterprise organizations. 

Top features

  • Built to create no-code automated workflows
  • Employee offboarding tools
  • Identifies and consolidates apps with app discovery
  • Granular access control and policies

[3] Torii

Torii is built to help you manage your SaaS applications, all while driving costs down. It also helps automate the user onboarding and offboarding process, which can be painstaking and vulnerable to security issues if not done correctly. 

As a SaaS management solution, Torii doesn’t pull any punches and combines easy-to-use simplicity with key SaaS management features so you stay on top of your software stack. 

Use case

Torii is perfect for IT teams across various industries looking to manage their SaaS budget with added efficiency. 

Top features

  • App discovery tools to minimize shadow IT
  • SaaS spend optimization features
  • SaaS renewal and vendor management
  • Plug and play integrations

[4] Sastrify

Sastrify is built as a SaaS management platform optimized for cost savings. It uses pricing benchmarks to show you areas where you could be saving on SaaS so that you can negotiate prices with vendors. With Sastrify, you’re able to track SaaS software licenses and invoices. Plus, Sastrify includes access to its team of SaaS experts to save you the hassle of expanding your internal management team. 

Use case

Best for small IT teams that are budget conscious.

Top features

  • Offers support from SaaS procurement experts
  • Its team negotiates SaaS contracts on your behalf
  • It forecasts SaaS spend for you

[5] Zylo

Zylo claims to be able to save businesses as much as 20% on their SaaS spend. It also uncovers shadow IT and creates a catalog of approved applications available to users. Interestingly, Zylo also offers a SaaS negotiator service.

If you don’t have the time or the internal expertise to negotiate contracts, Zylo can take that on by leveraging benchmark data that gives them insight into the best industry price points. Zylo can be an exciting option for businesses looking to optimize their SaaS management approach without incurring the expense of growing an internal team. 

Use case

Zylo is great for IT and procurement teams and software asset managers that may want to outsource the negotiation aspect of SaaS management. 

Top features

  • Helps you eliminate applications with overlapping functionalities
  • Uses an AI-powered discovery feature to optimize your list of SaaS apps
  • Creates and maintains an updated system of record on autopilot

[6] Snow Software

If it’s governance your IT team is primarily having issues with, onboarding a SaaS management tool like Snow Software may be your best bet. As your list of applications grows, so does the complexity of your SaaS management process. 

That’s where Snow comes in with features like app usage discovery, which gives you detailed visibility into who’s using what. It also allows SAM professionals to discover both free and paid applications. Snow is designed to mitigate SaaS sprawl, security issues, and unexpected bills from unknown SaaS usage. 

Use case

Best for IT teams across industries wanting to keep SaaS costs down and reduce vendor sprawl. 

Top features

  • Tools to resolve shadow IT
  • Able to collect and analyze usage data
  • Able to identify allocated but unused subscriptions
  • Identifies applications that pose security issues

[7] Productiv

With Productiv onboard, you get visibility into app engagement to optimize for costs while increasing employee app adoption. How? By enabling internal teams to deliver frictionless fulfillment experiences for better engagement. 

Productiv uses a data-driven approach to app governance and operations. It uses intelligent automation and numerous benchmarks to enable better decision-making. Prdouctiv is built on the idea of proactive governance. That is, it analyzes things like app engagement and features used so teams can better understand the ROI of any given application. 

Use case

Productiv is best for IT teams looking to increase employee app usage and get granular with which app features they are or aren’t using for a higher ROI on spend. 

Top features

  • Tracks real-time SaaS spend and compliance
  • Helps you detect non-compliant apps
  • Easily finds and compares apps with overlapping features
  • Built to increase employee app adoption

[8] NachoNacho

If you’re looking for a simple and affordable SaaS management solution, NachoNacho is as simple as you get. With it, you’re able to manage all your existing SaaS subscriptions in one place, and you’re able to get an overview of how much you’re spending on each product. 

Visibility into your current subscriptions prevents spending money on duplicates. The solution easily integrates into your Slack and comes with a Chrome extension for easier access. 

Use case

NachoNacho is best for small teams that use a few applications but still want visibility into the applications they’re using and their renewal dates. 

Top features

  • Spending and date limits on each card you create to pay vendors
  • Creates and stores vendor invoices
  • Centralizes all your subscriptions in one dashboard

[9] Genuity

Genuity offers a suite of tools IT teams can use to get a handle on things like SaaS and vendor spend, contract management, and IT asset management. Its one-platform-with-many-solutions approach to SaaS management can be appealing for teams that are looking for some features and not others. Best of all, Genuity’s payment structure is straightforward, as it opts to charge users a flat fee. 

Use case

Genuity is best for teams looking for a platform with a mix-and-match set of tools. 

Top features

  • Contract management features to reduce costs and ensure compliance
  • Offers a built-in IT marketplace so you can find additional tools to complete your SaaS management framework 
  • Manages and analyzes all your contracts in one place and offers actionable insights

[10] Cledara

Cledara makes it easier to discover, buy, and manage all your SaaS applications. Unlike other SaaS management solutions, Cledara offers cashback rewards for users on its platform. Along with built-in accounting features, Cledara enables IT teams to leverage their SaaS spend to earn rewards points and save. 

Use case

Cledara can work great for startups and SMBs that are price conscious. 

Top features

  • SaaS invoice collection features
  • Allows one-click cancellations
  • Enables teams to create lightweight approval workflows to purchase applications
  • Reconciliation and bookkeeping features to ensure you stay on top of app payments

Finding a SaaS management solution that works for you.

Vendr’s expert SaaS buyers are familiar with the ins and outs of purchasing SaaS and managing your tech stack. Their industry knowledge has saved companies over $1 billion in SaaS spend.

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Vendr Team
Vendr's team of SaaS and negotiation experts provide their curated insights into the latest trends in software, tool capabilities, and modern procurement strategies.

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