The €7B SaaS giveaway and why I’m urging finance teams to haggle

Same software, similar-sized firms, and yet radically different bills. Maxime Reding, Spendesk's FP&A lead, says SaaS contracs negotiation is key as new research reveals sixfold difference in what some businesses pay for identical subscriptions.

When was the last time you challenged your SaaS suppliers to find savings? With everyone’s eye on the budget, price negotiation seems a no-brainer, so what struck me was the scale of potential savings revealed in Spendesk’s latest research.

Our report estimates that European businesses with 50–250 employees could be overpaying for SaaS software by roughly €7B annually. That equates to a potential yearly saving of €40,000 for firms willing to negotiate. 

The scale of the great SaaS pricing gap

Spendesk has revealed this SaaS pricing gap by analysing twelve months of transaction data generated by 2,500 European companies, comparing spending per employee among businesses of similar sizes. 

According to our European Spend Insights 2026 research, monthly costs ranged from €2 to €12 per employee for Atlassian, €6 to €24 for HubSpot and €2 to €7 for Notion.

I’d be pleased if we were paying €2 per employee for Atlassian, but let’s spare a thought for those paying six times more. 

Some price differences might reflect extra features or licences, but it’s best to judge a deal by its total cost, not by the discount offered. A generous reduction means little if the starting price was inflated.

Why do businesses overpay for SaaS software?

One reason for the SaaS pricing gap is an uneven negotiating position between vendor and buyer. SaaS vendors know what their customers pay, but buyers rarely have the same visibility across the market. Without that insight, it is easy to treat the quoted price as the going rate rather than negotiation starting point.

Internal oversight, or lack of it, also has a big impact. As businesses grow, software purchasing spreads across departments creating fuzzy lines of accountability. Each contract needs an owner with the information, time and authority to review it before renewal.

Be sure of your needs before starting negotiations

Before renewal negotiations begin, it’s best to check which features people use. Logging in regularly doesn’t necessarily justify a premium licence. I’d want to know whether a cheaper plan could do the same job before haggling over the current one.

According to a Zylo benchmark cited in our latest report, only half (49%) of paid-for SaaS licences are being used. Meanwhile Spendesk found that nearly three quarters (72%) of businesses buying AI tools are paying for at least two competing products.

Trialling competing tools can make sense. What concerns me is how easily an experiment can slip into becoming a permanent expense, simply because there is no agreed point to review it.

Five steps to a better SaaS deal

As a finance person, I’d advise approaching future renewals with these five steps in mind:

• Gain a comprehensive view of spending. Our research shows that looking at invoices in isolation can miss substantial software spending on company cards. Bringing those payments together can build a clearer picture of total purchasing commitment.

• Find out what other firms pay. Compare prices for similar plans and requirements and investigate credible alternatives. I’d include switching costs in that calculation, because the cheapest offer may not deliver the best value.

• Give every software trial a decision date. Decide who will assess the tool, what success looks like and establish a decision deadline. Continued payment should be the result of a conscious choice, rather than a missed cancellation deadline.

• Don’t be embarrassed to haggle. I’d challenge the quoted price and ask what happens when any introductory discount expires. A good first-year deal needs scrutiny if the saving disappears at renewal. I’d also negotiate future pricing alongside the opening offer.

• Ensure you’re ahead of the renewal curve. Set a review date giving you plenty of time to check requirements, explore alternatives and negotiate before the cancellation deadline. Leaving it late gives the supplier an advantage.

Make challenging the price routine

Spendesk’s estimated €40,000 annual saving per overpaying company gives finance teams an opportunity worth pursuing. 

I’d see the next renewal as an opportunity to check whether yesterday’s agreement still serves today’s business, because companies change, teams grow and software subscriptions that once looked like value for money may no longer be fit for purpose.  

Meanwhile, competing products emerge and suppliers adjust their offers. A familiar contract can drift out of step with both the business and the market, even when the original decision seems sound.

That’s why it’s so important for finance teams to haggle. Last year’s price tells you what the business agreed to pay then. A renewal is the opportunity to establish what it should be paying now.