In this piece, we will take a look at the 30 biggest SaaS companies in the world. For more companies, head on over to 10 Biggest SaaS Companies in the World.
The software as a service (SaaS) industry is one of the hottest sectors in the technology sector right now. The growth of the Internet and connectivity in general has created new business models and allowed existing businesses to transform their operations and take advantage of external products and processes without having to deal with large capital investment for their own systems. This allows firms to streamline their daily processes such as human resources and payroll and take advantage of specialized services. At the same time, it generates new business models where entire businesses are set up to facilitate other businesses or professionals at carrying out their operations.
These diverse use cases and the fact that the industry itself still hasn't fully matured lead to some optimistic valuations and growth estimates for the SaaS sector. One such estimate comes from Market Research Future, with the firm estimating that the SaaS industry is estimated to grow to $381 billion by the end of this decade from the start and through a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.3%. This growth and the strong valuation for a software subscription platform that does not have the luxury of high product prices like the hardware industry does is still unsurprising given that some of the biggest technology companies in the world such as Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), and International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) have dedicated cloud computing divisions. This growth is also fueled by the relatively easier adaptability of the SaaS platforms, as Market Research Future points out that firms find it easier to access complex software products via the cloud instead of spending heavily to develop such capabilities in house.
Another more optimistic estimate for the SaaS industry comes from FinancialNewsMedia. This research firm believes that the industry was worth $121 billion in 2020 and from then until it will grow at a stronger CAGR of 18.8% to be worth $702 billion by the end of 2023.
However, despite these rosy estimates, the SaaS sector is still a technology industry and as such is subject to macroeconomic pitfalls. These days inflation and high interest rates are restricting corporate budgets and cloud computing spending is also dropping as a result. Yet, SaaS companies are adamant that their business is growing, with ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW)'s chief executive officer Mr. William McDermott highlighting during a recent earnings call that:
C-level buyers don’t want long-term road maps to clean up a siloed mess of point solutions. They want integration, speed, automation, great experiences and business impact. A CEO told me, “We can’t afford 1,000 points of We need a cohesive plan with a trusted platform.” So this is now without any doubt, a platform economy. And only a few platforms will be relevant in this shift, and none are as well positioned at ServiceNow. This begins with our business model. ServiceNow with born in the cloud, established itself in IT and expanded from that core. It accelerates with the realities of the multi-cloud world.
Today, we'll look at some of the biggest SaaS companies in the world, out of which the top picks are Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU), Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM), and Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE).
30 Biggest SaaS Companies in the World in 2023
Our Methodology
We started to compile our list by searching for the largest SaaS companies that operate in North America, Australia, China, and Europe after which they were ranked through their market capitalization or estimated valuation. All of these companies generate the bulk of their revenue from providing software platforms, but in rare cases, companies for which SaaS is integral to their business model and their scope is too big to exclude are also included.
30 Biggest SaaS Companies in the World in 2023
30. WiseTech Global Limited (OTCMKTS:WIGBY)
Latest Value: $11.1 billion
WiseTech Global Limited (OTCMKTS:WIGBY) is an Australian company headquartered in Alexandria, Australia. The firm offers businesses with software products for their logistics management, allowing them to optimize containers, manage transport, and carry out business to business communications.
DocuSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:DOCU) is an American firm that provides a software platform for the digital verification of documents for a variety of industries such as real estate. It is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
By the end of last year's December quarter, 42 of the 943 hedge funds polled by 'Insider Monkey had bought DocuSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:DOCU)'s shares. Out of these, Ken Fisher's Fisher Asset Management is the firm's largest investor with a $312 million stake that comes via 5.6 million shares.
Okta, Inc. (NASDAQ:OKTA) provides a cloud platform for companies to secure access to their facilities and systems. It is based in San Francisco, California.
59 of the 943 hedge funds polled by Insider Monkey in Q3 2022 had bought Okta, Inc. (NASDAQ:OKTA)'s shares, out of which Brandon Haley's Holocene Advisors is the firm's largest investor. It owns 1.7 million shares that are worth $120 million.
Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM), Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU), and Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE), Okta, Inc. (NASDAQ:OKTA) is one of the biggest SaaS companies in the world.
Twilio Inc. (NYSE:TWLO) is a cloud communications platform provider that enables businesses to develop solutions for their customer relationship management. It is based in San Francisco, California.
48 of the 943 hedge funds part of Insider Monkey's Q4 2022 survey had bought Twilio Inc. (NYSE:TWLO)'s shares. Its largest hedge fund shareholder in our database is Catherine D. Wood's ARK Investment Management which owns 7.4 million shares that are worth $362 million.
PTC Inc. (NASDAQ:PTC) is a software firm whose products allow users to design products, manage product life cycles, and create augmented reality experiences.
Insider Monkey dug through 943 hedge fund portfolios for last year's fourth quarter to find out that 44 had invested in the company. PTC Inc. (NASDAQ:PTC)'s largest investor is Robert Joseph Caruso's Select Equity Group which owns 3.5 million shares that are worth $420 million.
MongoDB, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDB) is an American firm headquartered in New York, New York. It provides commercial and cloud based database platforms.
As part of their December quarter of 2022 investments, 48 of the 943 hedge funds polled by Insider Monkey had bought MongoDB, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDB)'s shares. The firm's largest investor is Jim Simons' Renaissance Technologies which owns 918,200 shares that are worth $180 million.
Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ:SPLK) is a software platform provider that enables companies to manage their data and generate insights from it. The firm is based in San Francisco, California.
Insider Monkey profiled 943 hedge funds for their fourth quarter of 2022 investments and found out that 52 had invested in the company. Out of these, Alex Sacerdote's Whale Rock Capital Management is Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ:SPLK)'s largest investor with a $217 million stake that comes via 2.5 million shares.
Zscaler, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZS) is a cloud security platform and services provider which lets customers to use SaaS applications and manage any misconfigurations in them. It is based in San Jose, California.
Insider Monkey dug through 943 hedge fund portfolios for 2022's December quarter and found out that 42 had held a take in the company. Zscaler, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZS)'s largest investor is Jim Simons' Renaissance Technologies which owns 866,588 shares that are worth $96.9 million.
Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE:PLTR) is a software company enabling security agencies to run deep analyses into their datasets for generating actionable intelligence and insights.
28 of the 943 hedge funds polled by Insider Monkey during Q4 2022 had bought Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE:PLTR)'s shares. The firm's largest shareholder in our database is Jim Simons' Renaissance Technologies which owns 43 million shares that are worth $276 million.
Paycom Software, Inc. (NYSE:PAYC) is a human resource software provider that allows companies to manage their employee productivity, training, and other areas.
By the end of Q4 2022, 47 of the 943 hedge funds polled by Insider Monkey had bought Paycom Software, Inc. (NYSE:PAYC)'s shares. The firm's largest shareholder is Greg Poole's Echo Street Capital Management which owns 579,962 shares that are worth $179 million.
HubSpot, Inc. (NYSE:HUBS) is a cloud software company that allows firms to manage their customer relationships. It is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Insider Monkey dug through 943 hedge fund portfolios for their fourth quarter of 2022 investments to find out that 53 had held a stake in the company. HubSpot, Inc. (NYSE:HUBS)'s largest investor in our database is Colin Moran's Abdiel Capital Advisors which owns 1.1 million shares that are worth $335 million.
Cloudflare, Inc. (NYSE:NET) provides cloud based security software enabling customers to manage their applications, devices, and cloud platforms.
40 of the 943 hedge funds polled by Insider Monkey had invested in Cloudflare, Inc. (NYSE:NET) during Q4 2022, out of which Paul Marshall and Ian Wace's Marshall Wace LLP is the company's largest investor as it owns 2.6 million shares that are worth $119 million.
Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZM) provides a communications platform for both everyday users and companies.
Insider Monkey dug through 943 hedge fund portfolios for their December quarter of 2022 investments to find out that 36 had bought the firm's shares. Out of these, Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZM)'s largest investor is Catherine D. Wood's ARK Investment Management which owns 10.6 million shares that are worth $719 million.
Datadog, Inc. (NASDAQ:DDOG) is a cloud company that provides software for several use cases such as monitoring and security.
By the end of last year's final quarter, 63 of the 943 hedge funds part of Insider Monkey's survey had bought Datadog, Inc. (NASDAQ:DDOG)'s shares. Henry Ellenbogen's Durable Capital Partners is the company's largest investor. It owns 2.7 million shares that are worth $205 million.
Veeva Systems Inc. (NYSE:VEEV) provides a wide variety of cloud software products to the healthcare sector, aimed at personnel management, communications, and data management.
43 of the 943 hedge funds polled by Insider Monkey had bought Veeva Systems Inc. (NYSE:VEEV)'s shares in Q4 2022. Out of these, the company's largest investor is Greg Poole's Echo Street Capital Management which owns 1 million shares that are worth $177 million.
CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) is a software company that provides threat detection, identity management, and other capabilities for cloud platforms.
By the end of 2022's December quarter, 66 of the 943 hedge funds polled by Insider Monkey had bought CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD)'s shares. Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke, and John Campbell's Arrowstreet Capital is the company's largest investor through a $175 million stake that comes via 1.6 million shares.
ResMed Inc. (NYSE:RMD) provides cloud software for the healthcare industry allowing firms to monitor patients and manage compliance.
Insider Monkey looked through 943 hedge fund holdings for last year's fourth quarter and discovered that 34 had held a stake in the firm. ResMed Inc. (NYSE:RMD)'s largest investor in our database is Ken Griffin's Citadel Investment Group which owns 1.1 million shares that are worth $241 million.
Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) is a software company enabling firms to manage their payroll, file taxes, and run other operations.
As 2022's final quarter ended, 47 of the 943 hedge funds polled by Insider Monkey had invested in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX). Robert Joseph Caruso's Select Equity Group is the firm's largest investor through owning 1.6 million shares worth $187 million.
12. Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. (OTCMKTS:RCRRF)
Latest Value: $43.90 billion
Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. (OTCMKTS:RCRRF) is a Japanese firm that lets firms hire new employees, job seekers find new employers, and businesses to run marketing campaigns. It is based in Tokyo.
Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK) is a software company that provides engineering and other design products.
Insider Monkey dug through 943 hedge fund portfolios and found out that 54 had held Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK)'s shares during Q4 2022. Out of these, Ian Simm's Impax Asset Management is the firm's largest investor with a $243 million stake that comes via 1.3 million shares.
Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU), Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK), Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM), and Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) are some of the biggest SaaS companies in the world.
