7 Best SaaS Buying Platforms in 2023

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Nobody ever said SaaS buying was easy. But does it have to be as daunting as most companies find it to be?

When it comes to finding the right software for your needs, negotiating the best price for your budget, and giving your team a seamless onboarding experience, the traditional purchase process often falls short.

Spending countless hours scouring the internet for viable vendors, comparing prices across many websites, and investing tons of precious resources might seem the only way to secure the best deal on your latest SaaS purchase.

But what if we told you there is a faster, easier, and cheaper alternative?

Let's find out how to improve your SaaS buying experience and streamline it.

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SaaS Buying Platform: What Is It?

A SaaS buying platform is a tool used to manage and streamline the SaaS procurement process through automation. These tools provide an equitable environment for companies to discover the best SaaS solutions for their needs, track their subscriptions, monitor their usage, and optimize associated expenses.

In most fast-growing organizations, SaaS procurement occurs within different departments. For instance, the sales, development, and marketing teams may each seek out and sign up for software products that best meet their needs.

While it is essential to prioritize subscriptions that best meet organizational demands, it is equally important to have a centralized decision-making process to manage costs effectively. This is where the best SaaS buying platforms shine.

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So, businesses must find the right SaaS buying software to centralize their purchases and prevent shadow IT. We conducted a detailed analysis and have listed the best SaaS procurement software in 2023.

Let’s take a look!

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Top 7 SaaS Buying Platforms in 2023

You can choose from various SaaS buying platforms, such as CloudEagle, Sastrify, Cledera, Tropic, Torii, and Spendflo, but not all platforms fit your needs. Let's analyze and understand which tool can bring the most value to you.

1. CloudEagle

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CloudEagle is a comprehensive SaaS management and procurement platform that helps organizations transform their inefficient SaaS buying processes. It aids finance, procurement, and operations teams optimize software costs and simplify software procurement procedures.

When time and bandwidth for vendor negotiations are lacking, CloudEagle can serve as your augmented team. CloudEagle’s expert negotiators leverage years of vendor negotiation expertise and up-to-date pricing benchmarking data to secure the best deals.

The tool utilizes automated procurement workflows, allowing your team to concentrate on vital business activities. You can leverage its AI-powered vendor recommendation engine and Slack for procurement to expedite the request and approval processes.

Key Features of CloudEagle

To make the SaaS procurement process smoother for companies and help them avail the best deals, CloudEagle offers:

Assisted buying service: If you don't have a dedicated SaaS procurement team or lack the time and bandwidth, you can opt for our assisted buying services.

You can let us handle the heavy lifting and engage in vendor negotiations directly, or you can lead the negotiations while we support you with different insights and strategies.

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Also, researching SaaS vendors can sometimes take up to 40 hours per app, and you might still not secure the best price. To address this issue, our SaaS buying experts handle all aspects of procurement, from discussing fair pricing to closing deals, saving you valuable time.

Our team creates solid negotiation strategies, considering the number of seats and app usage. Leveraging the latest data, we ensure you get the maximum value for your money.

Armory aimed to reduce costs with high-spend vendors and adjust critical license numbers. They selected CloudEagle's assisted buying services for vendor negotiations.

Using pricing benchmarking data and accurate license usage insights, they optimized license sizes and renegotiated discounts with vendors such as Salesforce and New Relic.

Read the detailed success story here.

Price benchmarks: To get the best deals, you must know the current market pricing benchmarks so you don’t settle for vendor-listed prices.

With CloudEagle, you can access the latest price benchmarks compiled from $2B in transactions, based on data collected by our field experts and a vast network of SaaS buyers.

Also, with price benchmarking insights and alerts, our experts will always help you make decisions and get the best value. They ensure you don't overpay for applications in the future, preventing cost overruns with our data-driven approach.

Vendor Research: CloudEagle simplifies vendor research using AI capabilities. You can use the AI-powered vendor recommendation engine to find the best software. It will save you time and money by providing a list of relevant SaaS vendors based on your pain points.

You will stay updated on new, innovative vendors with top products and connect with peers to validate your choices and speed up your buying process.

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You will also have access to relevant reviews highlighting pros and cons, so you don't have to search multiple review sites.

Automated workflows: We offer more than assisted buying services; we help you streamline your SaaS procurement process with automated workflows. These workflows allow you to easily assign tasks to the right stakeholders, reducing time spent chasing approvals.

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You can also notify stakeholders via Slack, email, or in-app notifications and collaborate in a private Slack channel for informed decisions. If incomplete, tasks are escalated, ensuring timely approvals and freeing your team to focus on negotiations.

RingCentral's procurement struggled with tail spend apps, often missing renewals and facing increased spending. CloudEagle stepped in with expert assistance, automating workflows and providing timely reminders, saving time and enhancing productivity.

Read the detailed success story here.

Slack for procurement: With CloudEagle, you get "Slack for Procurement," a Slackbot that allows employees to raise purchase requests directly from Slack. You don't have to chase behind stakeholders for approvals.

Once the request is raised, CloudEagle will automatically notify the stakeholders within the task until all the approvals are granted.

You can check out Armory’s customer success story, in which they discuss how outsourcing their procurement process to CloudEagle increased their savings.

Not only do we provide the aforementioned features, but we also offer notable features such as:

• Customizable intake forms to purchase both software and hardware,
• Completely transparent purchasing process,
• Usage data and cost optimization insights,
• Contract management,
• Renewal management,
• License management,
• Automated renewal workflows.

Overall, CloudEagle has proven to be a game-changer for various companies. To understand its potential usefulness for your organization, consider this testimonial from Eric Silver, AVP, Head of Procurement at RingCentral.

He explained how CloudEagle helped them achieve a 3x return through app rationalization, renewal benchmarks, and team integration, significantly boosting efficiency.

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Pros of CloudEagle

• CloudEagle simplifies vendor research using an AI-powered vendor recommendation engine, making it easier to find the best software for your needs.
• CloudEagle’s experts assist in negotiating better deals, saving you money on software purchases.

Pricing

CloudEagle offers transparent pricing with three plans: Starter, Growth, and Enterprise, each with its functionalities. The Starter plan starts at $2000 monthly, with options to upgrade to Growth or Enterprise as needed.

2. ‍Sastrify

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Sastrify is a cutting-edge SaaS buying platform that provides companies with a comprehensive 360° view of their software stack. With its powerful tools and intuitive interface, Sastrify simplifies software management and procurement processes for businesses of all sizes.

This purchase software automates manual and time-consuming procurement tasks, such as identifying hidden costs, finding appropriate vendors, benchmarking, pricing negotiations, and licensing.

Sastrify’s in-house procurement team specializes in streamlining SaaS buying and empowering your teams with effective negotiation strategies to help you secure the best possible deals.

Pros of Sastify

• Sastrify helps manage and optimize SaaS vendor contracts effectively, ensuring you get the best deals.
• The platform identifies savings opportunities, allowing you to reduce costs.

Cons of Sastify

• Integration with existing systems can sometimes be challenging.
• The service might be more expensive for smaller businesses.

Pricing

Sastrify offers three pricing plans to fit different business needs. The Essentials plan starts at $750/month, giving you full visibility into your SaaS stack.

The Professional plan starts at $2,000/month and optimizes workflows. For large businesses, pricing for the Platinum tier is available upon request.

3. Cledara

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Cledara’s buying software boasts an innovative, easy-to-use interface that helps establish a lean procurement process without interfering with your business’s core activities.

Regarding cost-effective SaaS buying, Cledara takes things further with its unique rewards program. Its virtual card system allows procurement teams to handle IT expenditures easily and redeem 2% cash back on every software purchase.

One of Cledara’s standout features is its built-in compliance system, which ensures that all expenses and subscriptions made through the platform comply with company policies and regulations.

Designed for startups and large enterprises, Cledara provides a central hub for assisted buying and automated renewals.  

Pros of Cledara

• Cledara offers a single platform to manage all your SaaS subscriptions, simplifying administration.
• The platform provides real-time tracking of SaaS spending, helping you stay on budget.

Cons of Cledera

• Cledara can be complex to set up initially, requiring time and effort.
• Some users find the reporting features less detailed compared to other platforms.

Pricing

The Professional plan starts at £2,00/month (over $2,500 USD/year), and for the PRO plan, you have to contact them.

4. ‍Zluri

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Zluri is an all-in-one SaaS management platform that simplifies the entire procurement process, from analyzing your team's current IT stack to helping you identify the best tools for your needs.

The platform’s universal interface and intelligent analytics provide real-time insights into your SaaS usage and costs, enabling you to optimize your spend and reduce waste.

Zluri offers a range of features, such as renewal calendars, usage monitoring, vendor management modules, and license management, giving businesses greater visibility and flexibility to make efficient data-driven decisions.

Its analytics aim to eliminate shadow IT, improve vendor negotiations, and reduce IT overheads.

Zluri's automated renewal cycle offers the benefit of identifying and removing unutilized licenses from your existing stack, reducing SaaS sprawl, and boosting your ROI. With its affordable pricing model, Zluri has established itself as a reliable and cost-effective SaaS management platform.

Pros of Zluri

• Zluri provides comprehensive coverage for all SaaS management aspects, making handling your subscriptions easy.
• The platform is user-friendly, enhancing your experience.

Cons of Zluri

• Full feature access can be costly.
• The initial setup of Zluri can take time, requiring significant effort.

Pricing

Contact the sales team to know the pricing. Features and services vary based on the pricing tier you choose.

5. Tropic

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Tropic's all-inclusive software gives businesses a competitive advantage in managing their SaaS stack and buying.  

Its customizable workflow standardizes purchase and renewal systems, streamlines internal approval processes, and enables businesses to negotiate deals in a fraction of the time it would otherwise take.

Tropic claims to save businesses hundreds of hours each year and thousands of dollars in SaaS spend by automating tedious manual tasks.

Tropic's end-to-end SaaS procurement solution is designed to simplify the purchasing process and establish solid relationships between stakeholders, team members, and vendors.

With a dedicated team of procurement experts, Tropic leverages data-driven strategies to execute cost-effective purchases while scaling the procurement process to eliminate operational bottlenecks.

Pros of Tropic

• Tropic offers expert negotiation services to secure better deals on SaaS purchases, saving you money.
• The platform simplifies the procurement process, making it easier to manage.

Cons of Tropic

• Tropic’s services can be expensive, especially for smaller businesses.
• The platform may not offer as many features as some competitors.

Pricing

Tropic’s base plan is $3,750 monthly, depending on your SaaS spend.

6. Torii

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Built especially for businesses with dozens of complex IT tools bundled together in an intricate ecosystem, Torii's distributed tools take SaaS buying to another level.

Torii’s powerhouse of features includes rapid spend mapping, extensive integrations and plug-ins, license rightsizing, and flexible workflows.

Torii provides a comprehensive platform that empowers multiple teams across all departments to manage their SaaS procurement effectively.

Its automated spend optimization system allows you to access a consolidated overview of your expenditures and leverage cost benchmarks to take immediate action. With Torii, you can eliminate the hassle of manual tracking and gain complete visibility into your SaaS expenses.

Pros of Torii

• The platform provides a clear view of all your SaaS applications, improving visibility.
• Torii helps control and reduce software spending, enhancing cost management.

Cons of Torii

• New users might find the platform overwhelming due to its complexity.
• The initial setup of Torii can be lengthy, requiring significant time investment.

Pricing

Contact the team to learn about pricing plans.

7. Spendflo

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Spendflo is another versatile SaaS buying software that facilitates the entire procurement cycle from start to finish. Spendflo’s platform comes with a full-scale buying hub that can effectively manage the IT procurement needs of your entire organization.

One of its key offerings is its ability to create software catalogs. This means that organizations can easily create a centralized database of software products approved for use within the company. This helps to ensure that all software used complies with organizational policies and regulations.

This SaaS buying platform is designed to be highly customizable to meet the specific needs of individual organizations. The software offers a range of configuration options, allowing users to set up workflows, rules, and notifications tailored to their specific procurement processes.

This ensures the system is aligned with existing procurement practices, reducing the need for extensive training and minimizing disruptions to established workflows.

Pros

• The platform is easy to use and navigate, providing a simple interface.
• Spendflo assists in getting better deals through vendor negotiations.

Cons

• The platform might not be suitable for large enterprises due to scalability issues.
• Some users report slower response times from customer support.

Pricing

Spendflo’s base plan is priced at $2,500 per month; the plan varies based on your annual SaaS spend.

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The Best SaaS Buying Platform for Your Needs

As numerous IT managers will attest, selecting the most suitable SaaS procurement software for your team can be challenging. That’s why it is essential to carefully evaluate the features and benefits of different SaaS purchase software before making a decision.

We recommend looking for a platform that offers automation workflows for procurement and renewal and assisted buying services for negotiations. It's also important to consider the software's scalability and compatibility with your existing systems.

Evaluating these elements and selecting dependable SaaS buying software can benefit your business. It can reduce time and costs, simplify IT purchases, and simplify cloud management.

CloudEagle is one of the comprehensive SaaS buying platforms in this list because of its SaaS management, spend management, procurement, vendor management, and assisted buying features, making it an all-in-one solution for your business needs.

Book a demo to learn how CloudEagle can help you streamline procurement.

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Frequently asked questions

1. What is SaaS procurement?

SaaS procurement is the process by which a company searches for and purchases software-as-a-service (SaaS) tools for its day-to-day operations. Often carried out ad-hoc, SaaS procurement decisions can have huge business implications and merit thoughtful deliberation.

2. How do I choose a SaaS procurement platform?

SaaS procurement solutions simplify the SaaS buying process and support companies in managing contracts, payments, negotiations, and cost optimizations all on a single platform. Here’s how to pick the best SaaS procurement software for your needs:

• Assess automatic discovery capabilities
• Evaluate contract inventory features
• Evaluate data security policies
• Consider the total cost of ownership
• Test and implement

3. Which software is best for SaaS spend management?

CloudEagle's advanced and intelligent AI-driven system offers a comprehensive solution for SaaS spend management. From initial application discovery to procurement workflows and assisted buying, CloudEagle enables organizations to achieve greater control, transparency, and accuracy in their procurement process.