It's user retention.

The best SaaS companies focus on bringing value to the market by solving manual problems with code-driven solutions. And the tools that can retain their users for as long as possible grow into multi-billion dollar "unicorn" companies.

The last decade has seen an explosion of B2B SaaS platforms, many of which are now household names, with their products being used by millions of businesses every day. Whether you’re a startup or a growing enterprise, check out our roundup of the top 20 greatest B2B companies in the world that every business should get to know.

What is B2B SaaS?

Before we get into our discussion of the top Business to Business software companies, let’s start with a brief introduction to B2B SaaS products. Software as a service (SaaS) is the delivery of software over the internet and through a web browser or an app. The software is hosted on the cloud and often provided through a subscription SaaS model, providing everything from social media management and marketing tools to payroll and accounting services for small businesses and/or enterprise companies.

The benefits of using SaaS programs include:

• Accessibility: You and your employees can access the software online, making it easy for everyone to work on projects from anywhere with internet access.
• Security: There are fewer security risks involved since data isn't stored locally on computers or laptops but rather in secure data centers operated by third parties such as Google and Amazon Web Services.
• Ease of use: Top SaaS companies have sophisticated programs that are user-friendly and easy to navigate. This makes it easy to get all employees up to speed in using a SaaS program, saving time on training and other resources.

The best SaaS solutions have been built with scalability in mind and are easy to integrate with other applications on the market. And they're affordable enough that you can start small without breaking the bank.

20 best B2B SaaS companies in 2024

No matter what types of teams you have in your business, there is likely a SaaS company out there that can help them work more efficiently, collaborate and communicate, and work smarter on a daily basis.

Here’s a look at the top B2B SaaS businesses right now:

1. Deel
2. Webflow
3. Notion
4. Gusto
5. Typeform
6. Shopify
7. Slack
8. Salesforce
9. HubSpot
10. Mailchimp
11. Jira
12. Attentive
13. ClickUp
14. SurveyMonkey
15. Descript
16. Zapier
17. Ahrefs
18. Amplitude
19. Dropbox
20. Microsoft

Okay, let’s dive a bit deeper into each one.

1. Deel

If your company is looking to hire or expand globally, Deel can help you complete all the steps with confidence. While Deel doesn’t source talent for you, the SaaS platform will handle compliance, payroll, and HR (human resource) matters for globally distributed teams. It’s also designed to help companies navigate the complexities of opening regional offices, setting up benefits, meeting local tax and payroll requirements, acquiring equipment and equity, and more.

Deel is on our list as it’s a company that’s been growing rapidly in the SaaS market. With lots of customer success stories and great customer support, Deel can help SaaS startups hire in 150 countries, hassle-free.

• Pricing: Starts at $49 per month
• Capital raised to date: $679M

2. Webflow

Building a website is one of the top needs of any new business — and it can also be one of the biggest hassles. Outsourcing only works if you are able to work with someone you trust who understands the look, feel, and navigation you desire.

With Webflow, you can bring together web design and web development and scale a website that’s beautifully designed without any coding needed. The no-code platform’s visual canvas allows you to quickly create interactive content-driven design, launch an e-commerce store, blogs, and monetize members-only content in days — not months on end.

• Pricing: Free to get started; tiered plans available from basic to enterprise level
• Capital raised to date: $334.9M

3. Notion

With so many teams, cloud-based projects, and documents involved with launching and running a business, it’s easy for things to get lost in the shuffle. Notion is a project management software that brings everything together under one roof so you can easily organize and locate important meeting notes, HR documents, workflows, design documents, engineering wikis, and more.

The site also includes community-made templates and integrations, allowing you to tap into other creators’ tools and knowledge. Start with the free, pre-built setups to get an idea of use cases, and adapt Notion to your needs as you grow.

• Pricing: Free to get started; tiered plans available from personal to enterprise level
• Capital raised to date: $343.2M

4. Gusto

Payroll, benefits, and hiring tools are necessities for any business looking to onboard employees or contractors. Whether you have one employee or thousands, Gusto makes it easy to make sure everyone gets paid in a timely manner.

Gusto will also file your taxes, help with compliance matters, and uncover tax credits you might not have known existed. Given the complexities of hiring, payroll, taxes, and benefits, it’s well worth your while to have a SaaS platform like Gusto in your corner.

• Pricing: Starts at $0 for contractor-only businesses; tiered plans available from Simple to Premium level
• Capital raised to date: $746.1M

5. Typeform

If you’re looking for a boring form, don’t go to Typeform. The SaaS platform lets you create forms, surveys, and quizzes that are fun to complete and not overwhelming. Users complete one question at a time like they’re having a conversation — keeping them engaged and more likely to see your form through to the end. Plus, built-in photo and video libraries, custom layouts and themes, and a sleek interface set Typeform apart from other form builders.

• Pricing: Starts at $25; tiered plans available from Plus to Business level
• Capital raised to date: $187.3M

6. Shopify

Anyone looking to build an online shop has likely heard of Shopify. The all-in-one ecommerce platform’s core offering is a store builder that lets you bring your vision to life without any coding.

Customizable theme templates from top designers make it easy to create a beautiful website. Easily manage inventory, track payments, and access business insights right from one dashboard. Whether you want to sell online, in person, or both, Shopify empowers you to tap into the sales and marketing channels you need to reach your customers.

• Pricing: Starts at $29; watch for special intro discounts
• Capital raised to date: $122.3M

7. Slack

Slack has become such a household name that it’s turned into a verb. For teams that use Slack’s collaboration platform, it’s not uncommon for people to say things like “Slack me that document” or “Can I Slack you?” The most powerful features of Slack include its ability to bring together all work communications in one place — replacing or supplementing email. There are numerous integrations as well, so you can connect to other apps and even collaborate with teams at other companies.

• Pricing: Starts at $7.25; tiered plans available from Business+ to Enterprise level
• Capital raised to date: $1.4B

8. Salesforce

Salesforce offers a suite of CRM (Customer Relationship Management) products dubbed Customer 360 for different teams. For instance, the Sales Productivity Bundle supports sales teams, while the Service Efficiency Bundle supports customer service. Due to the depth and breadth of solutions offered, the easiest place to start is with the Find Your Solution tool. Salesforce will walk you through a series of questions about your industry, your role, your organization’s size, and more to help you find the best solution for your needs.

• Pricing: Starts with a free trial; pricing dependent on products used
• Capital raised to date: $65.4M

9. HubSpot CRM

One of the perks of signing up with HubSpot is the free version of its B2B marketing platform and CRM tools. Sales teams can easily track and analyze their sales pipeline from a single dashboard, keeping everyone on the same page about the status of leads.

You can also view detailed reports on sales performance, productivity, and individual contributor performance. With the ability to add unlimited users, data, and up to 1 million contacts, HubSpot is a great starting point for most sales teams, along with marketing, customer service, content marketing management, and operations teams. Plus, you can scale up to paid versions of the software application when the time is right.

• Pricing: Free versions available; access more features with paid plans
• Capital raised to date: $100.5M

10. Mailchimp

There were people who predicted Mailchimp’s demise, given that it bootstrapped its way to $700 million in revenue with just a single seed round of capital. Perhaps most impressive is that the email SaaS platform sold to Intuit for $12B in 2021. Much more than just an email marketing provider, MailChimp enables businesses to build landing pages, digital ads, online stores, and more. The idea is to get your business online and start marketing it as quickly as possible — and with free options available, it’s easy to launch on a budget.

• Pricing: Free version available; tiered plans available from Essentials to Premium level
• Capital raised to date: Single seed round; sold to Intuit for $12B in 2021

11. Jira (by Atlassian)

Jira, by Atlassian, provides a suite of software development tools to engineering teams working within an agile framework. From the Jira dashboard, users can plan, track, release, report, and automate their projects — chunking down big ideas into manageable tasks across teams. Ready-made bug-tracking, scrum, DevOps, and other types of templates make it easy to get started, and you can customize as you grow.

• Pricing: Starts with a free trial; pricing dependent on products used
• Capital raised to date: $210M

12. Attentive

SMS marketing is huge right now, with more and more marketers adding it to their strategic plans for 2024. With text messaging, you have a captive audience of people who have opted in to your messages, and you don’t have a crowded email inbox to contend with. With Attentive, you can drive “conversational commerce” with its text message marketing solution. Engage your customers with text messages they actually want to receive — not “no reply” messages like you might get from your doctor’s office.

• Pricing: Request a demo for pricing options
• Capital raised to date: $863M

13. ClickUp

Put all your work in one place with ClickUp, from docs and tasks to goals and chats. The project management platform enables collaboration, organization, and tracking of your organization's key projects and objectives. It’s designed for all kinds of teams, including not only project managers but also sales, marketing, engineering, finance, and more. With a variety of unique features included, such as mind maps, automations, and to-do lists, ClickUp wears many hats. Go to the ClickUP website to see how it compares to other project management apps, including Notion, Asana, Basecamp, and others; scroll down and check out the “Compare” list below the fold.

• Pricing: Free version available; tiered plans available from Unlimited to Enterprise
• Capital raised to date: $547M

14. SurveyMonkey

Simple pricing and features make SurveyMonkey (powered by Momentive, Inc.) a leader in the survey-delivery space. A robust library of customizable templates built by experts helps you get the most out of your surveys, so you’ll get accurate, reliable results. Create free surveys in minutes with up to 10 questions, or opt for a paid plan for additional options. From employee surveys to market research, there’s something for everyone.

• Pricing: Free version available; tiered plans available from Team Advantage to Enterprise
• Capital raised to date: n/a

15. Descript

If you know how to work with a text document, then you’ll be able to jump in and get started with Descript. The AI-powered video editor platform offers an intuitive interface that allows teams to write, record, edit, collaborate, and share content from a single tool. Have your recordings automatically transcribed, and then edit them like a document with visuals. With features ranging from simple to powerful, Descript can handle all of your creative whims.

• Pricing: Free version available; tiered plans available from Creator to Enterprise level
• Capital raised to date: $100M

16. Zapier

Like Slack, Zapier has a vocabulary of its own. It’s not uncommon to hear teams talking about “Zaps” or “Zapping” — that is, automating multi-step workflows and integrating with over 5,000 apps. A simple integration might include adding leads to an email list from Facebook; a more complex Zap might drive your visitors through a complete funnel. Whatever your needs may be, it’s likely there’s a Zapier integration to automate the process and free up your team’s time.  

• Pricing: Free version available; tiered plans available from Starter to Company level
• Capital raised to date: $1.4M

17. Ahrefs

Business owners looking to rank higher in search engines and increase traffic will appreciate Ahrefs’ all-in-one SEO toolkit. With that, you can audit and optimize your website, analyze competitors, conduct keyword research, identify your industry’s top-performing content, and track your progress in search rankings. Whether you’re a junior marketer or an SEO pro, Ahrefs has what you need to improve your SEO results.

• Pricing: Starts at $99
• Capital raised to date: n/a

18. Amplitude

Product analytics are key to understanding your product’s impact across the customer journey. The self-service platform allows teams to better understand their user base, drive more conversions, and boost engagement, growth, and revenue. With data-driven insights, teams are able to predict which combination of product features and customer actions will translate into the greatest revenue, loyalty, and customer lifetime value.

• Pricing: Free version available; tiered plans available from Growth to Enterprise level
• Capital raised to date: $311.5M

19. Dropbox

File sharing is Dropbox’s superpower. When you have images, videos, and other assets you wish to share and store, Dropbox makes the process easy, private, and secure. Files can be up to a whopping 2TB, so there’s no worrying about whether a file is too large to email. The platform also enables collaboration across teams. From computer backups to photo libraries, Dropbox keeps all your files in one place.

• Pricing: Free trial available; plans start at $9.99
• Capital raised to date: $1.7B

20. Microsoft

Microsoft’s cloud platform, Microsoft 365, gives you all the basics you need for essential office tasks. Apps like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint allow you to create, edit, and collaborate on documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Meanwhile, advanced security and backup features keep your information safe and secure. The included Outlook email client keeps you connected to your key contacts.

• Pricing: Starts at $6.99
• Capital raised to date: $1M

Conclusion

This list is by no means exhaustive, but it's a great place to start if you're looking for a way to automate your business tasks. There are a lot of great SaaS companies out there with great customer experience. Zoom for video conferencing, Figma and Adobe for design — there are so many software products we didn’t mention.

Even from project management and time tracking to hiring and payroll, the SaaS industry is a competitive space, with lot’s of SaaS solutions available out there.

The good thing is that competition breeds innovation. As cloud computing improves, new collaboration tools, AI marketing tools, and marketing automation platforms emerge, we’ll begin to see a new wave of SaaS applications that promote sustainable marketing.

You can easily choose the products you need for your business now, with the confidence that you can always pivot if and when your business needs to shift.

To keep up with the latest B2B and digital marketing news, be sure to subscribe to the Marketer Milk newsletter!

Frequently asked questions (FAQs) on B2B SaaS companies

What is B2B SaaS?

B2B SaaS, or Business-to-Business Software as a Service, refers to companies that provide software products delivered over the internet, allowing businesses to use these applications on a subscription basis. These services range from comprehensive business solutions to specific tools aimed at improving business efficiency and productivity.

Why are B2B SaaS companies important?

B2B SaaS companies are crucial because they offer scalable, flexible, and cost-effective software solutions that businesses can leverage to enhance their operations, reduce costs, and improve service delivery. Their cloud-based nature ensures easy access, robust security, and seamless updates and upgrades.

How do I evaluate a B2B SaaS company?

When evaluating a B2B SaaS company, consider factors such as the product's features, the company's market reputation, customer support quality, scalability of the solution, integration capabilities with your existing tools, and overall cost-effectiveness of the investment.

Can B2B SaaS solutions be customized for my business?

Many B2B SaaS solutions offer customizable features or modules that can be tailored to your specific business needs. However, the extent of customization will vary between providers, so it's essential to discuss your specific requirements with them beforehand.

What are the key trends in B2B SaaS?

Key trends include the increasing adoption of AI and machine learning, a greater focus on customer experience, the rise of vertical SaaS (industry-specific solutions), and the emphasis on data security and privacy compliance.