Best SaaS spend management software in 2026

Key takeaways

• SaaS spend management software tracks and optimises every software subscription across your company, giving finance and IT teams full visibility over usage, renewals, and cost.

• Rising SaaS costs and decentralised buying have made spend management essential for financial control, compliance, and forecasting accuracy.

• Airwallex gives you one platform to control all your SaaS spend, with clear payment visibility, approvals, multi-currency tracking, and budget oversight in one place.

Companies now run dozens of SaaS tools, and costs rise quickly when no one has a clear view of what’s being used or renewed. The right spend management platform helps you regain control by showing every subscription, every user, and every pound spent.

However, the spend management market has grown fast, and platforms range from simple licence trackers to full procurement and financial operations systems. To save you time, we’ve looked into the top options for 2026, what they do well, and who they’re best suited for.

What is SaaS spend management?

SaaS spend management is the process of tracking, analysing, and optimising how your company buys and uses software subscriptions. The software behind it gives you a central dashboard of every tool in use, who’s paying for it, and whether it’s delivering value.

The best platforms automate application discovery, remind you about renewal dates, benchmark pricing, and integrate with your finance and HR systems. That means fewer surprises, cleaner budgets, and better governance for growing teams.

Read more: What is spend management? Process and benefits

Best SaaS spend management software in 2026

The right platform depends on your stack size, complexity, and need for automation. Here are the leading options for 2026.

Airwallex  

Airwallex can help you take full control of SaaS and supplier spend from one platform. You can issue cards, set budgets, automate approvals, and track transactions in real time across currencies and entities.

While most SaaS spend tools sit on top of your payments, Airwallex is the payment layer. That means deeper accuracy, faster reconciliation, and no blind spots between spend data and actual cash movement.

It integrates with your ERP or accounting system, supports role-based access, and provides audit trails that meet enterprise governance standards.

Ideal for: Businesses needing real-time visibility and spend control

Key features: Multi-currency cards, automated reconciliation, spend policies, approval workflows, integrations with Xero and NetSuite, FCA-regulated safeguarding

Zluri  

Zluri focuses on identifying and managing all SaaS apps in use across an organisation. It discovers applications through integrations with SSO, finance, and email systems, then analyses usage to highlight redundant or underused tools. Setup can be complex, so its deeper analytics features are best suited to larger companies with established IT processes.¹

Ideal for: Large teams with decentralised SaaS purchasing

Key features: Discovery, license optimisation, renewal alerts, vendor benchmarking

Productiv 

Productiv uses analytics to link software spend to business outcomes. It offers usage insights across teams, helping IT and finance leaders align renewal decisions with real adoption data. This enterprise-level functionality can mean higher costs and a steeper learning curve for smaller organisations.²

Ideal for: Enterprises needing detailed SaaS utilisation and engagement analytics

Key features: Usage intelligence, workflow automation, integration with HRIS and ERP systems

Zylo 

Zylo helps finance teams centralise vendor data, track contracts, and manage renewals. It gives insight into software usage trends, and benchmarks pricing to improve negotiation leverage. However, its pricing and implementation can feel heavy for teams that only need core spend visibility.³

Ideal for: Mid-to-large enterprises focused on vendor management

Key features: Contract lifecycle tracking, spend benchmarking, renewal automation

Flexera  

Flexera offers broad IT asset management that includes SaaS spend tracking. This can make SaaS-specific insights harder to surface without custom configuration. It’s suited to large enterprises that already use its IT and cloud optimisation products.⁴

Ideal for: Enterprises managing hybrid cloud and SaaS environments

Key features: Application inventory, spend optimisation, audit and compliance reporting

Vendr 

Vendr focuses on the buying process. It combines procurement support with benchmarking and negotiation data, helping businesses reduce contract costs and streamline renewals. It works for high-volume buyers. Smaller teams may find its procurement-led model less relevant.⁵

Ideal for: Fast-growing companies looking to reduce SaaS costs

Key features: Procurement automation, vendor negotiation, cost benchmarking

Spendflo  

Spendflo gives visibility over all SaaS subscriptions and uses benchmarking data to secure better pricing. Its spend intelligence tools make it useful for finance teams wanting to optimise vendor relationships. Its focus on cost reduction over operational depth means fewer automation and compliance controls than full platforms.⁶

Ideal for: Finance teams focused on contract renewals

Key features: Cost benchmarking, renewal tracking, usage analytics

Read more: The top 6 spend management software for UK businesses in 2025

How the top SaaS spend tools compare

Why you need SaaS spend management in 2026

SaaS powers nearly every part of a modern business, from HR and finance to customer support and engineering. But, as you scale, the same software that drives productivity can eat into budgets and create blind spots. 

Without central oversight, these problems multiply fast, leading to issues such as:

Rising costs: A marketing team subscribes to new analytics tools while sales pays for overlapping CRM add-ons. Licences renew automatically, and no one realises how much is being spent until the quarterly review.

Shadow IT: Employees often buy their own tools to move faster. A developer might sign up for a code hosting service using a company card, or a recruiter might expense a new job board. These unapproved purchases create security and data risks.

Forecasting gaps: Finance teams struggle to track hundreds of small recurring charges. Without a single source of truth, budgets are reactive and forecasting becomes guesswork.

Compliance and security exposure: Each new SaaS tool can access company data. When those tools aren’t properly vetted or logged, they increase GDPR and vendor risk.

With growing economic pressure, tighter governance requirements, and a growing focus on data security, SaaS spend management has become vital infrastructure. It’s how finance, procurement, and IT teams gain visibility, control renewal cycles, and make smarter decisions about where every pound goes.

How to evaluate SaaS spend tools

To get real value from a spend management platform, focus on how well it reveals, controls, and connects your software costs. Here’s what to check:

Discovery and visibility. A good platform automatically identifies every application in use across departments by linking with finance systems, expense cards, and SSO tools. This helps find forgotten subscriptions and duplicate tools before renewals happen.

Usage analytics. Tracking licence activity shows whether employees actually use what they’re paying for. For example, if only 30% of seats in a design app are active, you can downsize or reassign licences instead of renewing blindly.

Contract and renewal management. Centralising contracts, invoices, and renewal dates prevents missed cancellations or surprise renewals. It also gives procurement and finance teams a single calendar for vendor reviews and negotiations.

Integration with finance and IT tools. The best tools plug into your ERP, HR, and identity systems to match spend data with users and departments automatically. This ensures accurate reporting and less manual reconciliation.

Governance and workflow automation. Built-in approval rules, spending limits, and alerts keep future purchases compliant with company policy. Finance teams can approve or block new SaaS requests in real time.

Compliance and security. If you handle customer or employee data, the platform should support GDPR, maintain audit logs, and manage multiple entities under one account.  

How to find the right SaaS spend management tool for your business

Start by mapping your SaaS landscape. Check how many tools you use, who owns them, and where spend sits. A company running 50 apps needs different visibility from one running 500.

Check integrations next. The right tool should connect directly to your ERP, HR, and SSO systems so data stays accurate without manual uploads.

Compare pricing models. Some charge flat annual fees, others take a cut of savings. Transparent per-user or per-transaction pricing is easier to forecast and justify.

Decide how much automation you want. Some platforms auto-renew or optimise licences, while others leave approvals to finance.  

Finally, think about compliance and scale. If you operate across regions or entities, you’ll need audit trails, GDPR alignment, and multi-entity management from the start.

Read more: Transforming enterprise spending: How to unify global financial operations

How Airwallex can help you control SaaS spend

Airwallex gives you full control of software and supplier spend from one global platform. Unlike tools that sit on top of payments, Airwallex is the payment layer. Every transaction, approval, and reconciliation happens in real time, across currencies and entities.

You can issue multi-currency cards for every team or subscription, set spending limits, and approve purchases before they happen. Expense Management and Bill Pay workflows automate reimbursements, invoice capture, and global payouts, reducing manual review and late payments.

AI-powered automation extracts bill data, categorises expenses, and flags anomalies instantly, while accounting integrations with Xero, QuickBooks, and NetSuite keep your books accurate without manual uploads.

Because funds move directly through Airwallex’s safeguarded infrastructure, reconciliation is automatic and compliant with FCA standards. Audit trails, permissions, and role-based access ensure every transaction is tracked and approved by the right people.

With Airwallex, you can manage subscriptions, pay vendors in over 150 countries, and issue cards in 40 markets, all from one platform built for speed, control, and scalability.

Control every pound you spend

A strong spend management platform helps you see every subscription, vendor, and renewal in one place.

Airwallex takes it further. It unites payments, approvals, and reconciliation under one system, giving you real-time control over budgets across teams and currencies. You stay compliant, agile, and ready to scale without losing sight of where your money goes.

FAQs

What is SaaS spend management software?

It’s a platform that tracks and optimises every software subscription across your company. It helps finance and IT teams see what’s being used, who owns it, and where money is being wasted.

Why is SaaS spend management important in 2026?

Rising subscription costs, shadow IT, and stricter compliance rules mean businesses need full visibility over software usage and spend to stay efficient and audit-ready.

What are the main benefits of SaaS spend management?

Better visibility, lower costs, improved forecasting, stronger compliance, and fewer unused licences.

Which is the best SaaS spend management software in 2026?

Airwallex is a great choice for UK and global businesses because it combines spend visibility with built-in payments, approvals, and real-time reconciliation across currencies.

How is Airwallex different from other spend management tools?

Most tools sit on top of payment systems. Airwallex is the payment layer, so every transaction, approval, and reconciliation happens in one platform with no data gaps.

How much does SaaS spend management software cost?

Pricing varies by provider. Some use flat annual fees, others charge per user or take a percentage of savings. Airwallex offers transparent, usage-based pricing with no hidden FX or cross-border markups.

Can SaaS spend tools help with compliance?

Yes. Leading platforms support GDPR compliance, maintain audit logs, and control user access. Airwallex adds FCA-regulated fund safeguarding and multi-entity support for global operations.

What should I look for when choosing a spend management platform?

Focus on discovery, licence tracking, contract visibility, automation, and integrations with your ERP and finance systems. Look for tools that make every renewal and transaction visible in real time.

Sources and references

1.  zluri.com/features/saas-spend-management

2.  productiv.com/saas-spend-management-tools/

3.  zylo.com/

4.  flexera.com/solutions/saas-spend

5.  vendr.com/blog/transforming-software-spend-management

6.  spendflo.com/managed-saas-procurement