Trends from G2’s Summer 2025 SaaS Spend Management Grid

Finance leaders are facing a perfectstorm of soaring SaaS costs and decentralized software sprawl. According to recent data, software subscriptions are now one of the largest expenses for companies – averaging $8,800 per employee (up ~27.5% year over year).Yet nearly 30–50% of SaaS licenses sit unused, wasting budget. Employees often adopt “shadow IT” tools without approval, meaning organizations have ~40%more apps than they realize. It’s no wonder CFOs and finance teams areurgently seeking better SaaS spend management software to gain visibility and control over these costs.

This urgency is reflected in G2’sSummer 2025 Grid Report for SaaS Spend Management. Dozens of software cost control tools are now vying to help businesses rein in SaaS spending. In this post, we’ll break down what G2’s latest rankings tell us about the market– from which platforms are leading for small businesses and mid-market firms, to the key trends like visibility, ROI focus, and SaaS stack consolidation.We’ll also see how Cledara, a SaaS management platform for finance teams, has emerged as a top solution in this space.

Key themes from G2 Summer 2025 include:

·     Visibility is vital: Finance teams need a complete view of all software in use (includingshadow IT) to control spend.

·     ROI and cost optimization: Tools that track usage, eliminate waste, and improve SaaS budgeting are in high demand as CFOs prioritize efficiency.

·     Consolidation of SaaS stacks: Companies are reducing duplicate apps and prefer unified platforms over fragmented point solutions. (In fact, 70% of companies would rather use a single platform to manage and optimize SaaS than juggle multiple tools.)

Let’s dive into the G2 Summer 2025findings and what they mean for finance teams looking to master their SaaS spend.

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Cledara Leads in G2’s Summer 2025 Rankings for SMB and Mid-Market

G2’s Summer 2025 reports show Cledara firmly established as a leading platform for SaaS spend management in both the small-business (SMB) and mid-market segments. Cledara – described by G2 as “a platform for finance teams that gives visibility of your organization's software stack, provides data and insights to cut excess spend” – earned top-tier rankings in its category.

In the Small-Business Grid for SaaS Spend Management, Cledara is rated among the very best. Users ranked Cledara #2 in overall satisfaction for SMBs (with especially high marks for its pricing value). In the Mid-Market Grid, Cledara similarly secured a top-two satisfaction rating from users. This means finance teams in both startups and mid-sized companies see Cledara as one of the most satisfying solutions for controlling software spend, making Cledara the most scalable solution for smaller companies intended to grow to mid-market size.

Cledara’s high placement comes with specific strengths. G2 data shows users love Cledara’s pricing/value, rating it 🥇 #1 for“competitive pricing” in the SMB segment. Cledara also earned leader badges in G2’s index reports: for example, it was #1 in the Small-Business Results Index (indicating the product delivers excellent ROI and meetsrequirements), and #1 in the Relationship Index for SMBs (meaning users are highly likely to recommend it). In short, finance teams using Cledara are seeing real results – from controlling software spend to achievingstrong ROI – and they’re happy to recommend it.

Did you know?
Cledara is one of the only platforms in this space that combines virtual card payments with SaaS tracking. Users cite its unified approach – managing subscriptions, providing spend analytics, and even offering card controls – as a key benefit, since it streamlines software purchasing and oversight in one place(no more juggling spreadsheets and separate card systems).

By securing top rankings on G2, Cledara has proven itself as a go-to solution for both growing startups and mid-market companies looking to master SaaS cost management. Next, let’s explore the broader industry trends that emerged from G2’s Summer 2025 report – trends that help explain what finance teams are prioritizing in SaaS spend management tools.

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Trend 1: Complete Software Visibility Becomes Essential

“You can’t control what you can’t see.” This adage rings true in SaaS management, and G2’s Summer 2025 data underscores the rising importance of software visibility. With companies often undercounting their SaaS apps by ~40%, finance teams are demanding tools that reveal all software being used across the organization – sanctioned or not.

G2’s report highlights that top solutions are those offering robust SaaS discovery and tracking features. Cledara’s platform provides finance teams a centralized dashboard of subscriptions and tracks real-time usage –shedding light on who owns which tool, how much is being spent, and usage levels. This kind of visibility is crucial when an average mid-sized company now has hundreds of SaaS apps floating around (one benchmark put it at ~600apps) and many can “slip through conventional spend tool visibility”.

Key capabilities gaining attention in 2025 include:

• Automated app discovery – e.g. integrating with employee browsers, SSO or finance systems to uncover all subscriptions.
• Usage and license tracking – monitoring logins or activity to see if a tool is actually being used.
• Alerts for “rogue” spend – flagging when an employee uses or signs up for new software without first getting approval.

The trend is clear: visibility is the foundation for control.Without a complete inventory of SaaS usage, finance teams struggle to manage budgets or negotiate vendor contracts effectively. G2’s top-rated platforms all emphasize visibility in some form. Cledara, for instance, gives finance a “detailed view of your software spending” so you can see which tools are being used and identify opportunities to cut spend, whilst also meeting the needs of IT Teams at small and mid-sized companies. Competitors like Torii and Zluri focus on discovery from an IT angle (finding shadow IT and managing app access), without considering the needs of finance.

For CFOs, this means that investing in software cost control tools must start with those that break down the silos – unifying data and needs from IT, finance, and team owners to present one source of truth for your SaaS stack. In 2025, a platform that can’t tell you exactly what software you have (and how it’s being used) won’t make the shortlist.

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Trend 2: ROI-Focused Tools and SaaS Cost Optimization Take Center Stage

With economic headwinds, cost optimization has become a top priority for finance teams. The G2 Summer 2025 Grid reflects this, as the highest rated SaaS spend management platforms are those that actively help companies save money and improve ROI on software. It’s not enough to just catalogue apps –finance leaders want actionable insights to reduce waste and spending.

G2’s user reviews consistently mention features like: license utilization reports, renewal reminders, spending analytics, and budgeting tools. Users favor products that answer questions like “Are we getting our money’s worth from this app?” and “Where can we cut costs?”. In fact, inG2’s Results Index for this category, top scores were correlated with tools that delivered tangible savings (e.g. high “Likelihood to Recommend” often went hand-in-hand with strong ROI outcomes).

Several data points underscore this trend:

• Huge waste is driving demand: Industry studies cited by G2 note that 30-50% of SaaS licenses go unused, representing millions in wasted spend. No surprise, then, that finance teams are flocking to solutions that can identify these under utilized licenses automatically and suggest cuts.
• CFOs are laser-focused on efficiency: Searches for terms like “reduce software spend” and “SaaS cost optimization” have spiked in 2025.

Importantly, Cledara has shined in this area – which helps explain its G2 rankings. Cledara’s focus is empowering finance teams to cut excess spend and streamline SaaS budgets. It provides reports on unused subscriptions, duplicative tools, and monthly spending trends, so you can quickly pinpoint where to trim fat. Users often cite how Cledara helped them save on SaaS spend by eliminating unused apps and consolidating vendors, directly improving ROI on their software investments. It’s telling that Cledara earned the#1 spot in G2’s Small-Business “Results” Index (which factors in ROI, user adoption, and likelihood to recommend). That suggests Cledara’s customers are indeed seeing significant results in cost optimization – enough to enthusiastically recommend the product.Tools that simply inventory software are falling behind those that actively help reduce SaaS expenses and improve budget efficiency.

For finance professionals, the takeaway is to look for platforms that offer intelligent SaaS budgeting features – things like forecasting future spend based on usage, setting spend limits (via virtual cards and approvals), and providing CFO-friendly reports on savings achieved. G2’s Summer 2025 leaders deliver on these, which is why they’re winning user trust. As one G2 reviewer put it, the goal is “full visibility for our team” plus “measurable impact” in savings – a sentiment widely echoed by other top-rated solutions’ users.

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Trend 3: Consolidation of SaaS Stacks and Unified Platforms

Another major trend evident from the G2 Grid is the push toward consolidation – both in terms of the SaaS apps companies use and the tools they rely on to manage those apps. Over the past year, companies have actually reduced their total number of SaaS applications slightly (average companies now use 106apps, down from 112 in 2023), a sign that many are trimming redundant software.This aligns with a broader strategy of consolidating the SaaS stack –standardizing on fewer, more widely used apps to cut costs.

At the same time, G2’s category data suggests buyers are gravitating toward all-in-one platforms for SaaS management and spend control, rather than using a patchwork of point solutions. In a recent survey, 70% ofIT and finance respondents said they prefer a unified platform to optimize SaaS spending, and to discover, manage, and secure the SaaS stack. The Summer2025 leaders reflect this preference:

• Converging capabilities: Top vendors often combine features that used to require separate tools. For example, Cledara merges purchase control (via virtual cards) with SaaS management features, which historically might have been handled by two systems (a spend management tool + a SaaS inventory tool).
• Complementary vs. overlapping tools: Interestingly, G2’s Spend Management Grid includes products with different core focuses – some focus on IT automation and app discovery (e.g. Torii) while others focus on payments and cost control (e.g. Mesh, Spendflo). This points to a current gap for many companies – they do not have a single tool does everything – but also a future direction: the lines are blurring between IT-centric SaaS management and finance-centric spend control and Cledara is leading the way in this for small and mid-sized companies.
• Market consolidation and partnerships: The proliferation of vendors (50+ in this category) may start to consolidate through acquisitions or integrations. We’re already seeing spend management features being added to SaaS ops platforms and vice versa. For example, BetterCloud (a SaaS operations platform)introduced a Spend Optimization modules. The end goal for customers is a one-stop-shop where they can handle SaaS discovery, spend optimization, license management, and in one place.

From a finance team perspective, the consolidation trend means you should seek tools that minimize fragmentation. Juggling one tool for SaaS tracking, another for budget management, and yet another for approvals can be inefficient. G2’s highest-rated solutions tend to be those that span multiple needs: for instance, users value that Cledara centralizes everything from subscription tracking and spend analytics to payment of invoices – allowing the finance team to manage the whole SaaS lifecycle in one system. One finance leader noted that with Cledara, “it houses all your SaaS information… eliminating the need to scramble through multiple email threads to get contract details”. This illustrates the efficiency gains when consolidation happens at the tool level.

Customers are pushing vendors to broaden capabilities, and the finance/IT silos are coming together in the SaaS management process. We anticipate that by next year’s grid, even more platforms (including Cledara) will expand their feature sets to cover end-to-end SaaS operations and finance needs, reducing the need to rely on multiple vendors.

Practical tip: If you’re evaluating solutions, consider future consolidation. A slightly more comprehensive platform today might save you from buying a second tool tomorrow and give you more bang for your buck.

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Empowering Finance Teams with Visibility and Control

The G2 Summer 2025 SaaS Spend Management Grid ultimately tells a story of empowerment for finance teams. The top-ranked platforms are those enabling CFOs and budget owners to finally get a handle on sprawling SaaS costs. Whether through greater visibility (Trend 1), ensuring ROI and optimization (Trend 2), or consolidating workflows (Trend 3), the goal is to put finance back in control of software spending – without stifling the business’s ability to leverage the tools it needs.

Cledara’s strong performance on the G2 Grid is a testament to this evolving landscape. As a platform built specifically to give finance teams visibility and control over SaaS, Cledara hits the notes that these trends call for:it provides a single source of truth for all subscriptions, actionable insights on cost-saving opportunities, and a unified way to manage SaaS budgeting and payments. It’s also worth noting that Cledara’s focus on finance team needs differentiates it from competitors that originated on the IT side – many mid-market companies choose Cledara because it speaks the language of budgets and ROI, not just inventory and compliance.

If your organization is looking to tame its SaaS spend, the takeaway from G2’s Summer report is clear: invest in tools and processes that give you complete visibility, drive cost optimization, and reduce complexity. The finance teams that succeed in 2025 will be those who proactively manage SaaS as the significant spend category it now is, rather than reacting after money has already been wasted.

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