9 SaaS Trends for 2026: What’s Changing and How To Market for It

Whether you’re a SaaS provider, investor, or marketer, these SaaS trends will help you spot opportunities and outpace competitors. Each trend includes actionable marketing tips so you can put insights into practice.

SaaS Trends for 2026

1. Vertical SaaS growth
2. Growing need for API connectors
3. Low-code/no-code solutions
4. Edge computing integration
5. Microservices architecture
6. API-first approach
7. Blockchain integration
8. AI/ML integration
9. Usage-based pricing models

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1. Vertical SaaS Growth

According to Grand View Research, the vertical SaaS market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.2% from 2023 to 2030, with increased focus on industry-specific solutions.

Vertical SaaS is a personalized solution designed to meet the specific needs of niche industries, such as healthcare or retail. Horizontal SaaS provides general workflows, compliance, and operational needs.

With the growing demand, SaaS providers can deliver a higher ROI by focusing on domain expertise and solving the targeted problems. Small and medium-sized SaaS players can tap into this opportunity.

Marketing tip: Market for vertical SaaS growth

Industry-specific decision-makers, such as healthcare administrators and legal firms, will be affected by SaaS marketing trends. To get these clients onboard with your expansion into niche markets:

• Highlight success stories with case studies and testimonials from each specific industry
• Publish white papers, blogs, and videos focusing on industry pain points and how your solution solves them
• Collaborate with other service providers in the target industries to enhance credibility

2. Growing need for API connectors

API connectors facilitate seamless communications between different platforms and systems. Why? Businesses are using a growing number of SaaS applications, creating fragmentation from using multiple SaaS tools.

The connectors help automate workflows and synchronize data. They enable businesses to build connected ecosystems, improving efficiency and user experience without requiring extensive custom development.

Marketing tip: Try freemium plans and be developer-centric

The top SaaS marketing trends around API-connector demand include focusing your target audience on IT managers and developers. To make your content developer-centric, use strategies to create technical documentation, API demos, and tutorials.

Consider expanding to freemium models. To attract developers to test your product, offer free trials and limited access. You can demonstrate integrations with your connectors with other popular tools used in those industries, such as Google Workspace and Salesforce.

3. Low-Code/No-Code Solutions

Low-code and no-code platforms allow users to create software applications with minimal or no programming knowledge. To overcome these challenges, they offer options such as click-and-drop interfaces and pre-built modules.

Forrester projects that the low-code market could approach $50 billion by 2028 as organizations seek to empower citizen developers.

Non-technical users, such as business managers, now have the power to build applications, automate workflows, and address specific challenges without waiting for developers and other IT resources. Without having to code, they can accelerate innovations and reduce development costs.

Marketing tip: Publish educational content and spread the word

The first step in a marketing campaign for no-code solutions is to show how non-technical users can build apps. Create webinars, workshops, and other educational campaigns to demonstrate the product’s ease of use.

Campaigns that orientate around this SaaS industry trend can include content-marketing strategies for blogs, videos, and social media content. To increase community engagement, build user communities to share templates, ideas, and success stories.

4. Edge computing integration

Edge computing can process data closer to the source, such as IoT devices, rather than relying solely on centralized cloud services. SaaS platforms are increasingly integrating with edge computing, which can enhance performance and reduce latency.

SaaS providers can support real-time data processing, improve speed, and reduce bandwidth usage. Applications that require a low-latency response, such as video streaming, find the real-time data process particularly beneficial.

Marketing tip: Collaborate and demonstrate benefits

To market for edge computing integration, SaaS industry trends include highlighting specific scenarios where edge computing provides tangible benefits. These benefits should showcase use cases such as real-time analytics and latency reductions.

Other SaaS marketing trends for edge computing integrations should include creating campaigns around cost savings from reduced bandwidth and cloud storage needs.

Another angle to market from would be to collaborate with IoT device manufacturers and create tech partnerships to expand reach. Thought leadership technical articles and research papers will also attract a larger audience, especially if they are shared on industry-related social platforms and blogs.

5. Microservices Architecture

Microservice architecture involves breaking down applications into small, independent services that communicate via API’s. Each microservice performs a specific function and can be developed, deployed and scaled independently.

Why would you want to subdivide your applications? The modular approach has proved to enhance agility, scalability, and resilience. It can also enable SaaS companies to update or scale specific components without disrupting the entire application.

According to imarc, the microservices architecture market reached $4.2 billion in 2024. The Group expects the market to continue increasing to a hefty 13.1 billion within the next 10 years, showing an impressive growth rate of 12.7%. Large SaaS like Atlassian and Twilio have adopted this change.

Marketing tip: Showcase your microservice

DevOps teams and enterprise developers, along with chief technology officers, will be your top clients. To take full advantage of microservice architecture, use the SaaS marketing trends and create an API marketplace presence. Showcase the microservice integration well and ensure you are discoverable on major marketplaces.

Focus marketing messages on microservices’ flexibility and future-proof nature. Integrate case studies to build credibility and demonstrate how microservices have already benefited other companies.

6. API-First Approach

In an API-first approach, applications are designed with APIs as the foundation, prioritizing seamless integration and interoperability. Using an API-first approach allows the product to easily connect with other platforms from the outset.

According to Postman, 47% of developers could produce an API within a week in 2023. In 2024, that number jumped to 63%, and the expectation is that API production speed will continue to increase. API-first design will align with a growing emphasis on connectivity and integration. It will make SaaS platforms more flexible and extensible and attract developers and enterprises.

Marketing tip: Partner and share your stories

Partner with complementary SaaS platforms to highlight how APIs simplify integrations. You can take further opportunities with SaaS trends in API-first approaches by contributing to developer-focused media outlets.

Talk and express your opinions on tech blogs and podcasts to establish authority. Share the success stories of your API scaling and create a developer hub of API documentation and sandboxes on a dedicated developer hub.

7. Blockchain Integration

Blockchain technology gives a decentralized, secure, transparent way to store and manage data. SaaS platforms are starting to integrate blockchain for specific use cases, such as secure transactions, identity verification and data sharing.

Market and Market’s report on blockchain as a service market predicts a hit in revenue of around $11,519 million by the end of 2026, projecting a CAGR of 62.2% between 2020 and 2026. Blockchain integration will enhance data security and help reduce fraud, making it ideal for large client sectors such as finance, healthcare, and supply chains.

Marketing tip: Be security conscious

Blockchain integration services will require a focus on industries that need security, transparency, and trust. Expand with blockchain integration SaaS trends by focusing on security-centric messaging. Show the role of blockchain technology in enhancing data security and preventing fraud.

8. AI/ML integration in SaaS products

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are no longer optional features. According to a recent report, 60%+ of enterprise SaaS products now have embedded AI features. They’re becoming core to how SaaS products deliver value. From predictive analytics to automated workflows, AI capabilities are what buyers increasingly expect.

SaaS companies integrating AI can automate repetitive tasks, personalize user experiences, surface insights from data, and reduce churn through predictive analytics. Products without AI capabilities risk falling behind competitors who offer smarter, faster solutions.

Marketing tip: Lead with outcomes, not technology

• Show how AI saves time, reduces costs, or improves results
• Create demo videos and case studies showing AI features in action
• Address AI skepticism head-on with transparency about how your AI works and where human oversight remains
• Target decision-makers frustrated with manual processes or data overload

9. Usage-based and consumption pricing models

The traditional per-seat SaaS pricing model is evolving. More companies are adopting usage-based pricing (also called consumption-based or pay-as-you-go), where customers pay based on what they actually use. In fact, 77% of the largest software companies have some level of UBP, according to Metronome.

Usage-based pricing lowers barriers to entry, aligns cost with value delivered, and can drive expansion revenue as customers scale. It’s particularly effective for API-based products, data platforms, and tools where usage varies significantly across customers.

Marketing tip: Emphasize flexibility and value alignment

• Messaging like “only pay for what you use” resonates with cost-conscious buyers
• Offer pricing calculators so prospects can estimate costs based on expected usage
• Highlight how pricing scales with growth, not against it
• Use case studies showing how customers saved money or scaled efficiently with your model

FAQs about 2026 SaaS trends

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The SaaS landscape is evolving fast. AI integration, usage-based pricing, vertical solutions, and API-first design are reshaping how software companies compete and grow.

But identifying SaaS trends is only half the battle. You need proven marketing strategies that speak to your audience’s pain points and demonstrate why your solution is the answer.

WebFX has over 30 years of digital expertise and has already generated $10 billion in revenue for SaaS businesses like yours. We’ve helped SaaS companies reach developers, decision-makers, and enterprise buyers with strategies that drive real revenue.

Let’s turn these trends into revenue. Get a free proposal online or call 888-601-5359 to speak with a strategist today about our industry-leading digital marketing services.

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