Fasthosts Maps Savings From Cutting SaaS Tools

Fasthosts says a 15-person digital marketing agency could save up to £10,000 a year by removing two software subscriptions. Its calculation assumes the agency uses 10 to 15 tools costing £10 to £50 per user per month. That would put annual software spending at £27,000 to £54,000 for the team. The company’s analysis also examines how AI agents could consolidate workflows and how SaaS pricing is shifting.

Software Costs Add Up

Many SMEs use 10 to 20 SaaS tools across marketing, sales, and operations, according to the analysis. By the end of 2025, the global software-as-a-service market was estimated to be worth 299 billion U.S. dollars.

Fasthosts’ example agency uses tools for communication, project management, CRM, SEO, scheduling, and accounting. Additional reporting, automation, integration, and specialist tools can add further subscriptions.

Review Overlapping Tools

The analysis identifies overlapping functionality, underused licenses, and workflows that require several tools as sources of growing software costs. For a 15-person agency, removing just two tools could result in savings of up to £10,000 per year.

Software subscriptions are now one of the fastest-growing costs for small businesses, and Fasthosts’ calculation shows how quickly they can add up.

AI Agents Consolidate Workflows

Fasthosts describes AI agents as autonomous or semi-autonomous systems that can work across platforms and automate workflows. It says they can analyze data, trigger actions, and move between systems without manual or human input.

Lead management, customer communication, reporting, and scheduling are among the tasks the analysis says could be handled within one unified workflow. Similar to SaaS, the systems are cloud-operated and can run on a simple virtual private server, making them accessible and scalable for SMEs without significant infrastructure investment.

Pricing Models Are Shifting

The analysis says SaaS providers are shifting from per-seat or per-user pricing toward usage- and outcome-based models, where businesses may be charged for conversations, resolutions, or completed tasks. It also says many SaaS platforms are introducing AI agents and features as premium add-ons in pro or advanced tiers.

Salesforce Agentforce charges around $2 per conversation, while Zendesk AI charges $1.50–$2.00 per automated resolution, alongside additional per-agent fees, according to the release. It estimates that by 2026, around 40% of enterprise SaaS will include outcome-based pricing elements.

Fewer Fragmented Tools

Fasthosts’ analysis presents AI agents as a means to combine tasks that would otherwise require several tools. It says businesses are beginning to shift from stacking multiple SaaS subscriptions toward deploying fewer, more capable systems.