SaaSletter - Benchmarkit 2024 SaaS Benchmarks

Framing Benchmarkit's latest with data since 2010

Ray Rike

and Benchmarkit just released their 2024 SaaS Benchmark report (n=936).

SaaS Benchmark Historical Context      

Last fall, we constructed a set of historical SaaS benchmarks by aggregating Pacific Crest and KeyBanc’s reports:

SaaSletter - 2010 - 2021 SaaS Industry-wide Benchmarks

We’ve updated our data set and slides to incorporate data from the newest Benchmarkit report.

My prior headline take seems to hold: “A Maturing Growth Industry: The historical SaaS benchmarks capture the maturation of the industry. That said, a 33% average revenue growth rate is a material offset to “only” mid-single digit (MSD) CAGR metric declines.”

Much of the deep red on the 2023 versus 2010 heatmap can be explained by an easy comp in 2010 from when the SaaS industry was less competitive, especially evident in CACs (New at $0.93 and Expansion at $0.28)

The truly outsized IRRs at those CACs have literally been competed away as a tsunami of capital sought out those outsized returns. The capital deployed in the early era of SaaS barely registers when graphed:

2024 Benchmark Call-Outs

The increase in Expansion CAC to $1.00 was particularly notable:

The rising Expansion CAC is particularly important given the increased reliance on expansion revenue (35% in 2023):

While New CACs were (surprisingly) stable in the Benchmarkit report…

… we note the increasing gaps between leaders and laggards. Growing dispersion was evident across a number of metrics in the Benchmarkit report:

Again, given the greater importance of expansion revenue, the rise in Expansion CAC led to the Blended CAC worsening by 21% (2023: $1.61 vs 2022: $1.32)

A Maturing Growth Industry: More Indicators

Strictly from the perspective of the Benchmarkit report, churn and NRR data have been OK:

However, the typical SaaS P&L has deteriorated. With R&D and G&A as the negative call-outs for Benchmarkit’s 2022 and 2023 data:

When combined with decelerating revenue growth, the Rule of 40 has declined over time:

A downloadable copy of our above graphs is available here.

Now Go Read Benchmarkit’s Report

Cloud Ratings and I were proud to support

Ray Rike

+ team’s hard work in driving 936(!) SaaS companies to submit their benchmarks. Again, go read their report: