Seven SaaS markets, researched with real ad data
Real reports, refreshed every day. Tap a market to open its full report.
The same numbers as sentences, ready to quote
- CRM: 233 SaaS companies pay to advertise in it. Their ads mostly ask people to "Learn more" (41%). Verdict: Crowded (SaaSpy, Oct 30, 2026).
- Email marketing: 53 SaaS companies pay to advertise in it. Their ads mostly ask people to "Learn more" (42%). Verdict: Crowded (SaaSpy, Oct 30, 2026).
- Invoicing: 212 SaaS companies pay to advertise in it. Their ads mostly ask people to "Learn more" (51%). Verdict: Crowded (SaaSpy, Oct 30, 2026).
- SEO: 106 SaaS companies pay to advertise in it. Their ads mostly ask people to "Learn more" (80%). Verdict: Crowded (SaaSpy, Oct 30, 2026).
- Website builder: 93 SaaS companies pay to advertise in it. Their ads mostly ask people to "Learn more" (56%). Verdict: Crowded (SaaSpy, Oct 30, 2026).
- AI video: 247 SaaS companies pay to advertise in it. Of the 1 we can read, 0 are scaling and 0 are pulling back. Their ads mostly ask people to "Learn more" (39%). Verdict: Crowded (SaaSpy, Oct 30, 2026).
- Password manager: 9 SaaS companies pay to advertise in it. Verdict: Open (SaaSpy, Oct 30, 2026).
How to do SaaS market research in 4 steps
Market research for a SaaS answers three questions: who already sells in this market, is it growing, and how do those companies get customers. Ads answer all three, because a company only keeps paying for an ad while it brings in more money than it costs.
1. Name the market the way buyers say it. “CRM”, “email marketing”, “AI video”. Short, plain words find more companies than a long pitch.
2. Count who already sells. Many companies paying for ads means people buy this, and you will have a fight. Very few means a gap, or no buyers.
3. Check the direction. Count how many of those companies run more ads than a month ago, and how many run fewer. More ads means they are putting more money in because it pays. Fewer: find out why before you build.
4. See how they sell, then find your way in. Where they advertise, which formats they use, and what their button asks for. Then look for the buyers they ignore: the free SaaS Niche Finder shows which niches are open, and the SaaS Idea Validator checks your exact idea.
Ad data or surveys?
A survey tells you what people say they would buy. Ads show what companies pay to sell, every week, with real money. People are kind in surveys; budgets are not.
Use both, in this order. Start with ads to find a market that already pays. Then talk to buyers, or run a short survey, to learn why they buy and what they miss. That gap is your product.
How to read the report
Companies selling. The SaaS companies with 3 or more live ads that match your words. Under 5 is Almost empty, 5 to 14 is Open, 15 to 49 is Competitive and 50 or more is Crowded.
Scaling now and just started. Scaling means at least a fifth more ads than a month ago, or a company that just started spending. Just started counts only the ones that began in the last weeks. We call a direction only for companies with at least 5 ads a week that we have watched for 6 weeks or more.
Which way is it moving? Each company we can read is scaling, steady or pulling back, judged on its own ads: the last 4 weeks against the month before. Many scaling means demand is growing, and more rivals will come. Many pulling back: dig before you build.
How they sell. From the market’s live ads in our library: the share of images, videos and carousels, and what the button asks for. “Sign up” and “Download the app” point to products people try on their own. “Book a demo” points to products sold by a sales team. The oldest live ad shows how long one ad can keep paying.
What this data cannot tell you
A market size in dollars. Nobody outside a company knows its real revenue, so we do not make one up. On SaaSpy Pro you see our estimate of each company’s revenue and ad spend, shown as a range, and the sum for the market.
Companies that never advertise. Some products grow through search, word of mouth or sales calls, and never run ads. Some advertise only on TikTok, X or Reddit, which we do not track. Our Google and LinkedIn coverage is still growing.
Why people buy. Ads show what sells, not why. For the why, read the reviews of the leading companies and talk to their customers.
Questions
What is SaaS market research?
Finding out who already sells in a software market, whether that market is growing, and how those companies get customers, before you build or spend. Good research uses what people do, like what companies pay to advertise, not only what people say in surveys.
How do I do SaaS market research for free?
Type the market in the SaaSpy Market Research tool. You get a free report from the live ads of every SaaS in it on Facebook, Instagram, Google and LinkedIn: how many companies sell, how many are scaling or pulling back, where they advertise, what their ads ask for, and the top 5 companies. No sign-up.
How do I know if a SaaS market is too crowded?
Count the companies that pay to advertise in it. Under 5 is almost empty, 5 to 14 is open, 15 to 49 is competitive and 50 or more is crowded. Crowded is not a no: it proves people pay. You then need a clear way in, like a group of buyers the others ignore.
Is ad data better than a survey?
They answer different questions. A survey tells you what people say they want. Ads show where companies put real money every week. Start with ads to find a market that already pays, then talk to buyers to learn why they buy.
Can I see how big a SaaS market is in dollars?
Nobody outside the companies knows their real revenue, so we do not make up a market size. The free report shows what is real: companies, ads and direction. SaaSpy Pro adds our estimate of each company's revenue and ad spend, and the sum for the market.
Where does the data come from?
From the public ad libraries of Meta (Facebook and Instagram), Google and LinkedIn. SaaSpy tracks the SaaS and app companies in them and keeps a weekly count of their live ads. The examples on this page are refreshed every day.