Here is an extensive list of the most popular applications and companies and their categorization within three major categories: SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS.
To learn more about the differences between these major categories, read an article on SaaS vs. PaaS. vs. IaaS.
And if you're interested in the creative side, read this article on how to build a SaaS yourself.
0-9 - 8base
A - Accenture, Adobe, ADP, Airbnb, Amazon, Apple, Asana, Atlassian, Autodesk, AWS, Azure
B-F - BitBucket, Calendly, Canva, ChatGPT, DocuSign, DoorDash, Dropbox, Facebook
G - GitHub, Gmail, Google, Google Analytics, Google Cloud Platform, Linode
H-N - Heroku, Hubspot, iCloud, Intercom, Intuit, Linkedin, Mailchimp, Microsoft, Netflix
O-R - Office 365, Oracle, PayPal, Photoshop, QuickBooks
S - Salesforce, SAP, Shopify, Slack, Snowflake, Splunk, Spotify, Square, Stripe
T-Z - Tableau, Trello, Twilio, Uber, Vimeo, Wix, Workday, Zendesk, Zoom
Type: PaaS / iPaaS / LCAP (low-code application platform)
8base provides developers with 3X more productive SaaS development using low-code technology. It is built on top of existing technologies like JavaScript, MySQL, GraphQL, and AWS. Because of this, it has an extremely short learning curve (1-2 days).
Type: Professional services
Accenture is a multinational professional services company specializing in consulting, technology services and outsourcing. While they may develop or offer SaaS solutions as part of their broad range of services, their core business is not focused on providing software as a service in the way companies like Salesforce or Microsoft do.
Type: SaaS
Adobe is a SaaS company that offers several software solutions through a bundled subscription model named Adobe Creative Cloud. Some of the most popular applications in the bundle include:
Type: SaaS
ADP is a SaaS company that offers many software solutions through a subscription model. Its main customers are other businesses, and one of its most popular products is payroll software.
Type: Marketplace
Airbnb is not a SaaS company - it's a marketplace. Users of Airbnb don't pay for the software. Instead, they pay fees whenever a successful booking is made between the owner and the guest.
Type: SaaS / PaaS / IaaS / Marketplace
Amazon offers a wide variety of products that fall into different software categories. Here is the list of the most popular products and their categorization:
Type: Hardware / Marketplace / SaaS
Apple is a big technology company and cannot be confined to a single category. Though we can categorize individual products and services that generate revenue for the company:
Type: SaaS
Asana is a SaaS app that helps you with project management and task tracking. It has a freemium subscription model that is often used in SaaS projects. To learn more about different monetization models, check out this article on B2C SaaS pricing.
Type: SaaS
Atlassian is definitely a SaaS company with many individual SaaS products. The most widely-known tools they provide are:
Type: SaaS
Autodesk creates design software for various industries, such as architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, media and entertainment. Over the years, Autodesk has transitioned much of its software portfolio to a SaaS model, offering its products like AutoCAD, Revit and 3ds Max on a subscription basis, accessible via the cloud.
Type: SaaS
Calendly is a scheduling SaaS platform with a freemium subscription model. It is great for finding available time slots through a simple and intuitive interface.
Type: SaaS
Canva is a SaaS platform that provides many free and premium tools necessary for graphic design. It has both a resource-based monetization model, as well as a standard subscription.
Type: SaaS
Developed by OpenAI, ChatGPT operates in a cloud-based environment and users access it through the internet, typically without needing to install any special software on their devices. ChatGPT is provided on subscription and usage-based models.
Type: SaaS
DocuSign is a SaaS company that provides a platform for electronic document signatures. This allows companies to quickly close deals and instantly resolve any "paperwork" online. Alternatively, they would have to wait until a piece of paper goes halfway around the world (and back) via physical mail. DocuSign monetizes through a simple subscription model.
Type: Marketplace
While DoorDash uses sophisticated software and technology to facilitate its service, its core business model is based on logistics and delivery services, not on providing software as a service to other businesses or individuals.
Type: SaaS / PaaS
Dropbox is a clear example of a SaaS application for regular users. It provides cloud storage space in exchange for a monthly subscription. But advanced users or software developers can use its API to store application data. Using Dropbox this way would make it a PaaS.
Type: Communication Platform
Facebook is not a SaaS. There is no payment involved for end users in using a platform. The closest thing Facebook has to a SaaS is its Ads Manager, which works in the backend, and business users can access it. You basically pay to display your ad to other FB users. But Facebook, on its own, is not a SaaS.
Type: SaaS
GitHub provides a cloud-based platform for version control and collaboration, allowing individuals and teams to manage, store, track, and control changes to their code projects. Users access GitHub's services through a web interface or Git commands, typically on a subscription basis.
Type: SaaS / PaaS / IaaS
Google (today known as Alphabet) is a huge company with many different software products and services that fall under various categories. Here are some of the most popular ones:
Type: IaaS
Linode offers IaaS (infrastructure as a service) type of products. Basically, they give you raw servers you can set up however you want. Linode only manages physical architecture.
Type: PaaS
Heroku is a PaaS platform. It offers a cloud environment where you can deploy your finished app codebase. Heroku then automatically deploys it, and the developer has very little management work after that.
Type: SaaS
Hubspot is a SaaS platform for professional and enterprise users. It offers software solutions that cover different parts of the business: Sales Hub, Marketing Hub, Service Hub, CMS Hub, and Operations Hub.
Type: SaaS
Intercom is a typical example of a SaaS product. It offers live chat and support that can be integrated with any website. But it also offers AI chatbot capabilities. Intercom has a free trial, but its service is subscription based.
Type: SaaS
Intuit is a company that features several SaaS products for companies and individuals. All products can be categorized as financial software. Two of the most popular solutions are:
Type: SaaS
Even though it may look similar to Facebook, Linkedin is actually a SaaS company. It has a paid subscription model that gives additional business features to professional users. For example, the ability to find and message more users, info on people who visited your profile, etc.
Type: SaaS / Other
Microsoft today has many SaaS products, so we can put it in this category as a whole. It started as a regular technology company selling perpetual software licenses for products like Windows and Microsoft Office. Today, its most popular products include:
Type: Marketplace
Netflix is considered a SaaS by many people because it lives in the cloud, is delivered through the browser, and has a paid subscription model. However, the service Netflix provides is content and not software. It is more of a "Movies-as-a-Service" than a SaaS.
Type: SaaS / PaaS / IaaS
Oracle is a vast tech company with a plethora of software solutions. It covers everything from SaaS to IaaS-level products. Their most popular SaaS solutions cover customer experience (CX), human capital management (HCM), supply chain & manufacturing (SCM), and many more.
Type: PSP (payment service provider)
PayPal is primarily a payment service provider (PSP) that charges a fee every time a transaction is made. It is tempting to fit it into a SaaS category because the software enables these transactions to happen and can be accessed through the Internet. But users are paying for the processed transactions - not the software.
Type: SaaS
Salesforce has many SaaS products in its offering. The most popular and feature-rich SaaS solution is their CRM software (Sales Cloud). It monetizes through a paid subscription model.
Type: SaaS
SAP is a SaaS company that features numerous products. SaaS solutions include enterprise resource planning (ERP), financial management software, CRM and customer experience (CX) software, and others.
Type: SaaS
Shopify is a SaaS platform that allows businesses to create their website together with their online shop. It includes payment processing and inventory tracking. With Shopify, business owners can quickly set up their stores without programming knowledge.
Type: SaaS
Slack is a cloud-based SaaS collaboration platform. It offers real-time messaging and integrates with a vast number of external applications, making it a really powerful tool. Slack offers a freemium monetization model with a paid subscription that unlocks additional features.
Type: PaaS
Snowflake's leading product (Data Cloud) is a PaaS - specifically a Data PaaS. It includes many different data-related services, like sharing, warehousing, etc.
Type: SaaS
Splunk offers a wide variety of SaaS products related to data analysis. Most popular SaaS solutions include Splunk Cloud Platform, Splunk Enterprise, Splunk Mission Control, etc.
Type: Marketplace
Spotify can be easily mistaken for a SaaS. However, this is not the case even though it contains all the elements of a SaaS (cloud-based, accessible via the Internet, and has a freemium business model). Spotify doesn't sell access to the software but music. Making it more "Music-as-a-Service" rather than a SaaS.
Type: SaaS
Square is very much a SaaS company. It offers a full suite of business-oriented SaaS products. Some of them include the Square Online store builder, POS (point of sale) system, Square Invoices, and many more.
Type: PSP (payment service provider)
Stripe can mostly be considered a PSP (payment service provider). Payment fees are the primary way of monetization. Since it's cloud-based and software is the key component that makes everything work, we can be tempted to categorize it as a SaaS. However, let's not forget that users pay for the processed transactions, not the software.
Type: SaaS
Tableau offers a wide range of SaaS solutions related to data analysis. Their SaaS products include:
Tableau was acquired by Salesforce in 2019.
Type: SaaS
Twilio is a clear example of a SaaS company. Its most popular SaaS product is Twilio SendGrid Email API, enabling developers to send their users messages. Other products include SMS message sending and account verification services.
Type: Marketplace
Uber is not a SaaS company. It is a marketplace connecting passengers and drivers through an online platform. Their monetization strategy is based on taking a fee on each transaction that the passenger pays to the driver.
Type: SaaS
Vimeo is a SaaS video platform aimed at businesses and professionals. It offers a freemium monetization model with paid subscription for additional features like password protection, player customization, geo-restrictions, email capture, and more.
Type: SaaS
Wix is a SaaS website builder and CMS (content management system). It is a more beginner-friendly alternative to more advanced CSM solutions like WordPress. It monetizes through a freemium model with a paid subscription that offers additional features like a custom domain name, removal of Wix branding, increased storage space, and more.
Type: SaaS
Workdays is an AI-powered SaaS company. It features various enterprise SaaS solutions that help with business organization and management. For example, areas like financial management, human capital management (HCM), adaptive planning, etc.
Type: Zendesk
Zendesk is a SaaS help desk system. It provides ease of communication between the end users and customer support agents. It monetizes through a paid subscription model and has a free trial.
Type: SaaS
Zoom is a B2B SaaS company that offers cloud-based conferencing software. It has a freemium pricing model with a paid subscription that offers extra features like webinars, translated captions, and cloud storage for recorded sessions.
SaaS is the most popular way of building apps today because it offers maximum convenience to end users and developers.
End users can access the app through their browser without installation. And developers can push all changes, features, and improvements without the need for any updates from the user's side. Plus, users can access an entire app for a fraction of the price it would take them to purchase the whole software.
Low-code technology allows developers to create SaaS apps 3X more cost-effectively compared to traditional programming. At the same time, it offers programmers uninhibited development and an extremely short learning curve.
We're excited about helping you achieve amazing results.
