What "save 20% with annual billing" is really worth, measured across 37 tools
In short
Across 37 products publishing both a monthly and an annual price, the average discount for paying yearly is 24% and the median is 20%. 14 of them land in the familiar 18–22% band. The largest is Setmore at 58%; the smallest is Jasper at 14%.
The number behind the toggle
Almost every SaaS pricing page has a monthly/annual switch and a badge promising some saving. We took both figures off 37 vendors' own pages, in the same visit, and worked out what the switch is actually worth. The average is 24% and the median 20%.
14 of the 37 sit in the 18–22% band, which is where the industry's habitual "two months free" framing lands. The interesting cases are the ones outside it.
Biggest savings
- Setmore — 58% off: $12/mo becomes $5/mo billed yearly
- Close — 53% off: $19/mo becomes $9/mo billed yearly
- HubSpot — 50% off: $20/mo becomes $10/mo billed yearly
- Krisp — 50% off: $16/mo becomes $8/mo billed yearly
- Intercom — 34% off: $29/mo becomes $19/mo billed yearly
- Descript — 33% off: $24/mo becomes $16/mo billed yearly
- Hunter — 31% off: $49/mo becomes $34/mo billed yearly
- ClickUp — 30% off: $10/mo becomes $7/mo billed yearly
- Wordtune — 30% off: $6.99/mo becomes $4.89/mo billed yearly
- BigCommerce — 26% off: $39/mo becomes $29/mo billed yearly
What it costs you
An annual discount is a real saving and also a real commitment: you are paying twelve months up front for software you have usually not finished evaluating. On a $29 a month tool, the median 20% saving is worth about $70 over a year — worth having, and rarely worth locking yourself in for if you are still deciding.
The rule of thumb the data supports: take the annual price on tools you have already run for a quarter, and stay monthly on anything you are still trialling. Both figures for every product here were read on 19 August 2026 and are re-checked weekly.
Questions
- How much do you save with annual billing on SaaS?
- Across 37 products where we read both prices from the vendor's own page, the average saving is 24% and the median 20%. The most common band is 18–22%.
- Is annual billing worth it?
- It is worth roughly two months of the subscription per year at the typical 20% rate. The trade is paying twelve months up front, so it usually makes sense for a tool you have already used for a quarter and rarely for one you are still evaluating.
