36 usage-based billing statistics showing the momentum behind consumption pricing in SaaS

Market data on why usage-based and hybrid billing have become an increasingly prevalent revenue model for modern software companies

The usage-based billing market is growing quickly. A market report updated in March 2026 projects the cross-industry usage-based billing market to grow from $9.4 billion in 2025 to $28.6 billion by 2034. That estimate spans telecom, utilities, finance, healthcare, and SaaS rather than SaaS alone, so it should be read as evidence of broad consumption-pricing momentum rather than a SaaS-only valuation. For companies operating complex consumption pricing, a purpose-built usage-based billing engine is important infrastructure: Orb tracks usage at the event level, generates invoices from those events, and keeps an auditable record of both.

Key takeaways

• Market growth is accelerating: The cross-industry usage-based billing market is projected to expand at a 13.2% CAGR from 2026 to 2034, creating demand for billing infrastructure built for metered consumption
• Adoption is broadening quickly: More than 59% of SaaS businesses implemented usage-based pricing structures in 2025, compared with nearly 40% in 2023
• A growth premium was measured in Q2 2024: SaaS adviser Todd Gardner reported median Q2 2024 year-over-year growth of 25% for a hand-classified group of predominantly usage-based public SaaS companies, versus 13% for subscription companies; the complete comparison dataset and calculations are not published
• Hybrid models lead on growth: Companies combining subscriptions with usage components report the highest median growth rate of 21%
• Cloud deployment dominates: Cloud-based billing solutions captured 67.8% of cross-industry usage-based billing market revenue in 2025 due to faster implementation and lower overhead
• Enterprise revenue is concentrated: Large enterprises accounted for 63.7% of usage-based billing market revenue in 2025, a revenue share rather than a share of deployments

The rise of usage-based billing as a major revenue model

The shift from purely fixed subscriptions toward metered and hybrid pricing is one of the more significant changes in SaaS monetization. The data below ties each figure to its source and states its scope. It shows substantial adoption and market growth, with hybrid models performing especially well.

1. Cross-industry usage-based billing market projected to reach $28.6 billion by 2034

The usage-based billing market is valued at $9.4 billion in 2025 and expected to reach $28.6 billion by 2034, according to a report updated in March 2026. The measured market is cross-industry, covering telecom, utilities, SaaS, finance, and healthcare.

2. Market expanding at a 13.2% compound annual growth rate

Dataintelo projects a 13.2% CAGR for usage-based billing from 2026 through 2034. This is a cross-industry growth rate covering telecom, utilities, finance, healthcare, and SaaS rather than a SaaS-only figure.

3. Cloud billing market forecast to nearly double by 2031

The broader cloud billing market is estimated at $15.83 billion in 2026, growing to $30.64 billion by 2031 at a 14.12% CAGR. Within that total, usage-metered billing is the faster-growing segment.

4. SaaS adoption of usage-based pricing passed 59% in 2025

More than 59% of SaaS businesses implemented usage-based pricing structures in 2025, compared with nearly 40% in 2023, according to a market report updated July 13, 2026. That trajectory shows consumption pricing moving from experiment to mainstream practice within two years.

5. 44% of B2B software providers have adopted hybrid pricing

Hybrid pricing that combines fixed subscriptions with usage billing was adopted by 44% of B2B software providers. Hybrid structures let companies keep predictable committed revenue while capturing expansion from consumption.

6. 61% of publicly traded SaaS companies offer at least one usage-based tier

More than 61% of publicly traded SaaS companies offered at least one usage-based pricing tier in 2025. The publisher does not expose full methodology on its public page, so this figure is best treated as a publisher estimate.

7. Software accounted for 61.3% of market revenue

The software component of usage-based billing captured 61.3% of market revenue in 2025. This is the software-versus-services split of a cross-industry market, measured as a share of revenue rather than a share of customers or deployments.

Impact of usage-based billing on engineering efficiency and time savings

Building and maintaining metering, rating, and invoicing logic in-house consumes engineering capacity that would otherwise go into the product. Orb's billing engine handles granular usage metering and invoice generation, reducing the billing infrastructure teams must maintain themselves.

8. Vercel cut billing build and launch time by 80%

Vercel decreased the time required to build and launch billing for new products by 80% after adopting Orb. The result applies to standing up billing for new products rather than to every billing-related engineering task. The case study describes Vercel offloading usage-data infrastructure instead of maintaining pre-aggregation pipelines in house.

9. Cloud deployment cuts implementation time by 40%

Dataintelo reports that cloud-based billing implementation timelines are 40% shorter than comparable on-premises deployments, measured across the broader usage-based billing market. Faster implementation lets teams launch new pricing without long development cycles.

10. 68% of revenue accounting teams lacked the right technology in 2023

Zuora's 2023 State of Revenue Accounting survey found that 68% of revenue accounting teams lacked the right technology to meet growing business demands. The finding comes from an independently commissioned survey of more than 500 accounting and finance leaders at enterprise organizations across North America and Europe. It is 2023 research rather than a current-year measurement.

11. 79% of revenue accounting team members wanted greater automation in 2023

The same 2023 survey found that 79% of revenue accounting team members wanted greater revenue-accounting automation. Separately, Orb Simulations lets teams compare pricing scenarios and model financial outcomes using real product usage data before a change goes live.

12. 60% said their ERP revenue-recognition capabilities did not fully support requirements in 2023

In the same 2023 survey, 60% of revenue accounting team members said their ERP revenue-recognition capabilities did not fully support their business requirements. This is a self-reported gap rather than an objective assessment of ERP capability, and it is a common reason teams add a specialized revenue subledger or revenue-accounting solution.

Operational efficiency statistics: streamlining billing workflows

Beyond engineering time, consumption billing platforms change how finance and revenue operations teams spend their days.

13. Stytch reduced billing and invoicing time by 75%

Stytch reduced time spent processing bills and invoicing by 75%, saving approximately eight hours per month. Orb's finance workflows product is a separate capability covering CRM contract mapping, revenue reporting, accounts receivable and dunning workflows, ERP integrations, and maintained pricing and revenue history; Stytch's reported result reflects its overall move to Orb rather than any single product module.

14. 57% of venture-backed SaaS startups adopt usage pricing within 24 months

Approximately 57% of venture-backed SaaS startups implemented usage-based pricing within their first 24 months. Early adoption means metering accuracy becomes a foundational requirement rather than a later migration project.

15. Industry estimates put billing-related revenue leakage at 3% to 7%

Dataintelo cites industry estimates suggesting that inadequate billing systems can cost organizations 3% to 7% of potential revenue through metering inaccuracies and manual reconciliation. The page does not disclose the underlying study or sample, and the estimate is not SaaS-specific. On the recovery side, Orb's collections automation applies automated reminders, retries, and collections workflows to reduce failed payments.

16. 45% of vendors launched usage-aware pricing recommendation engines

Approximately 45% of vendors launched pricing-recommendation engines that adjust plans based on usage behavior. Orb Price Evolution supports pricing experimentation, customer-specific rollouts, and auditable price changes. Orb's versioned billing architecture preserves a traceable history of pricing changes and how each invoice was generated.

17. 38% of leading vendors shipped advanced usage-based billing capabilities in 2025

During 2025, 38% of leading vendors launched advanced usage-based billing capabilities. Consumption billing is now a competitive requirement for billing platforms, not a differentiating extra.

18. SaaS providers generated 22.4% of usage-based billing market revenue

SaaS providers represented 22.4% of usage-based billing market revenue in 2025. This is the SaaS end-user share of a cross-industry market, a different breakdown from the 61.3% software component figure above, and it shows that SaaS is one of several verticals driving metered billing alongside telecom, utilities, and financial services.

The link between usage-based billing and revenue growth

Consumption pricing is associated with strong growth and expansion revenue. The strongest verified evidence points to hybrid structures, and the widely quoted growth comparison deserves careful attribution.

19. One analysis measured 25% median growth versus 13% in Q2 2024

SaaS adviser Todd Gardner reported median Q2 2024 year-over-year growth of 25% for a hand-classified group of predominantly usage-based public SaaS companies, versus 13% for subscription companies, a comparison Maxio repeated in February 2025. Gardner published the usage-based cohort and a methodology summary, but not the complete comparison dataset or calculations, so the figures describe Q2 2024 rather than current growth rates.

20. Hybrid models achieve the highest median growth at 21%

Companies using hybrid models that combine subscription and usage elements report the highest median growth rate of 21%. The report is powered by Benchmarkit's survey of hundreds of SaaS companies, and hybrid outperforms both pure subscription and pure usage-based approaches in that dataset.

21. 73% of usage-based SaaS companies forecast variable revenue

Seventy-three percent of SaaS companies using usage-based models actively forecast variable revenue. Forecasting consumption can require event-level usage data, which is why revenue teams may increasingly want raw usage events preserved rather than only monthly aggregates.

22. 61% of U.S. digital subscription companies moved to hybrid billing in 2025

In 2025, 61% of U.S. digital subscription companies expanded into hybrid models combining recurring and metered billing. Running both models side by side is now common, which places a premium on billing systems that can price a committed subscription and metered consumption on the same invoice.

23. Replit shortened product launch timelines and kept pricing flexible

With Orb, Replit reduced the time required to launch a new product and could make pricing changes until the last minute, including one made a week before launch. Teams evaluating a pricing change can model outcomes first with Orb Simulations, which runs scenarios against real usage data.

Enhancing customer experience and transparency with usage-based billing

Consumption pricing only works when customers can see and trust what they are being charged. Transparency is an infrastructure problem before it is a messaging problem.

24. 43% of SaaS companies bill more frequently than monthly

Forty-three percent of SaaS companies bill more frequently than monthly, a practice Maxio associates with improved cash flow and customer trust. More frequent billing raises the accuracy bar, since errors surface faster and more often.

25. LaunchDarkly cut usage display delay from as much as eight hours to seconds

LaunchDarkly reduced the delay in displaying usage from as much as eight hours to seconds, while gaining a more transparent and auditable billing foundation that supports its self-serve segment. As separate capabilities, Orb's experience kit provides customer-facing dashboards, pricing calculators, and draft invoices, and Orb's spend controls add real-time monitoring, alerts, and spend thresholds.

26. 52% of software providers introduced hybrid billing systems

Fifty-two percent of software providers introduced hybrid billing systems combining recurring subscriptions with metered consumption. Hybrid structures can give customers a predictable floor with consumption-based upside, a structure many buyers may find easier to commit to than pure metering alone.

Processing scale: handling high-volume usage-based invoicing

As consumption grows, billing infrastructure has to keep pace without degrading accuracy or close timelines.

27. Supabase processes over 1.5 million invoices monthly

Supabase processes over 1.5 million invoices per month through Orb, an indication of the scale high-growth usage-based businesses now require.

28. Usage-metered cloud billing forecast to reach $12.84 billion by 2031

Within cloud billing, usage-metered models are projected to grow at a 15.34% CAGR and reach $12.84 billion by 2031. That is faster than the 14.12% CAGR forecast for cloud billing overall.

29. Cloud deployment captures 67.8% of market revenue

Cloud deployment accounted for 67.8% of total usage-based billing market revenue in 2025 across the cross-industry market, making cloud the majority deployment mode for metered billing.

Enterprise readiness, security, and compliance for usage-based billing

Enterprise buyers evaluate billing platforms on controls and auditability as much as on features.

30. Large enterprises represent 63.7% of market revenue

Large enterprises accounted for approximately 63.7% of usage-based billing market revenue in 2025. That is a revenue share rather than a share of deployments. Orb maintains SOC 1 and SOC 2 Type II certifications for enterprise buyers whose procurement processes require them.

31. Usage-based pricing adoption surpassed 58% among North American SaaS firms

According to Business Research Insights, usage-based pricing adoption surpassed 58% among North American SaaS firms in 2025. The report also identifies North America as the leading region in the subscription billing software market, accounting for approximately 39% of global deployments.

32. Orb offers 99.99% SLAs

Orb's security and compliance page states that 99.99% SLAs are available for qualifying billing and revenue execution needs. The page does not publish the underlying service level terms, so confirm scope and eligibility directly with Orb.

Integrating usage-based billing with existing finance ecosystems

Consumption billing has to land cleanly in the ERP, the payment stack, and the close process.

33. 47% of enterprises report ERP integration difficulties

Approximately 47% of enterprises reported integration difficulties with legacy ERP systems when implementing subscription and usage billing. Orb's NetSuite integration addresses this by creating standard NetSuite invoice records, sales orders, credit memos, and payments with configurable item mappings, while preserving a full NetSuite audit trail.

34. North America held 38.4% of market revenue

North America represented 38.4% of the cross-industry usage-based billing market in 2025, approximately $3.6 billion. This concentration shapes platform roadmaps and compliance priorities.

35. Asia Pacific growing fastest at a 16.1% CAGR

The Asia Pacific region is forecast to expand at a 16.1% CAGR through 2034 and accounted for 22.8% of global revenues. As with the other figures from this report, the analysis is cross-industry rather than SaaS-only, and multi-currency and regional compliance capabilities matter for capturing that growth.

36. Airbyte removed its engineering bottleneck and automated month-end close

Orb removed Airbyte's engineering bottleneck in billing and automated its month-end close process. A close that previously took up to two days now runs automatically, and engineering no longer gates billing changes. The case study does not claim that every manual reconciliation activity was eliminated.

Frequently asked questions

What is usage-based billing and how does it differ from subscription billing?

Usage-based billing charges customers based on actual consumption of a product or service rather than a fixed recurring fee. While subscription billing collects the same amount each period regardless of usage, consumption-based pricing scales with customer activity. That alignment between value delivered and revenue captured supports natural expansion as customers grow. Many companies now run hybrid models that combine a committed subscription with usage-based components, and 52% of software providers introduced hybrid billing systems combining recurring subscriptions with metered consumption.

What are the main benefits of implementing usage-based billing for SaaS companies?

Reported benefits include stronger growth, lower barriers to initial adoption, and expansion revenue that follows customer success rather than renewal cycles. On growth specifically, SaaS adviser Todd Gardner reported median Q2 2024 year-over-year growth of 25% for predominantly usage-based public SaaS companies versus 13% for subscription companies; those figures describe Q2 2024, and the complete comparison dataset and calculations are not published. The better-documented finding is that hybrid models combining subscriptions with usage report the highest median growth rate at 21%. Finance teams also gain a consumption signal that can be used to forecast variable revenue, which 73% of usage-based SaaS companies now do.

How does usage-based billing impact engineering teams and operational efficiency?

Dedicated billing infrastructure moves metering, rating, invoicing, and reconciliation out of the product codebase. Vercel decreased the time required to build and launch billing for new products by 80%, and Stytch reduced time spent processing bills and invoicing by 75%, saving roughly eight hours per month. Across the broader usage-based billing market, cloud-based deployments implement about 40% faster than comparable on-premises deployments, which shortens time to market for new pricing models.

What role does data accuracy play in successful usage-based billing?

Accuracy is central, because every invoice is a calculation rather than a repeated charge. Dataintelo cites industry estimates suggesting inadequate billing systems can cost organizations 3% to 7% of potential revenue through metering inaccuracies and manual reconciliation; that range is a publisher-cited estimate rather than a settled figure, and it is not SaaS-specific. In practice, the safeguard is architectural: platforms that retain raw usage events rather than only aggregated totals can support retroactive corrections, backfilling, backdating, and a defensible audit trail.

How can companies ensure a smooth transition to usage-based pricing?

Successful transitions usually require billing infrastructure that can run legacy subscription plans and new consumption pricing at the same time, which matters because 61% of U.S. digital subscription companies expanded into hybrid models in 2025. Model the new pricing against historical consumption before launch; Orb Simulations compares pricing scenarios and financial outcomes using real product usage data. Integration with the finance stack matters from day one, and Orb's NetSuite integration creates standard transaction records with an audit trail. Phased rollouts let teams validate metering accuracy and the customer-facing experience before broad adoption.

What financial compliance certifications are important for usage-based billing platforms?

Orb maintains SOC 1 and SOC 2 Type II certifications, which cover financial reporting controls and security and data protection respectively. Beyond certifications, useful evaluation considerations include support for ASC 606 revenue recognition, multi-currency handling, tax treatment in your operating jurisdictions, and the completeness of the audit trail from raw usage event to posted invoice. Requirements vary by company, industry, and jurisdiction rather than applying universally, so treat these as a checklist to test against your own controls environment.