SaaS or Scam as a Service? The growing backlash against subscriptions

Over the past decade, Software as a Service (SaaS) has flipped software from something you own to something you rent indefinitely. It was a gold rush: recurring revenue for companies and convenience for users. By 2024, 75% of direct-to-consumer companies offered subscriptions. According to Harvard Business School (HBS), the average American consumer spends $273 monthly on annual paid subscriptions(HBS). Globally, adoption shot up—from 53% to 71% in five years.
From Boom to Burnout
But that subscription-fueled boom is now facing serious resistance. According to a new study by Bango, 72% of U.S. consumers believe there are simply too many subscription services. The findings are based on a new survey of 2,500 Americans currently paying for at least one subscription.
“Oversubscribed: nearly three-quarters of American subscription users (72%) say there are ‘too many’ subscription services available today,” Bango reported.
That’s not all. According to another report, over one-third (36%) feel stressed trying to manage all their subscriptions. That exhaustion is turning into action: churn is up 23%, and two-thirds of consumers have canceled at least one subscription in the past six months. One in four SaaS users quits within 30 days of signing up.
Consumers Cry Foul: Subscription Fatigue and Public Outrage
The backlash is most evident among consumers, where several high-profile controversies have spotlighted growing frustration with subscription practices. Creatives and hobbyists were among the earliest to push back against the new norm.
Adobe, BMW, Waves: Case Studies in Subscription Rage
Adobe was one of the early companies to move fully to subscriptions, and the backlash hasn’t stopped. In 2013, it shifted the Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.) to subscription-only. Long-time users felt locked in. Complaints ranged from bugs to intrusive background processes.
“Office is so bad that it’s unbearable. Photoshop became subscription-only and now I’m stuck with spyware that auto-launches and runs in the background in over 2 dozen separate processes and more bugs and glitches than I ever had on paid versions before,” one user shared on Hacker News.
In 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Adobe, alleging that the company hid cancellation fees and made the process “onerous and complicated,” The Verge reported. Veteran photographers like the Northrups slammed Adobe for failing to deliver innovation despite years of payments (Fstoppers). Their message was clear: loyal customers feel stuck with expensive, underwhelming tools.
BMW’s 2022 decision to charge $18/month for heated seats in some countries was another flashpoint. These were features already built into the cars—owners just had to pay to “unlock” them. Unsurprisingly, customers were furious. According to The Verge, a BMW exec later admitted, “People feel they paid double… perception is reality.” By 2023, the company abandoned the idea.
In the audio space, Waves Audio went subscription-only in March 2023. Social media erupted. Longtime customers accused the company of pulling a cash grab. The backlash was so immediate that Waves reversed course in a matter of days, reinstating perpetual licenses and issuing a public apology.
“A couple of days ago, Waves shocked users with the announcement that it would move to a subscription-only model. Well, the internet has spoken, and Waves now says that perpetual licenses will be back. This means that you’ll again be able to purchase and update Waves plugins like before,” Gearnews reported.
Avid Technology, maker of Pro Tools, tried something similar and got the same reaction: outrage, walk-backs, and a return to perpetual license options.
These moments show that customers aren’t afraid to organize, protest, and switch tools when they feel pushed too far.
Inside the Office: SaaS Bloat and CFO Revolt
It’s not just individual users. Businesses are pushing back, too. The average company used 371 SaaS apps in 2023. By 2024, that dropped to 220—a 40% cut as firms reassess what they’re actually using.
“In 2023, organizations used an average of 371 different SaaS apps, but by 2024 that number had plummeted to 220 apps on average – a 40% reduction as IT teams purged redundant or underused subscriptions.”
“Over half of organizations (53%) reported actively consolidating overlapping apps in 2024, a sharp increase from the year prior,” Vena Solutions noted.
According to another report from ComputerWeekly, SaaS has become the third-largest operating expense for many organizations, behind only salaries and rent. CFOs aren’t happy. In a 2023 survey, finance heads reported plans to trim software spending by 10–30%. Many had discovered they were paying for unused licenses, redundant apps, or overlapping tools.
“Software subscriptions are now often the third-largest expense for companies, after personnel and rent,” ComputerWeekly reported.
Meanwhile, small and mid-sized firms were particularly hit, often spending $250,000 to $1 million per year on 50–70 tools. Some spent as much as $9,600 per employee annually on SaaS.
Worse, 78% of CFOs said they were blindsided by hidden fees or price hikes baked into SaaS contracts. These issues—plus the headache of shelfware—have pushed buyers to demand clearer terms and pay-as-you-go options. One CFO told CFO Dive that usage-based pricing helped them avoid bloated bundles and unused software.
Now, 45% of SaaS vendors have moved to usage-based pricing, up from 34% a year earlier. Products like CircleCI and Algolia made the switch and positioned it as more fair for customers.
SaaS Cancellations
SaaS companies live or die by retention, and churn numbers show users are walking away. On average, SaaS companies see 4–6% of customers churn every month. Even “healthy” companies often lose 5–10% of customers annually, and consumer services like Blue Apron have seen churn exceed 70%.
“On average, SaaS companies see 4–6% of customers churn every month.”
“In consumer-facing apps, the churn can be far worse: as noted, one in four new users cancel within a month, and some subscription services like meal kits have seen 70 %+ churn annually,” Penfriend.ai reported.
Cost is one driver. $9.99 here and $19.99 there may not seem like much, but they stack up. In streaming, 72% of subscribers think they pay too much, and one in three has already cut back, according to another report from LendingTree. In software, pricing can be even more murky—55% of vendors don’t even list their rates publicly, according to CFO Dive.
Meanwhile, some vendors make it difficult to migrate data, which increases switching costs and deepens frustration.
Besides, the promise of constant updates hasn’t always materialized. Adobe’s Creative Cloud, for instance, was supposed to bring rapid innovation. Long-time users say that it hasn’t happened. Instead, they feel like they’re paying for the same product year after year.
And then there’s the issue of lock-in. With traditional software, you could just stop buying the next version. With SaaS, cancel your subscription, and access disappears instantly. Jason Fried of 37signals put it bluntly: “Stop paying, the software stops working. Boom, you’re evicted.”
Alternatives to Monthly SaaS Subscription
Some vendors have taken small but meaningful steps. JetBrains introduced a “fallback license” in 2015—use the software for 12 months straight, and you can keep that version forever. It’s a middle ground between subscriptions and outright ownership.
“You can, in effect, still buy a perpetual license. The catch is if you let the subscription lapse, you have to roll back to the version you have a license for,” explained The Register, calling it a “clever compromise” that balanced customer concerns with the company’s desire for recurring revenue
Then there’s 37signals, which went the other way entirely. In 2023, the company launched ONCE—a suite of pay-once, self-hosted tools. Their manifesto pulled no punches:
“For nearly two decades, the SaaS model benefited landlords handsomely. With routine prayers — and payers — to the Church of Recurring Revenue, valuations shot to the moon on the backs of businesses subscribed at luxury prices for commodity services they had little control over. Add up your SaaS subscriptions last year. You should own that shit by now,” Jason said, introducing Once, a newly launched paid-once alternative to the SaaS status quo.
Responses: Tweaks, Reforms, and Full-On Rebellion
Meanwhile, others are quietly tweaking their pricing. Some offer pause options. Others let users automatically drop to a cheaper tier if usage drops. On the enterprise side, Salesforce and Microsoft now offer all-in-one bundles to cushion cancellations, but some see this as just another form of lock-in.
One thing is clear: keeping customers around requires more than locking them in. Vendors are now investing in better onboarding and support because, as the Harvard Business Review has noted, a 5% improvement in retention can boost profits by up to 95%.
Regulators Step In
Governments aren’t ignoring the issue. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission wants to mandate “click-to-cancel” functionality. In Europe, new laws could fine companies for failing to disclose renewal terms or for making cancellation harder than signing up.
The DOJ’s lawsuit against Adobe may be the first of several actions targeting subscription practices that feel predatory.
What’s Next?
“SaaS or Scam as a Service?” may sound like clickbait, but it captures a real turning point. Subscriptions aren’t going away. But the all-in approach—where everything becomes a monthly fee—is wearing thin.
Going forward, successful companies will be the ones that treat subscriptions like a relationship, not a trap. That means being transparent, flexible, and delivering clear, continuous value.
Those that don’t? Expect more canceled subscriptions. And louder complaints.
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