With the median annual churn rate for businesses making under $10 million in ARR at 20%, you might be wondering how to add additional revenue to your recurring revenue model. Reducing churn isn’t the only answer. Sometimes, SaaS businesses simply need to make more money. In this post, we’re showcasing 10 different SaaS revenue streams.
Base software subscription
Subscription add-ons
Paid courses or infoproducts
Custom integration or development work
Productized 1:1 services
Premium support
Premium onboarding
Transaction fees
Affiliate or partner programs
API access monetization
Now, let’s be clear. We’re not going over SaaS pricing models, such as whether or not you should charge per transaction or per usage volume. This post is all about the unique SaaS revenue models that you can combine to increase ARR. If you want insights on your pricing model, though you can find that here.
You might be wondering...
Can I really add new revenue streams?
You should offer additional product services that solve customers’ needs—but only the needs that relate to the core value your software provides.
Otherwise, you run the risk of overwhelming your team and confusing your customers. Do this right and they’ll appreciate you even more.
With that said, let’s get into the different SaaS revenue streams!
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1. Base software subscription
Let’s start with the reliable revenue stream you know and love. Most SaaS companies will have the majority of revenue made up by what users pay for the base software subscription. There are usually different monthly pricing tiers made up of different levels of access.
The different subscriptions can include certain user counts, usage amounts, storage, etc.
Example: MemberVault
Because their pricing is so simple MemberVault, a course creation software, is a perfect example of subscription packages. Utilizing a freemium SaaS growth strategy, they have a free forever version. Then they have a Base plan and a Pro plan.
While your monthly or annual software subscription is the most common source of SaaS revenue, it’s not the only one!
Let’s take a look at some of the less common ways to increase revenue as a SaaS business.
See quote source.
2. Subscription add-ons
Including one-off or monthly add-ons to your base subscription is one of the revenue models for SaaS that can target niece users. This is a really smart strategy for a few reasons:
Allows you to increase revenue
Doesn’t overwhelm other users with too many features
Doesn’t cause price increases for all users
Example: Shopify
Shopify, one of the most widely used eCommerce platforms, offers a range of subscription add-ons that allow merchants to enhance their stores without upgrading to a higher plan.
For example, Shopify users can purchase additional staff accounts, advanced reporting tools, or access Shopify POS Pro for in-person selling. Another popular add-on is Shopify Markets, which enables businesses to sell in multiple currencies and regions with localized pricing.
By offering these optional features as add-ons, Shopify maximizes revenue without forcing all users into higher-tier plans. Merchants only pay for the tools they need, and Shopify benefits from increased average revenue per user (ARPU) without raising base subscription costs for everyone.
Would this work for your SaaS? If your product has premium features that aren’t essential for all users, offering them as à la carte add-ons can increase revenue while keeping core pricing competitive.
3. Paid courses and other infoproducts
Paid courses, challenges, and certifications are an uncommon SaaS revenue stream, because most SaaS companies want to give away these resources for free as part of their content marketing efforts to attract paying customers for their software.
However, it is possible to create infoproducts worth paying for. If you have a very high quality certification, or if you can create courses that can help business owners make more money, then it is worth doing some market research to see if your customers and target customers would be willing to pay.
Example: ClickFunnels
ClickFunnels is a prime example of a SaaS business that makes money through the sale of ebooks, physical books, digital courses, challenges, etc.
Sure, the ClickFunnels style of selling isn’t for everyone...in fact it’s not for most B2B SaaS companies. But the fact remains that they found a way of selling additional products to their ideal customers using their own software. Maybe your team can innovate an additional revenue stream that can work for your target audience?
ClickFunnels (however much you like or dislike them) proves that it’s possible.
4. Custom integration or development work
This revenue stream is a common one with SaaS businesses that serve enterprise customers. These customers might need additional development work. They might have unique requirements because of their security network, the software they’re already using, or industry regulations.
There can also be custom integration work that needs to be done in order to integrate your software with their existing apps.
Example: Xapiapps
Xapiapps, a system for tracking and managing on-the-job-training needs to integrate with lots of different LMSs, but it can’t possibly have a direct integration with every single one on the market. That’s why they offer custom integration for enterprise clients that need it. They can also make tweaks to the software to meet the needs of highly regulated industries.
5. Productized 1:1 services
We predict to see this one grow even more in the coming years! Have you ever thought about productizing a service alongside your SaaS? Maybe you can include not only the software that customers need to get results, but the talent as well.
These productized services would be an optional add-on for customers, or could potentially be purchased by people who aren’t using your software. That’s up to you.
Example: SocialBee
Social media scheduling app SocialBee is a great example of a productized service that relates to their SaaS offer. The scheduling app includes many of the standard social media marketing features, but also has unique features like content categories and workspaces.
In addition to their software, SocialBee offers social media content creation, content curation, social media community management, and blog content writing all handled by their inhouse team in Romania. For small businesses looking for help with content marketing, they have a one-stop shop: software and service.
This option isn’t for every SaaS company, but it can be a smart way to increase revenue for many.
6. Premium support
With many software subscriptions, better support is available with higher tiers. This might be support that is available more regularly, or the support channels might change (for example, the addition of phone on top of chat).
However, you can also charge more for better support, regardless of how your subscription tiers are organized. Maybe support is the deciding factor for what makes a subscription cost more. Or maybe better support is an add-on available for any subscription.
How you organize this is up to you. One thing is for sure: in certain industries or for certain types of software, companies are willing to pay for top-notch support. Just make sure they see why it is special and worth paying more for. You don’t want customers to feel like they are paying for something that should be included.
Example: ZenDesk
Zendesk, a leading customer service SaaS, offers premium support as an upsell in their saas sales approaches for businesses that need more than just standard help center access.
While all Zendesk customers can access online support, training, and the help center, those who need priority service, hands-on configuration, and 24/7 support can pay extra for premium support packages.
This model works because businesses rely on Zendesk to manage critical customer interactions—any downtime or misconfiguration can impact revenue. By offering prescriptive guidance, custom training, and implementation services for an additional fee, Zendesk ensures its customers are set up for success while generating extra recurring revenue.
If your product is in a space that people will willingly pay for top-level support, you should structure your pricing to reflect that, or include it as a separate add-on.
7. Premium onboarding
Aside from top-notch support, you can also charge additional fees for premium onboarding. This onboarding might include strategy to help your customer get the best results. It might include training so that staff knows how to utilize the software to the fullest extent. It might include some migration work from a different system over to yours.
For enterprise customers and even some SMBs, there are many ways to charge for the work that you need to do in order to assure that your customers get the value that they expect from your software.
Example: Hubspot
Hubspot makes their onboarding services a requirement for customers in their Marketing Hub Professional or Enterprise plans. That’s because they believe that proper training and implementation is essential for inbound success. And hey, they’re Hubspot. They know what they’re doing, and customers trust that.
Making it a requirement might not be the right direction for you, but you can definitely make it optional. Depending on what you want to offer, you can have preset onboarding packages or create a custom pitch for each customer.
8. Transaction fees
Let’s talk about a revenue stream that doesn’t rely on subscriptions at all—transaction fees. Instead of charging a flat monthly rate, some SaaS companies generate revenue by taking a small percentage of each transaction processed through their platform.
This revenue stream is especially common for SaaS companies in fintech, eCommerce, and marketplaces. Rather than forcing all customers into a paid plan, they provide free or low-cost access to the software and only make money when users complete a transaction.
Example: Stripe
Stripe, one of the world’s most popular payment processing platforms, makes most of its revenue from transaction fees. Businesses using Stripe pay 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction, meaning Stripe scales revenue alongside customer growth.
For SaaS businesses with a high transaction volume, this model creates a predictable and scalable revenue stream without requiring constant upselling.
If your platform facilitates payments, transactions, or exchanges of any kind, charging a small percentage on each transaction could generate substantial revenue over time.
9. Affiliate or partner programs
What if your existing users could help you sell your SaaS product—and get rewarded for it?
Affiliate or partner programs provide a commission or recurring revenue share to users, agencies, or influencers who refer new customers to your platform. This creates a win-win scenario: your users get paid for spreading the word, and your business benefits from lower customer acquisition costs and scalable growth.
Example: Webflow
Webflow, a no-code website builder, runs a highly successful affiliate program. Affiliates earn a 50% commission for the first 12 months of each referral’s paid plan, incentivizing them to actively promote Webflow to their audiences.
This model works well for SaaS products that serve creators, agencies, and businesses with strong professional networks. The more value users get from your tool, the more likely they are to recommend it—especially when there’s a financial incentive.
The key to this revenue stream is to make your commission structure compelling enough to motivate partners, while still ensuring strong profit margins.
10. API access monetization
Many SaaS companies have powerful APIs that allow other businesses to integrate their software into custom workflows and applications. Instead of just offering API access as a bonus for premium customers, some SaaS companies monetize it as a standalone revenue stream.
This model typically works through usage-based pricing, where customers pay based on the number of API calls, data requests, or interactions they generate.
Example: OpenAI
OpenAI monetizes its API by charging businesses and developers for each API request. Instead of selling a fixed-price subscription, it offers tiered pricing based on usage, allowing startups and enterprises alike to integrate its AI models into their own products.
For SaaS companies with a robust API, this revenue stream can be a powerful way to generate additional income from developers and businesses looking to build on top of your technology.
The best part? You can charge for API access without cannibalizing your core SaaS offering. Many companies use this approach to serve an entirely different segment of users—those who need back-end functionality without the full SaaS interface.
There are many different SaaS revenue streams. Your monthly or annual subscription isn’t the only way to increase ARR.
It may take some time to strategize the right offers with your team, but it will be well worth it. Just make sure that you’re guiding customers towards even more stickiness with your product.
How SaaS businesses should recognize and manage revenue streams
Adding new revenue streams is great—but how do you properly recognize and manage them? The SaaS business model now needs to follow ASC 606 (IFRS 15 internationally), the accounting standard that dictates how subscription-based companies report revenue.
Here are the key things to keep in mind:
Recognize revenue when the service is delivered – SaaS revenue recognition can’t count all subscription revenue at once. Instead, spread it over the contract period (e.g., a 12-month subscription = revenue recognized monthly).
Differentiate between recurring and one-time revenue – Subscription fees should be recognized ratably over time, while one-time services (e.g., onboarding, custom development) are recognized when delivered.
Track deferred revenue – If a customer pays upfront for an annual plan, you can’t count that money as revenue immediately—it’s deferred and recognized over the contract period.
Properly account for add-ons and variable fees – Revenue from usage-based pricing, API calls, or transaction fees should be recognized as the usage occurs.
Consider revenue allocation for bundled services – If you offer premium onboarding, support, or productized services as part of a bundle, you need to allocate revenue fairly across each component.
Understanding revenue recognition not only keeps you compliant but also ensures you make data-driven business decisions for sustainable growth. Using software like Chargebee, Zuora, or Stripe Billing can help you automate revenue recognition and compliance, making it easier to scale.
