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R&D Spend % of Revenue Benchmarks

Research & Development Investment — 146companies with R&D data

Median R&D %20.0%
Top Quartile (P75)26.7%
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About R&D Spend % of Revenue

Research and development (R&D) spend as a percentage of revenue measures product investment intensity. Software companies with large engineering requirements or complex infrastructure typically maintain higher R&D spend ratios to drive technical moats and future growth.

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R&D % of Revenue Data

#CompanyTickerSectorR&D % of Revenue
1
BI
Block, Inc.		SQVertical SaaS96.2%
2
CI
C3.ai, Inc.		AIVertical SaaS91.0%
3
FI
Figma, Inc.		FIGVertical SaaS90.0%
4
NI
Netskope Inc		NTSKVertical SaaS69.9%
5
HH
Hinge Health, Inc.		HNGEVertical SaaS54.7%
6
US
Unity Software Inc.		UVertical SaaS50.4%
7
SG
Silvaco Group, Inc.		SVCOVertical SaaS49.2%
8
OI
OOMA INC		OOMAVertical SaaS48.1%
9
DI
Datadog, Inc.		DDOGDevTools & Observability44.3%
10
SI
Snowflake Inc.		SNOWData & Analytics39.4%
11
AI
Asana, Inc.		ASANProject Management36.7%
12
CI
Cerence Inc.		CRNCVertical SaaS35.8%
13
JL
JFrog Ltd		FROGVertical SaaS35.1%
14
CD
CS Disco, Inc.		LAWVertical SaaS34.8%
15
CD
CADENCE DESIGN SYSTEMS INC		CDNSVertical SaaS34.0%
16
SI
SentinelOne, Inc.		SSecurity33.2%
17
EC
EGAIN Corp		EGANVertical SaaS33.0%
18
RI
Reddit, Inc.		RDDTVertical SaaS32.6%
19
SI
ServiceTitan, Inc.		TTANVertical SaaS32.3%
20
SI
SYNOPSYS INC		SNPSVertical SaaS31.0%
21
RC
Roblox Corp		RBLXVertical SaaS30.4%
22
NR
New Relic, Inc.		NEWRDevTools & Observability30.2%
23
AI
Amplitude, Inc.		AMPLData & Analytics29.9%
24
DI
Duolingo, Inc.		DUOLVertical SaaS29.8%
25
GI
GitLab Inc.		GTLBDevTools & Observability29.8%
26
CH
CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc.		CRWDVertical SaaS29.4%
27
MG
Momentive Global Inc.		MNTVData & Analytics29.4%
28
BI
Backblaze, Inc.		BLZEVertical SaaS29.3%
29
DI
Dropbox, Inc.		DBXCloud Storage29.3%
30
RI
Rubrik, Inc.		RBRKVertical SaaS29.2%
31
MI
MongoDB, Inc.		MDBData & Analytics28.8%
32
II
Intapp, Inc.		INTAVertical SaaS28.6%
33
NI
Nutanix, Inc.		NTNXVertical SaaS28.2%
34
LI
Life360, Inc.		LIFVertical SaaS27.9%
35
WI
Workday, Inc.		WDAYHR Tech27.9%
36
HI
HubSpot, Inc.		HUBSMarketing Tech27.5%
37
CA
Clearwater Analytics Holdings, Inc.		CWANData & Analytics26.7%
38
AH
Alarm.com Holdings, Inc.		ALRMVertical SaaS26.5%
39
AT
Alkami Technology, Inc.		ALKTFintech26.2%
40
KI
KALTURA INC		KLTRVertical SaaS25.9%
41
PT
Procore Technologies, Inc.		PCORVertical SaaS25.5%
42
FI
Fastly, Inc.		FSLYVertical SaaS25.3%
43
EN
Elastic N.V.		ESTCDevTools & Observability25.1%
44
PI
PagerDuty, Inc.		PDVertical SaaS24.6%
45
BI
Box, Inc.		BOXCloud Storage24.5%
46
VI
Veritone, Inc.		VERIVertical SaaS24.4%
47
XI
Xperi Inc.		XPERVertical SaaS24.3%
48
VS
Veeva Systems Inc.		VEEVVertical SaaS23.9%
49
KI
Klaviyo, Inc.		KVYOVertical SaaS23.8%
50
GS
Guidewire Software, Inc.		GWREVertical SaaS23.8%
51
DI
Domo, Inc.		DOMOData & Analytics23.6%
52
DI
Dynatrace, Inc.		DTDevTools & Observability23.5%
53
CI
Cloudflare, Inc.		NETVertical SaaS23.5%
54
UI
UiPath, Inc.		PATHVertical SaaS23.2%
55
AC
Appian Corporation		APPNLow-Code / No-Code23.1%
56
ZI
Zuora, Inc.		ZUOFintech23.1%
57
WI
WORKIVA INC		WKVertical SaaS23.0%
58
UI
UPWORK, INC		UPWKVertical SaaS22.9%
59
AI
Autodesk, Inc.		ADSKVertical SaaS22.6%
60
SI
ServiceNow, Inc.		NOWIT Service Management22.4%
61
RI
Rapid7, Inc.		RPDVertical SaaS22.2%
62
TH
Tenable Holdings, Inc.		TENBVertical SaaS22.1%
63
BI
Braze, Inc.		BRZEMarketing Tech21.8%
64
SS
Sprout Social, Inc.		SPTMarketing Tech21.8%
65
JH
Jamf Holding Corp.		JAMFIT Service Management21.7%
66
CI
CCC Intelligent Solutions Holdings Inc.		CCCVertical SaaS21.4%
67
OI
Okta, Inc.		OKTASecurity21.3%
68
CI
Commerce.com, Inc.		CMRCVertical SaaS20.9%
69
NI
Navan, Inc.		NAVNVertical SaaS20.9%
70
BH
Bill.com Holdings, Inc.		BILLFintech20.6%
71
BS
BENTLEY SYSTEMS INC		BSYVertical SaaS20.3%
72
VT
Via Transportation, Inc.		VIAVertical SaaS20.1%
73
PI
Pegasystems Inc.		PEGALow-Code / No-Code20.0%
—
Median Benchmark
—All Sectors20.0%
74
NI
nCino, Inc.		NCNOVertical SaaS20.0%
75
DI
DOCUSIGN, INC.		DOCUVertical SaaS19.9%
76
SI
Skillz Inc.		SKLZVertical SaaS19.7%
77
FI
Freshworks Inc.		FRSHVertical SaaS19.7%
78
SI
SailPoint, Inc.		SAILVertical SaaS19.7%
79
AI
AppFolio, Inc.		APPFVertical SaaS19.6%
80
YI
Yext, Inc.		YEXTVertical SaaS19.6%
81
NI
N-able, Inc.		NABLVertical SaaS19.5%
82
MN
Model N, Inc.		MODNFintech19.2%
83
TT
The Trade Desk, Inc.		TTDMarketing Tech19.2%
84
TI
Twilio Inc.		TWLOCommunications19.2%
85
QH
Q2 Holdings, Inc.		QTWOVertical SaaS19.1%
86
DH
DigitalOcean Holdings, Inc.		DOCNCloud Infrastructure18.6%
87
LH
LiveRamp Holdings, Inc.		RAMPVertical SaaS18.0%
88
TI
Trimble Inc.		TRMBVertical SaaS18.0%
89
VS
Verint Systems Inc.		VRNTSecurity18.0%
90
ZC
Zoom Communications, Inc.		ZMCommunications17.9%
91
BI
Bandwidth Inc.		BANDCommunications17.7%
92
PI
PTC INC.		PTCVertical SaaS17.6%
93
IH
Instructure Holdings, Inc.		INSTVertical SaaS17.6%
94
QI
QUALYS, INC.		QLYSVertical SaaS17.2%
95
TC
TERADATA CORP /DE/		TDCVertical SaaS17.2%
96
BI
BLACKLINE, INC.		BLVertical SaaS16.2%
97
PH
PowerSchool Holdings, Inc.		PWSCVertical SaaS15.7%
98
CI
Coursera, Inc.		COURVertical SaaS15.3%
99
BH
BigBear.ai Holdings, Inc.		BBAI-WTVertical SaaS15.3%
100
BH
BigBear.ai Holdings, Inc.		BBAIVertical SaaS15.3%
101
CI
CarGurus, Inc.		CARGVertical SaaS15.2%
102
8I
8X8 INC /DE/		EGHTVertical SaaS15.1%
103
ZT
ZoomInfo Technologies Inc.		ZISales Intelligence15.1%
104
OC
ORACLE CORP		ORCLVertical SaaS14.9%
105
GH
GoodRx Holdings, Inc.		GDRXVertical SaaS14.8%
106
SI
Salesforce, Inc.		CRMCRM & Sales14.5%
107
3S
3D SYSTEMS CORP		DDDVertical SaaS14.1%
108
EI
EverCommerce Inc.		EVCMVertical SaaS13.7%
109
CS
COMMVAULT SYSTEMS INC		CVLTVertical SaaS13.6%
110
CS
CSG SYSTEMS INTERNATIONAL INC		CSGSVertical SaaS13.6%
111
SI
Shopify Inc.		SHOPVertical SaaS13.4%
112
FI
Five9, Inc.		FIVNCommunications13.2%
113
PH
Paylocity Holding Corporation		PCTYHR Tech13.1%
114
II
INTUIT INC.		INTUVertical SaaS13.0%
115
MA
MANHATTAN ASSOCIATES INC		MANHVertical SaaS12.7%
116
AI
AvePoint, Inc.		AVPTVertical SaaS12.6%
117
RI
RingCentral, Inc.		RNGCommunications12.6%
118
PS
Paycom Software, Inc.		PAYCHR Tech12.6%
119
BI
BLACKBAUD INC		BLKBVertical SaaS12.6%
120
DH
Definitive Healthcare Corp.		DHVertical SaaS12.4%
121
VI
Vertex, Inc.		VERXVertical SaaS11.6%
122
SI
Sprinklr, Inc.		CXMMarketing Tech11.1%
123
PT
Palantir Technologies Inc.		PLTRData & Analytics11.0%
124
MC
Microsoft Corporation		MSFTCloud Infrastructure10.8%
125
CI
Certara, Inc.		CERTVertical SaaS10.1%
126
ZG
Zeta Global Holdings Corp.		ZETAVertical SaaS9.9%
127
SC
SPS Commerce, Inc.		SPSCVertical SaaS9.1%
128
SI
Shutterstock, Inc.		SSTKVertical SaaS8.4%
129
GD
Gen Digital Inc.		GENVertical SaaS8.4%
130
GD
Gen Digital Inc.		GENVRVertical SaaS8.4%
131
NI
NERDWALLET, INC.		NRDSVertical SaaS8.3%
132
ST
SS&C Technologies Holdings Inc		SSNCVertical SaaS8.0%
133
CS
Clear Secure, Inc.		YOUVertical SaaS7.5%
134
IE
Inspired Entertainment, Inc.		INSEVertical SaaS7.1%
135
FA
FIRST ADVANTAGE CORP		FAVertical SaaS6.3%
136
GD
GRID DYNAMICS HOLDINGS, INC.		GDYNVertical SaaS6.0%
137
TI
Toast, Inc.		TOSTVertical SaaS5.9%
138
CI
CareCloud, Inc.		CCLDVertical SaaS5.9%
139
CI
CareCloud, Inc.		CCLDOVertical SaaS5.9%
140
CI
CoreWeave, Inc.		CRWVVertical SaaS5.5%
141
AD
AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING INC		ADPVertical SaaS4.6%
142
AW
ACI WORLDWIDE, INC.		ACIWVertical SaaS4.5%
143
EG
Exzeo Group, Inc.		XZOVertical SaaS4.3%
144
CC
Consensus Cloud Solutions, Inc.		CCSIVertical SaaS2.3%
145
VA
Verisk Analytics, Inc.		VRSKData & Analytics1.3%
146
TT
TAKE TWO INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE INC		TTWOVertical SaaS1.0%

What is R&D Spend as % of Revenue?

Research and development spend as a percentage of revenue measures how much a company invests in product innovation relative to its revenue base. High R&D intensity is characteristic of early-stage and infrastructure SaaS companies building deep technical moats; lower ratios are typical of mature, go-to-market-driven businesses.

Formula:R&D Ratio = Annual Research & Development Expense / Trailing 12-Month Revenue × 100

Interpretation:Public SaaS companies typically spend 15–30% of revenue on R&D. DevTools, data infrastructure, and cybersecurity companies tend to run the highest ratios. Investors use R&D ratio trends alongside gross margin to assess whether investment intensity is generating defensible product differentiation over time.

Related benchmarks

Gross Margin benchmarks →SBC Ratio benchmarks →Operating Leverage benchmarks →
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Author

Ara Housepian

Founder & Lead SaaS Analyst, Araho Digital

Ara is the founder of Araho Digital and SaaSDB. He has spent over a decade in software development, SaaS operating metrics modeling, and investment data analysis. Ara holds a degree in Computer Science and focuses on building financial tooling and data pipelines that make institutional-grade SaaS benchmarking accessible to growth operators.

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format_quoteCite This Data

Data sourced from SEC EDGAR filings · Updated daily · As of 2026-04-25

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