Five kinds of SaaS marketing agency. Most firms are strongest in one or two.
01/ the job
What a SaaS marketing agency does and what makes it different
A SaaS marketing agency plans and runs the marketing that brings in, converts and expands subscription software customers.
In practice that means some mix of positioning, SEO and content, paid search and social, demand generation, conversion work on trial and demo pages, and the reporting that ties it to pipeline and revenue.
The word that matters is SaaS.
A generalist B2B agency can run good LinkedIn ads.
A SaaS specialist should also know whether your next dollar belongs in trial activation or in demo volume, how long you can wait for CAC to pay back, and why an upsell campaign may beat a new-logo campaign.
If the agency cannot talk about those numbers, it is a marketing agency that happens to have SaaS clients.
A marketing agency for SaaS usually works in one of three ways: a single-channel specialist (SEO, paid), a multi-channel demand generation partner, or an outsourced marketing team led by a fractional CMO.
A go-to-market agency goes one step wider again, into ICP, sales process and RevOps.
How SaaS marketing differs trials, ARR and payback
Five things a SaaS marketing agency has to plan around that most B2B agencies never see.
Every benchmark links to its publisher.
What differsWhat the benchmark saysSource
Buyers trial before they buyMore than 60% of business buyers use a trial to evaluate solutions; 78% of buyers making purchases of $10 million or more trial firstForrester
A trial is not a saleJust over a third of trialing buyers said they planned to convert to a paid version with the same providerForrester
CAC has to pay backMedian CAC payback of 25, 21 and 20 months for 2022, 2023 and 2024 (estimate); top quartile 15, 16 and 14 monthsKeyBanc & Sapphire
Payback targets depend on segmentBessemer suggests targeting under 12 months for SMB, under 18 for mid-market and under 24 for enterpriseBessemer Venture Partners
Revenue grows after the saleMedian net revenue retention of 101% and gross retention of 91% in 2025SaaS Capital
Expansion closes fasterExpansion deals close in 52 days on average against 91 days for new business; expansion drives 52% of revenueEbsta and Pavilion
Growth is recovering, slowlyMedian ARR growth expected to rise from 15% in 2024 to 20% in 2025KeyBanc Capital Markets
Read these as context, not targets.
Each survey has its own sample: KeyBanc's 2024 survey had 104 respondents (fewer answered each metric), SaaS Capital's more than 1,000 private B2B SaaS companies, Ebsta and Pavilion's covers opportunities in their customers' CRMs.
03/ ARR economics
Why ARR economics change the marketing plan payback, retention, expansion
CAC payback is how many months of gross-margin revenue it takes to recover what you spent to win a customer.
A marketing plan that doubles leads but stretches payback past your segment's limit is not growth; it is burn.
Net revenue retention (NRR) is revenue kept from last year's customers, including upsells, minus churn and downgrades.
At a 101% median, the typical company barely grows from its base.
So SaaS marketing does not stop at the closed deal: onboarding content, in-product prompts and expansion campaigns are marketing jobs too.
And expansion is now a big share of the number.
In the 2024 KeyBanc survey, upsells and expansion made up about 45% of new ARR overall, and the share rose with company size.
An agency that only knows new-logo acquisition is working on half the problem.
04/ your motion
PLG vs sales-led SaaS marketing the agency you need depends on it
Product-led (PLG)Sales-led
Main conversionSignup, activation, upgradeDemo booked, opportunity, closed-won
What marketing optimizesSignup volume and activation ratePipeline from ICP accounts
Channels that usually leadSEO, content, paid search, in-productLinkedIn, ABM, outbound, events, search
Typical ACVLower; many small accountsHigher; fewer, larger accounts
Agency to look forSEO and conversion specialists who report on signupsDemand gen or GTM agencies who report on pipeline
→ Most B2B SaaS above a few million ARR runs both: a product-led entry and a sales-assist path for larger accounts. The agency has to handle the handoff between them.
Free trialFreemium
"Good" free-to-paid conversion8% to 12%3% to 5% (self-serve); 5% to 7% with sales assist
"Great" free-to-paid conversion15% to 25%6% to 8% (self-serve); 10% to 15% with sales assist
Where marketing effort goesGetting the right people into the trial, and activating them fastVolume at the top, then upgrade prompts and sales assist
Median CAC payback fell from 25 to 20 months; top-quartile companies sat at 14 to 16 months. Source: KeyBanc Capital Markets & Sapphire Ventures SaaS Survey 2024 (2024 figures are estimates).
05/ agency types
Which type of SaaS marketing agency? pick the constraint, see the type
Five types, each built for a different problem.
Pick the one that sounds most like you.
What is holding growth back right now?
SEO and content
A SaaS SEO agency
Organic search and, increasingly, visibility in AI answers (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews).
Best when buyers search for your category and you have the patience for compounding results.
✓ Commercial pages first: comparisons, alternatives, use cases
✓ Content measured on signups or demos, not traffic
✓ Technical SEO and site migrations
✓ Six to twelve months to judge
Examples on this page: Skale, Omniscient Digital, SimpleTiger, Team 4.
Paid acquisition
A SaaS paid acquisition agency
Google, LinkedIn, Meta and other paid channels, with the creative and landing pages behind them.
Best when you have a proven offer and need volume fast.
✓ Search for buyers already in market
✓ LinkedIn for ICP and account lists
✓ Creative testing at volume
✓ Ad spend is separate from the fee
Examples on this page: Hey Digital, Refine Labs, Powered by Search.
Demand generation
A SaaS demand generation agency
Brand and demand together: content and paid to reach buyers before they are in market, plus capture when they are.
Eleven firms whose own websites put SaaS (or B2B software) at the center of what they do.
Each entry says what the firm does, who it says it is for, and its published prices where it has any.
GTM Quest is listed first because this is our page; the rest are in no ranked order within each group.
UK-based
01
GTM Quest
Our firm
London, UK · Founded 2024 · Dan Keegan, founder
A London GTM agency for B2B SaaS that works on the whole motion rather than one channel: ICP and positioning first, then founder-led LinkedIn content and ads, signal-led outbound in Clay, and the CRM, RevOps and measurement plan underneath, judged on pipeline.
Best for: B2B SaaS with product-market fit whose pipeline still depends on the founder, or whose marketing and sales numbers do not reconcile
ICP and positioningLinkedIn content and adsSignal-led outbound (Clay)CRM, RevOps and measurement planSelf-reported attributionFractional GTM leadership
Methods
The Quest System (Neon + Clay + Claude Code)
Published pricing
Scoped and quoted in writing after the discovery call.
02
Gripped
London, UK · Founded 2017 · Steve Eveleigh and Ben Crouch, founders
A London B2B marketing agency for SaaS and tech companies, founded by a former CMO and CPO of SaaS businesses, running demand generation, paid media, SEO and ABM against pipeline; it says 70% of its clients are in the UK and Europe and 30% in the US.
Best for: SaaS and tech companies that want one agency across paid, SEO and demand generation, with published prices
Demand generationPaid searchPaid social (LinkedIn)SEO and GEOAccount-based marketingMarketing ops and reporting
Methods
Fixed monthly retainer by tier
Published pricing
From £3,500 a month plus project fees; from £7,500 a month for one or two channels; from £15,000 a month for full demand generation. "A typical investment is £5K-£15K per month"; paid media budgets excluded. Source ↗
A small London agency that says it works only with B2B SaaS and technology companies, from seed to £20M+ ARR, running SEO, AI search visibility (GEO), PPC, Webflow and conversion as one "Inbound Engine", with the founders doing the work.
Best for: B2B SaaS from seed to £20M+ ARR that wants search-led inbound from a senior, hands-on team
London, UK (per its LinkedIn page); international team including Barcelona and Cape Town · Founded 2019 (per its LinkedIn page) · Italo Viale and Jake Stainer, co-founders
An AI search-first organic growth agency for tech and SaaS brands, focused on SQLs, pipeline and revenue rather than traffic, covering SEO strategy, content production, link building and AI search visibility; a co-founder previously led growth at Typeform.
Best for: Product-led and growth-stage SaaS that wants SEO and AI search measured on signups and MRR
Kirkland, Washington · Founded 2018 · Antoine Vial, CEO (founded by Stijn Hendrikse)
An outsourced B2B SaaS marketing department led by an Associate CMO and built on its T2D3 playbook, sold in three models by ARR stage: T2D3 systems (pre-PMF to $1M), Syntropy leadership ($1M to $5M) and full service ($5M to $10M), with pay-per-performance available.
Best for: B2B SaaS from pre-product-market fit to $10M ARR that wants a whole marketing team rather than one channel
A demand generation firm that says it works with B2B SaaS companies at Series B and beyond, running paid media, creative and demand strategy with a Director of Demand Generation, and known for self-reported attribution; it publishes its prices.
Best for: Series B and later B2B SaaS with real paid budgets whose current approach is not producing pipeline
Demand strategyPaid media (LinkedIn, Google, Meta, YouTube, CTV, OOH)Creative and messagingPipeline measurement and board reportingRevenue performance assessment
Methods
Brand. Demand. Expand.
Published pricing
Paid media from $14,000 a month (six-month minimum); full demand and media service from $26,000 a month (six-month minimum); creative only from $5,000 a month (three-month minimum); six-week revenue performance assessment from $35,000. Source ↗
Irvine, California (offices including London and Toronto) · Founded 2013 · Garrett Mehrguth, CEO and co-founder
A B2B performance marketing agency with a dedicated B2B SaaS practice, combining content and SEO, paid media, performance creative and RevOps under its DiscoverabilityOS method, and reporting on CAC, payback and qualified pipeline rather than MQLs.
Best for: Series A to IPO SaaS and tech companies buying paid and organic acquisition at scale
Toronto, Canada (remote team in 8+ countries) · Founded 2009 · Dev Basu, CEO
A B2B SaaS and technology marketing agency running paid media, SEO and LLM visibility, ABM and fractional RevOps through its Predictable Growth Model, with senior strategists and no account managers; it publishes tiered prices for each service.
Best for: B2B SaaS spending $15K+ a month on growth with a marketing or RevOps lead in-house
Paid media managementSEO and LLM visibilityAccount-based marketingFractional RevOpsContent and landing pages
Methods
Predictable Growth Model
Published pricing
Paid media from $6,000 a month; SEO and LLM ranking from $9,000 a month; fractional RevOps from $7,200 a month (lower figures shown with a "save 20%" option); $2.5K Power Hour or $14.9K Pipeline Audit as a pilot. Source ↗
Fully remote (Hey Digital OÜ, Estonia); team across 22+ countries · Founded 2018 · Dylan Hey, CEO and co-founder; Celia Hey, co-founder
A performance marketing agency that says it works exclusively with B2B SaaS, handling paid strategy, execution, in-house creative and reporting across Google, LinkedIn, Meta, YouTube, Reddit and Bing; it says it manages $2.3M+ in monthly ad spend.
Best for: B2B SaaS teams ready to run paid ads but without the in-house time, creative capacity or SaaS-specific paid expertise
Austin, Texas (plus New York, San Francisco, Chicago and Boston) · Alex Birkett, Allie Konchar and David Ly Khim, co-founders
An organic growth agency for B2B software companies covering SEO strategy, generative engine optimization, programmatic and technical SEO, content production, digital PR and link building, led by founders who ran growth and content at HubSpot, Shopify and Workato.
Best for: B2B software companies with product-market fit and the budget for a full content and SEO program
Sarasota, Florida · Jeremiah Smith, CEO, and Sean Smith, CSO, co-founders
A B2B SaaS marketing agency built around a "pipeline engine" across SEO, AI search visibility (GEO and AEO), paid search and social, content and lifecycle email, sold as tiered packages from early-stage to enterprise.
Best for: SaaS and AI companies from seed stage up that want search-led demand with paid and lifecycle alongside
Every firm was checked on its own website on October 16, 2026.
We only included firms whose site states a SaaS or B2B software focus.
Nobody paid to appear here.
Prices appear only where a firm publishes them; "not published" means we looked and found no figure.
08/ what it costs
What a SaaS marketing agency costs published prices only
Most agencies quote after a call.
These are the firms on this page that publish prices on their own sites.
Ad spend is extra in every case.
FirmWhat it publishesSource
Team 4 (London)Engagements typically start at £3,500 a monthTeam 4
Gripped (London)From £3,500 a month plus project fees; from £7,500 for one or two channels; from £15,000 for full demand generation. "A typical investment is £5K-£15K per month"Gripped pricing
Powered by Search (Toronto)Paid media from $6,000 a month; SEO and LLM visibility from $9,000; fractional RevOps from $7,200; a $14.9K pipeline audit. Lower figures shown with a "save 20%" optionPowered by Search pricing
Omniscient Digital (Austin)Full-service engagements start at $10,000 a monthOmniscient Digital
Refine Labs (Boston)Paid media from $14,000 a month; full demand and media service from $26,000 (six-month minimum); creative only from $5,000; a six-week assessment from $35,000Refine Labs pricing
SimpleTiger (Sarasota)No fixed fee; says each SEO package starts at 5% of revenue or funding for the stage it targetsSimpleTiger pricing
GTM Quest (London)Scoped and quoted in writing after the discovery call; fees, ad spend and tools as separate linesNot applicable
What drives the price. The number of channels, the volume of content or creative, whether strategy and reporting sit on top, and the minimum term.
Kalungi, Directive, Skale and Hey Digital publish no prices; figures you see for them on comparison sites are third-party estimates.
A sense check. If the agency fee plus ad spend for a quarter, divided by the new ARR it is expected to produce, implies a payback far beyond the Bessemer targets for your segment, the plan needs to change before you sign.
09/ before you sign
How to choose a B2B SaaS marketing agency eight questions to ask
01
Which motion have you grown?
PLG, sales-led or both.
Ask for a client like you: similar ACV, similar buyer, similar stage.
02
What will you report on?
Signups and activation for PLG; pipeline and closed-won for sales-led.
Ask to see a real monthly report.
03
What CAC payback should we expect?
A specialist will answer with a range and its assumptions.
Check it against your segment's target.
04
What is your measurement plan?
UTMs, CRM fields, self-reported source, and how trials and demos are tied to accounts.
Ask before launch, not after.
05
Who does the work?
Named people, their SaaS experience, and the share of senior time after the pitch.
06
Do you work on expansion?
Upsell and retention campaigns, not only new logos.
Expansion is a large share of SaaS growth.
07
How is ad spend handled?
Fee, ad spend and tools as separate lines.
Ask whether the fee scales with spend.
08
How do we leave?
Minimum term, notice period, and who owns the ad accounts, content, data and dashboards.
You should.
10/ walk away
Red flags in a SaaS agency proposal what we would question
Traffic or MQL targets only
Neither is revenue.
For SaaS the report has to reach signups, activation, pipeline or ARR.
No question about your ACV
Without ACV and gross margin, nobody can say whether the plan pays back.
Same plan for PLG and sales-led
They convert in different places.
One template for both means nobody looked.
Long minimum term, no exit
Six months can be reasonable for SEO or paid.
Twelve months with no performance clause is not.
Fee tied to ad spend
If the fee rises with spend, the incentive is to spend more, not better.
"SaaS clients" but no SaaS metrics
Logos on the site are not expertise.
Ask how they would raise your NRR.
11/ GTM agency or marketing agency
When a GTM agency fits better than a SaaS marketing agency
A marketing agency runs channels.
A GTM agency works on who you sell to, how marketing and sales hand off, and the systems underneath.
GTM agencySaaS marketing agency
Starts withICP, positioning and the sales processChannels and campaigns
MeasurementA measurement plan from first touch to closed-wonChannel reporting, sometimes to pipeline
Best whenPipeline depends on the founder; marketing and sales numbers don't reconcileGTM works; one channel needs to scale
Leaves behindA documented GTM playbook and the systems to run itCampaigns, content and ad accounts
→ If your problem is one channel, hire a specialist from the list. If it is the whole motion, a GTM agency or a GTM consultant is the better first hire.
Three signs you need a GTM agency for B2B SaaS rather than a marketing agency: the founder still sources most pipeline; nobody agrees what a qualified opportunity is; and the CRM cannot say which channel produced last quarter's revenue.
That is where we work: ICP and positioning, LinkedIn content and ads, signal-led outbound in Clay, and the CRM and RevOps underneath.
The questions SaaS founders and marketing leaders ask before hiring an agency, answered with sources.
An agency that plans and runs marketing for subscription software companies, and plans around SaaS numbers: trials, ARR, CAC payback and net revenue retention.
Some mix of positioning, SEO and content, paid acquisition, demand generation, conversion work on trial and demo pages, and reporting tied to pipeline.
The one built for your constraint: an SEO specialist if buyers can't find you, a paid specialist for fast pipeline, a GTM agency if marketing and sales don't add up.
Of the firms that publish prices, Team 4 and Gripped start at £3,500 a month, Omniscient Digital at $10,000 a month and Refine Labs' full service at $26,000 a month.
A SaaS marketing agency that specializes in organic search and, now, visibility in AI answers, ideally measured on signups or demos rather than traffic.
Skale, Omniscient Digital, SimpleTiger and Team 4 on our list lead with SEO.
Not quite.
Growth marketing agencies run experiments across the funnel for many kinds of company; a SaaS marketing agency is defined by its client type.
On this page, Hey Digital (paid only, B2B SaaS only), Refine Labs (paid media from $14,000 a month) and Powered by Search lead with paid.
Ask any of them for CAC payback, not just cost per lead.
UTMs and CRM fields that tie every trial, demo and opportunity to an account and source, a self-reported "how did you hear about us?" field, and a monthly view of pipeline, CAC payback and NRR.