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Key Takeaways
- Salesforce is the most widely used software vendor in every segment in Q3 2026, used by 59% of enterprise, 69% of mid-market and 60% of SMB companies in the Tropic network.
- Mid-market companies joined the pruning. All 15 of the most-used mid-market tools lost adoption in Q3 2026, led by GitHub (-4.4pp), Figma (-4.1pp) and HubSpot (-4.1pp).
- Three tools lost adoption in all three segments: GitHub, Figma and DocuSign.
- Enterprise is consolidating around platforms. Microsoft (+2.1pp) and Workday (+1.9pp) gained, while Adobe (-4.3pp) and GitHub (-3.0pp) posted the biggest enterprise drops.
The most commonly used software tools haven't changed much: Salesforce, Zoom, DocuSign, Adobe and Okta sit near the top of every segment. What's changing is how many companies keep paying for them. In Q1 2026, SMBs were pruning their stacks while mid-market and enterprise companies swapped tools. In Q3 2026, mid-market companies started cutting too, while SMB pruning slowed and enterprises kept consolidating around a few large platforms.
The data comes from Tropic's network of $25B+ in spend under management. For more live market data, visit the Intelligence Hub.
What Are the Most Commonly Used Software Tools by Company Size?
Salesforce is the most widely used tool in every segment, followed by a mix of collaboration, security and developer tools that looks similar from SMB to enterprise. Adoption is the share of companies in each segment that hold a contract with the vendor.
Two details stand out. OpenAI is now a top-15 tool in both mid-market and SMB, used by roughly a third of companies in each. And mid-market companies run the highest adoption rates across the board, with DocuSign, Zoom and Adobe all used by about half the segment or more. That makes mid-market the segment where the biggest vendors have the most to lose.
Wondering how your stack compares? Tropic's supplier landscape and pricing benchmarks show what companies your size use and pay.
Which Software Tools Gained or Lost Adoption in Q3 2026?
Most of the top tools lost adoption in Q3 2026: 34 of the 45 segment slots declined from Q2. Mid-market saw a decline on every one of its top 15 tools.
The gains were small and concentrated. No tool in any segment gained more than about 2 points, while a dozen lost 3 points or close to it.
Mid-market companies have started pruning their stacks the way SMBs did earlier this year. Every one of the 15 most-used mid-market tools lost adoption in Q3 2026, the broadest decline of any segment.
In Q1 2026, mid-market looked like a segment that was swapping, not cutting. Collaboration tools like Zoom and Adobe were losing share, while revenue and finance platforms like Gong, NetSuite and GitHub were gaining. In Q3, the swap turned into a trim. Gong (-2.4pp), NetSuite (-1.6pp) and GitHub (-4.4pp) all reversed, joining the collaboration tools on the way down.
The biggest drops came from tools facing overlap or new AI alternatives. Our read on each:
- GitHub (-4.4pp) as engineering teams rethink their development stack around AI coding tools
- Figma (-4.1pp) as AI design and prototyping tools take on early-stage work
- HubSpot (-4.1pp) as GTM teams test AI-native alternatives for outreach and marketing
- DocuSign (-3.8pp) as e-signature gets bundled into contract and procurement platforms
Mid-market companies also carry the highest adoption rates of any segment. DocuSign, Zoom and Adobe are each used by roughly half the segment or more, so there's simply more overlap to cut. With AI budgets growing and headcount flat, many mid-market teams appear to be funding new tools by trimming the ones they already have. Tropic's SaaS budgeting guide covers how to plan for that tradeoff.
Are SMBs Still Cutting Software Tools?
Yes, but more selectively. Nine of the 15 most-used SMB tools lost adoption in Q3 2026, down from nearly all 15 in Q1. Six tools gained ground: Adobe (+2.0pp), Okta (+1.9pp), Salesforce (+0.5pp), OpenAI (+0.3pp), Zoom (+0.3pp) and Slack (+0.2pp).
The SMB pattern now looks less like blanket pruning and more like a stack settling into its core. Salesforce, Slack, Zoom and OpenAI held steady. Adobe recovered after losing 5 points earlier in the year. And Okta's gain fits a broader trend we saw in our Q3 fastest-growing vendors rankings, where security tools like Vanta and CrowdStrike grew fastest with SMBs.
The cuts were concentrated:
- Datadog (-4.4pp), the biggest SMB drop. Observability costs scale quickly, and smaller teams are reconsidering whether they need a full platform.
- GitHub (-4.1pp) and Figma (-3.4pp), matching their declines in the other two segments.
- DocuSign (-3.8pp), down sharply for the second time this year.
OpenAI is worth watching here. It's now used by 31% of SMBs, enough to crack the segment's top 15, and it held its position while most of the list declined. For many smaller teams, a general-purpose AI tool is becoming core infrastructure alongside Salesforce and Slack.
What Software Are Enterprises Adding and Cutting?
Enterprises are consolidating around large platforms and trimming standalone tools. Six of the 15 most-used enterprise tools gained adoption in Q3 2026, more than in either other segment, and the biggest gains went to the platforms enterprises already run on.
Gaining: Microsoft (+2.1pp), Workday (+1.9pp), LinkedIn (+1.9pp), 1Password (+1.1pp), ZoomInfo (+1.0pp) and Snowflake (+0.9pp). Microsoft and Snowflake also led enterprise gains in Q1.
Losing: Adobe (-4.3pp), GitHub (-3.0pp), Salesforce (-2.9pp) and Figma (-2.2pp) posted the biggest declines. Salesforce is still the most-used enterprise tool by a wide margin at 59%, but a near 3-point drop for the category leader is notable.
The split follows a familiar enterprise logic. When a company already pays for Microsoft 365 or a data platform like Snowflake, every new AI capability inside it makes a standalone tool harder to justify. Design, creative and developer tools face that pressure first, as Microsoft and other platforms add AI features that cover part of the same ground.
Asana, one of the Q1 enterprise gainers, is no longer in the enterprise top 15.
The vendors gaining share here have little reason to discount. For a broader look at how large platforms use AI to justify price increases, see our analysis of the AI tax and the H1 2026 AI pricing trends report.
Which Software Tools Are Losing Users Across Every Company Size?
Three tools lost adoption in all three segments in Q3 2026: GitHub, Figma and DocuSign. When a tool declines in SMB, mid-market and enterprise at once, it points to a category-wide shift, not one segment's budget cycle.
GitHub and Figma posted the steepest, most consistent drops. Both serve teams where AI is changing the work fastest. AI coding tools like Cursor and Claude Code are reshaping how engineering teams build, and AI design and prototyping tools now handle work that used to start in Figma. Both remain widely used, but companies appear to be cutting seats as fewer people need full licenses.
"The tools losing users everywhere aren't failing. They're being squeezed by AI from one side and platform bundles from the other."
DocuSign faces a different pressure: bundling. E-signature is now built into many contract and procurement platforms, and when the same capability comes free with something you already pay for, the standalone contract becomes the first to go. Zoom shows the same pressure in mid-market, where it lost 3 points as video calling comes bundled with Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, though it held roughly steady in enterprise and edged up in SMB.
Datadog: the Q1 signal held
In Q1, we flagged Datadog's 4-point enterprise drop and said that if it held, observability vendors would become more open to negotiation. It held. Datadog's enterprise adoption slipped another point in Q3 2026, and it posted the single biggest SMB drop of the quarter at -4.4pp. If Datadog is part of your stack, you likely have more leverage at renewal than you did a year ago.
Falling adoption is leverage. A vendor losing users in your segment is fighting to keep the ones it has, and that shows up at the negotiating table. Here's how to use it by company size.
SMB
- Bring alternatives to every renewal. Nine of your 15 most-used tools lost adoption this quarter. Vendors are watching churn closely, so a credible substitute is your strongest card.
- Ask about retention for companies your size. A vendor losing SMB customers knows it, and that question signals you know it too.
- Don't overbuy security. Okta, Vanta and CrowdStrike are gaining with SMBs, but start with the coverage you need and negotiate uplift protection before you scale.
Mid-market
- Treat every top-15 renewal as negotiable. All 15 of your segment's most-used tools lost adoption in Q3. That's the strongest buyer position in the data.
- Audit seats before you renew. GitHub, Figma and HubSpot dropped more than 4 points each. If your teams use them less, right-size licenses first, then negotiate price. Tropic's Renewal Agent helps you start early.
- Make the consolidation case. If you're paying full price for DocuSign, Zoom or Adobe alongside a platform that covers the same ground, the argument for a lower price is already half made.
Enterprise
- Expect little flexibility from the gainers. Microsoft, Workday and Snowflake are gaining share and won't budge much on price. Negotiate price caps, contract length and seat commitments instead.
- Use the declines. Adobe, GitHub, Figma and even Salesforce lost enterprise adoption. Bring that context, and current pricing benchmarks, to your next renewal.
- Revisit observability. Datadog's enterprise decline has now continued for two quarters of our reporting. Test the market before you renew.
For real-time supplier changes, follow Tropic's live supplier alerts, and see the State of Software Procurement 2026 for broader benchmarks.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most commonly used software tool for businesses? Salesforce is the most widely used software vendor across SMB, mid-market and enterprise companies in the Tropic network as of Q3 2026. It's used by 69% of mid-market, 60% of SMB and 59% of enterprise companies.
What software do mid-market companies use most? The most-used mid-market tools in Q3 2026 were Salesforce, DocuSign, Zoom, Adobe and Okta. All 15 of the segment's most-used tools lost adoption from Q2, the broadest decline of any segment.
Are companies cutting SaaS tools in 2026? Yes. Across SMB, mid-market and enterprise, 33 of the 45 top-15 positions across SMB, mid-market and enterprise lost adoption in Q3 2026. Mid-market cut most broadly, SMB cut more selectively and enterprise consolidated around platforms like Microsoft, Workday and Snowflake.
Which software tools are losing users? GitHub, Figma and DocuSign lost adoption in every segment in Q3 2026. GitHub and Figma posted the steepest drops, falling 2 to 4.4 points depending on company size.
How does declining adoption affect software negotiations? Vendors losing adoption in your segment are under pressure to keep existing customers, which gives you leverage at renewal. Bring alternatives, right-size seats first and use current pricing benchmarks to push for better terms.
How does Tropic measure software adoption? Adoption is the share of companies in each segment with an active contract for a given vendor, measured across Tropic's customer network. Quarter-over-quarter changes compare Q3 2026 to Q2 2026.
