BetterCloud Pricing Guide: Is It The Right Solution For You?

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CloudEagle is dedicated to unraveling the complexities of the pricing structures of popular SaaS management platforms (SMP). We advocate for informed decision-making and ensure customers get the maximum ROI from their SMP investments.

When considering an SMP, pricing can significantly impact the decision-making process. However, grasping the intricacies of pricing goes beyond mere numbers. It involves aligning your organization's requirements with the value provided by the solution.

In this guide, we’ll decode BetterCloud pricing, explaining its pricing structure in detail and, more importantly, what value lies within those costs. Does the depth of its value proposition justify BetterCloud's price tag?

Dive into our guide to explore whether the features, scalability, and support justify the investment or if there are considerations beyond the numbers that significantly impact its worth to your organization's SaaS management strategy.

BetterCloud: SaaS management or just IT automation?

BetterCloud presents itself as a SaaS management platform (SMP). However, our research of BetterCloud's features reveals a primary focus on automated workflows for IT tasks. Due to the extensive SaaS management work done by IT, it indirectly falls into the category of a SaaS management platform.

BetterCloud enables IT teams to eliminate up to 78% of SaaS management work by automating onboarding, offboarding, mid-lifecycle changes, SaaS application access and entitlements, and security policies in a multi-SaaS environment.

While a typical SMP assists IT, procurement, and finance teams in SaaS management, renewal, and procurement, BetterCloud is tailored to automate IT operations. BetterCloud works with IT and Security teams of all sizes and industries who must manage their SaaS application portfolio and secure the sensitive data stored in those apps.

Let's dive into the features of BetterCloud. BetterCloud offers the following three products:

Discover

This feature involves identifying and cataloging all the SaaS applications used within an organization. BetterCloud's "Discover" capability scans the network to find these applications, even those that might be used without official approval (shadow IT). It helps create a comprehensive inventory, enabling better management and control of the SaaS ecosystem.

Manage

BetterCloud's "Manage" feature involves the governance and control of SaaS applications. It allows administrators to set policies, automate workflows, manage user access, and oversee various aspects of the applications. This feature streamlines tasks related to user provisioning, access controls, and compliance, ensuring that the SaaS applications align with organizational policies.

Secure

The "Secure" feature focuses on safeguarding SaaS applications and their data. It includes security measures such as data loss prevention, threat detection, access controls, and encryption. BetterCloud's security features aim to protect against breaches, unauthorized access, and data loss, enhancing the overall security posture within the SaaS environment.

Along with these products, BetterCloud also offers the Platform which has the following capabilities:

• Automated Workflows: Enables the creation of custom automated workflows for repetitive IT tasks, saving time and reducing manual effort.
• User Lifecycle Management: Manages user onboarding, offboarding, and modifications across various SaaS applications, ensuring consistency and security.
• Security Management: Provides a range of security measures such as data loss prevention, threat detection, access controls, and encryption to protect SaaS applications and data.
• Compliance and Governance: Help enforce compliance with industry regulations and internal policies, ensuring adherence to standards and reducing compliance risks.
• Data Insights and Reporting: Offers real-time data insights and reporting capabilities, allowing administrators to monitor SaaS usage, track changes, and identify potential issues.
• Integration Capabilities: Integrates with various SaaS applications, providing interoperability and centralized management across multiple platforms.
• Policy Enforcement: Implements and enforces policies across SaaS applications, maintaining consistency and security throughout the organization.
• Shadow IT Discovery: Identifies unauthorized or unapproved SaaS applications being used within the organization (shadow IT), enabling better management and control.
• Collaboration Control: Manages collaboration settings within SaaS applications to ensure secure user sharing and communication.

BetterCloud Pros and Cons

Here are some of the benefits that BetterCloud brings to organizations

• IT teams save several hours per day with workflow automation
• It allows companies to maintain and keep in check with compliance policies
• It offers role-based access control

However, BetterCloud also has a few disadvantages.

• BetterCloud does not save you money. In fact, according to more than 250 client reviews, BetterCloud is 13% below average in cost-cutting when it comes to SaaS management platforms.
• BetterCloud does not offer SaaS procurement or negotiation services.
• It’s reported to be notoriously difficult to cancel
• Customers note two existing versions of BetterCloud: "G.bettercloud," the outdated platform not recommended due to its sluggish, glitchy interface, and "App.BetterCloud," the updated, responsive version. Switching between G.BetterCloud and App.BetterCloud creates a functional hurdle for users. While App.BetterCloud excels in workflow capabilities, and G.BetterCloud is necessary for individual user and group interactions. This toggling disrupts workflow efficiency and user experience, posing a challenge for seamless operations.
• BetterCloud workflows are complex and logic based requiring some level of coding expertise.

BetterCloud Pricing

BetterCloud’s pricing is categorized into three plans, tailored to empower Help Desk and IT teams to manage their Google Workspace™ environment and other SaaS applications efficiently.

Here's a breakdown of BetterCloud’s pricing model:

BetterCloud for Google

This plan is designed specifically for Google Workspace™ admins; this solution provides granular controls, visibility, and automation for managing Google Workspace™. It addresses the challenges help desk teams face in administering Google Workspace™, offering tools to streamline processes and enhance efficiency.

Pro

This plan is perfect for IT and help desk teams handling multiple SaaS applications. It offers all the features of the BetterCloud for Google plan, plus unlimited integrations with other SaaS apps and workflows. This helps teams efficiently onboard, manage, and offboard employees across different platforms, cutting down on manual work and boosting productivity.

Complete

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The Complete plan is the top choice for IT and Help Desk teams aiming to enhance productivity, manage costs, and strengthen security. It builds upon the Pro plan by adding advanced features like file content scanning, automated remediation, and file activity alerts.

These features enable proactive monitoring, swift issue resolution, and robust data security, providing a comprehensive solution for organizational needs.

Each plan addresses the challenges the Help Desk and IT teams face, providing them with the essential tools and support to streamline operations, increase productivity, and reinforce security measures.

BetterCloud offers specially tailored pricing for educational institutions. It serves schools, colleges, and other educational organizations seeking to optimize the management of Google Workspace™ and other SaaS applications.

Now, let's explore the features of each plan in BetterCloud pricing.

Google Workspace Management

All three pricing models include “Google Workspace Management,” which features granular access roles and a report builder for efficient helpdesk management and thorough audit support.

SaaS Management

The basic plan offers Google-only support, while the Pro and Complete plans provide access to unlimited integrations, automated user management workflows, access to the integration center, unified view of cross-SaaS users, group management, and platform API capabilities.

Spend Management

The Basic plan exclusively supports Google applications, while the Pro and Complete plans offer features such as application usage reporting, app discovery, license reclamation, and Track by BetterCloud for premium spend management across a wider range of SaaS environments.

Security

The Basic plan exclusively supports Google applications, while the Pro plan offers file security reporting, API access for reporting, and app permissions and risk reporting.

The Complete plan includes all Pro plan features and adds content scanning, file activity alerts, and automated remediation for enhanced security management across various applications and files.

Our thoughts

When it comes to managing Google Workspace™ and other SaaS applications, you must look beyond just BetterCloud. While BetterCloud does offer tailored solutions, there's a standout alternative: CloudEagle.

CloudEagle is known for its affordability compared to BetterCloud’s pricing and robust features for managing and negotiating SaaS services. Unlike BetterCloud’s pricing, CloudEagle provides clear and transparent pricing, ensuring you know exactly what you're paying without hidden fees.

Moreover, CloudEagle's user-friendly interface makes it easy for teams to understand and use effectively. This simplicity can lead to faster adoption and smoother integration into your existing workflows, ultimately saving you time and resources.

When deciding between BetterCloud and CloudEagle, consider your organization's specific goals. If you're focused on automating IT operations and enhancing access control, BetterCloud might seem attractive. However, if your priority is to reduce SaaS expenses and implement a comprehensive management solution, CloudEagle is the better choice.

While BetterCloud has its strengths, exploring alternatives like CloudEagle can offer your business better outcomes in terms of cost-effectiveness, transparency, and usability. Ultimately, the decision depends on your organization's unique needs and objectives for managing SaaS services.

A few additional drawbacks are tied to BetterCloud's pricing model:

• Costly for Small Businesses: For small businesses or startups with limited budgets, BetterCloud's pricing might seem relatively high. The pricing plans might include features that aren’t necessary for smaller teams, making it less cost-effective for them.
• Complexity in Pricing Tiers: Sometimes, the pricing tiers might be complex, making it challenging for users to determine which plan best suits their needs. This complexity could lead to overpaying for features they might not use fully or underutilizing features in a plan they've chosen.
• Additional Costs for Advanced Features: While BetterCloud's base pricing might seem reasonable, additional costs for more advanced or specialized features could add up quickly. This could create unexpected expenses for users who require those specific functionalities.
• Limited Flexibility: Some users might find the pricing structure lacks flexibility, especially if they need a custom package or want to add specific features without subscribing to a higher-priced plan. This lack of flexibility might not align well with certain users' needs.
• Price Increases: As with many subscription-based services, there's always the potential for price increases over time. While this is common in the industry due to updates, improvements, and inflation, it can be a concern for businesses operating on a tight budget.

Some competitors offer transparent pricing structures featuring clear breakdowns of features across different tiers, simplifying the selection process according to your budget and requirements.

Exploring solutions with customizable features and tailored support can further address your unique challenges and goals. However, there is a significant consideration in their pricing plan.

When examining various SaaS management platforms like CloudEagle, Vendr, Zylo, and Productiv, a common theme emerges annual software spending and savings. Most platforms adjust their pricing plans depending on an organization's annual SaaS expenditure, with pricing plans and savings fluctuating accordingly.

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Take CloudEagle, for example. If your annual SaaS spending ranges from $1 million to $2.5 million, CloudEagle guarantees savings of $500,000, with pricing plans starting at $2,000 monthly. The more you spend, the greater the guaranteed savings and pricing flexibility.

However, Zluri lacks these distinct savings guarantees or differentiators. As a potential buyer, you may not have clear visibility into the cost of each plan or add-on without direct discussions with their team.

BetterCloud might be suitable for IT organizations with a less flexible spending approach. However, if you prefer transparent pricing and advanced features, alternatives like CloudEagle offer cost-effective pricing plans and comprehensive services.

Why CloudEagle over BetterCloud?

We operate on the three S's approach: See, Save, and Streamline.

See: Our CloudEagle platform offers a bird's-eye view of your SaaS ecosystem, providing a comprehensive understanding of software spending and user actions. Automating data extraction saves your team valuable time.

Save: Our platform detects duplicate and unused applications, optimizing your software assortment. Additionally, our benchmarking data supports vendor negotiations, securing the best deals. By taking care of your SaaS procurement and negotiation, we help save time and money.

Streamline: Our platform simplifies SaaS management. Automated renewal workflows with 90-day notifications ensure deadlines are met while saving time and effort. We streamline operations by automating repetitive tasks like onboarding, offboarding, access requests, and procurement.

Here is a feature-by-feature comparison of CloudEagle and BetterCloud:

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CloudEagle offers a comprehensive suite of services, ranging from SaaS management and identity access management (IAM) to spend management and procurement. The tool caters to a wider range of needs than BetterCloud, which is primarily tailored for IT teams.

CloudEagle’s SaaSMap, our mega database of 150K+ apps, powers our decisions for managing and renewing SaaS apps. CloudEagle’s 300+ integrations already cover most of your apps, and we do not charge extra for any new integration.

Unmatched insights from our benchmarking data reveal how much you pay a vendor relative to peers. BetterCloud does not offer price benchmarking data. 5 minutes of setup and a few hours to complete visibility since our platform and team do the heavy lifting

Key features of CloudEagle

Application discovery: The tool provides complete visibility into your SaaS stack, covering spending, licenses, workflows, and users with CloudEagle. Through real-time alerts, you can proactively prevent shadow IT and overspending.

Cost optimization: Identify and eliminate redundant and underutilized resources, optimizing SaaS expenditure. Automate license deprovisioning based on usage limits to maximize savings. At every point, you can see how much you have saved and your potential savings on the platform.

Assisted buying services: You can leverage our team of SaaS buying experts to streamline negotiations if your procurement team is unavailable or lacks the necessary time and bandwidth. Our expert negotiation services offer your procurement teams the advantage of saving time and effort. Our experts conduct usage analysis and work to secure favorable deals on your behalf.

Vendor research simplified: You can streamline your vendor search process with our AI-powered tool, saving you time and optimizing software expenses by efficiently identifying the right products.

Slack-enabled procurement workflows: Automate SaaS procurement workflows with CloudEagle's Slack-integrated solution, enabling purchase requests directly from Slack. You can also create private Slack channels to foster collaboration and informed decision-making.

One of our customers stated,

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Read the complete case study here.

License reclamation workflows: If your organization encounters issues with underutilized licenses or wastage, automate license harvesting with CloudEagle's advanced SaaS management platform. CloudEagle analyzes application usage and helps you effectively reclaim unused licenses by utilizing license reclamation workflows.

Contract management: The tool centralizes contract and invoice management. Securely store documents, retrieve them with dynamic filters and automate contract creation.

Renewal workflows: Keep track of contract renewals with CloudEagle's automated workflows and reminders. Analyze usage data and enhance renewal negotiations with timely alerts. CloudEagle presents all the contract-related information in the form of convenient renewal cards for faster access to data at the time of renewal.

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Provisioning and deprovisioning workflows: You can simplify user identity and access management with CloudEagle. When new employees join, easily automate onboarding to provide them with SaaS access. Similarly, when they leave, streamline offboarding processes to ensure precise and efficient access control.

CloudEagle pricing

CloudEagle has transparent pricing with three pricing plans: Starter, Growth, and Enterprise. Each has its own set of functionalities.

Here's a breakdown of CloudEagle’s pricing model:

Starter

This plan is perfect for small teams requiring efficient application management, starting at $2000/month, and is customizable to team size. It offers features such as app usage visibility, spend overview, and basic reports. Additionally, it provides access to over 300 app integrations, contract management, and renewal reports for comprehensive SaaS management.

Growth

This is our popular plan for expanding companies, starting at $3000/month. It includes everything in the Starter plan, plus license management, optimization insights, and advanced reporting. This plan also offers different workflows and self-service access requests.

Enterprise

This plan provides complete visibility for enterprises managing multiple applications, starting at $4000/month. It includes Growth features, with added functionalities like employee onboarding/offboarding, procurement requests, and custom reports. The plan also offers approval requests via Slack/Teams and access to SaaS research and consulting services.

The plans are straightforward and intuitive. You gain access to more advanced features as you move up the tiers. Importantly, there are no hidden costs for specific integrations, support, onboarding, and other services.

Based on your annual software spend, we guarantee specific savings. Please check it out here.

CloudEagle also has an SaaS buying add-on services that can be opted by organizations in need of negotiation assistance.

Do you want to find the perfect plan for your needs? Visit our pricing page and explore the 'Compare all plans' section to make an informed decision.

So, what's the verdict?

While CloudEagle and BetterCloud offer similar features, organizations increasingly prefer CloudEagle due to its strengths in areas such as SaaS buying services, workflow capabilities, and transparent pricing.

If you're looking for a SaaS management solution that handles SaaS, streamlines your procurement processes, and enhances your Identity and Access Management, CloudEagle is the ideal choice.

Schedule a demo with our experts now for a quick, guided tour of our platform!

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