How to Create a SaaS App with AI in 7 Easy Steps (2026 Guide)

TL;DR: SaaS apps are centrally hosted, subscription-based software products that require multi-tenant architecture, user authentication, billing, and data management as foundational components. Builders can choose between traditional development (expensive, slow, full control), AI vibe-coding (fast but unpredictable and difficult to secure or iterate), or AI-powered visual development (affordable, fast, and fully controllable without coding).

Software as a Service (SaaS) app development is the process of building software that is hosted centrally and licensed to users on a subscription basis. Unlike traditional software you install once on your computer, users access a SaaS app through a web browser or mobile device, paying a recurring fee for access.

This model has become the standard for modern software because it lowers the barrier to entry for users — no large upfront costs or complex installation — and provides a predictable, recurring revenue stream for builders. SaaS spending continues to grow: recent benchmarks vary by source, with some reports citing average SaaS spend per employee in the mid-$4,000s to mid-$5,000s range and trending upward year over year.

The next major disruption in SaaS development is likely to come not from the tech bubble, but from beyond it — with individuals and entrepreneurs using AI and visual development tools to create highly-niche products that solve problems an “outsider” to that community would never see. As audiences for SaaS platforms get more niche, you need a faster, more flexible, and less resource-intensive development process to serve them and make the unit economics work.

This guide covers everything you need to build a SaaS app in 2026: the architectural basics, how to choose the right development approach for your goals, realistic cost expectations, and a step-by-step walk-through from idea validation through launch and scale.

What is SaaS app development?

SaaS app development is the end-to-end process of designing, building, deploying, and maintaining software that users access over the internet on a subscription basis — with the provider responsible for hosting, updates, and platform-level security, while app-level security configuration may still involve shared responsibility depending on the platform. That shift in responsibility is what separates SaaS from traditional software: you’re not shipping a product once, you’re running an ongoing service for every customer simultaneously.

SaaS apps vs. traditional software

Traditional software gives users a license to own a specific version of the product, which they install and manage on their own hardware. SaaS replaces that model with a subscription: users access a service that the provider continuously updates and maintains — no installation, no version management on the user’s end.

For builders, that distinction shapes your entire development approach. Instead of supporting countless versions running on different machines, you manage one central codebase that every user shares. That also means fixing bugs quickly — because every user is on the same version, and they’re paying for a service they expect to work.

SaaS architecture basics: what you need to know before you build

For a non-technical founder, the most important architectural concept to understand is multi-tenancy. A multi-tenant architecture means a single instance of your software serves multiple customers (or “tenants”). Each tenant’s data is isolated and remains invisible to other tenants, but they all share the same underlying application and infrastructure.

This is the standard for nearly all modern SaaS apps because it’s far more efficient and cost-effective to maintain and scale than creating a separate software instance for every new customer. When you’re evaluating development approaches, understanding whether your platform handles multi-tenancy automatically — or whether you need to build it yourself — is a critical question.

AI coding, traditional development, or AI-powered visual development: which route is right for your SaaS app?

The question of which SaaS app development process is right for you comes down to a few factors: cost, experience, time, scale, and security.

Traditional software development is best for large teams with exacting specifications for whom time and money are no object. You can build exactly what you want — but you also have to hard-code every piece of your app basically from scratch, which takes a massive amount of time and expensive resources.

AI tools are best for individuals who want to test out ideas, create prototypes, or have a semi-functional MVP (minimum viable product) to show off for fundraising or finding a co-founder. They are extremely fast and cheap to get started with, and don’t require any experience to whip up a prototype.

The downside of trying to code with an AI app generator is that building a business — not just a prototype — requires more than convenience. It also requires control, data security, and true accessibility: not a black box that sometimes does and sometimes doesn’t understand what you want.

With AI coding app generators, you can often get 80% of the way complete in minutes. That final 20% — dealing with important bugs, privacy settings, weird design quirks the AI created, or features that don’t quite work — is where builders get stuck in endless prompt loops without getting what they want.

For example, this SaaS software developer tried using ChatGPT and Bolt to develop a SaaS app. He did it (in less than five hours), but he also found several downsides:

• AI tools couldn’t see or read his codebase, making iterations and updates difficult. If you don’t know how to read or understand the code the AI is generating, you’ll be stuck — because the AI often can’t see it either.
• Sometimes the AI got stuck in loops, or told him it fixed issues it hadn’t fixed. This creates a frustrating cycle of re-prompting and hoping the next attempt works.
• Minor requests triggered major changes. Asking to “change this header” would sometimes erase the entire table and rebuild that section of the page, burning through tokens and sometimes deleting pieces of his app that previously worked fine.

“All of this would cause me to burn through tokens costing me money, which got worse as the project got bigger. My experiment was beginning to turn into a bit of a casino where I was pulling the arm of a slot machine trying to get the coins to line up, or rather, squash the bug. Another $20.00 token reload please cashier.” — Stu Green

AI-powered visual development gives you the speed of AI generation and the control of direct visual editing. Like AI tools, it’s affordable, accessible, and far faster than traditional development. Like traditional coding, the best visual platforms offer control, security, and customizability. Instead of getting stuck in endless prompt loops, you have the power to build exactly what you want, how you want it — just without code.

“I was seeing eye popping numbers — tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. I figured there had to be a different way that I could get this built quickly for not nearly as much money just to get my idea out there. The Bubble subscription plans are so reasonable that it was kind of a no-brainer.” — Renee Jackson, founder of Dyspute.ai

Bubble is the fully visual AI app builder that lets you vibe code without the code — helping you build, launch, and scale real SaaS apps, not just prototypes. On Bubble, you get full control over the design, data, and functionality of your app, all in one tool, and all without coding. Bubble also offers platform features necessary for SaaS app development:

• Bubble AI can generate a working app foundation in minutes, and the Bubble AI Agent (beta) plus visual editor let you keep iterating with AI speed and direct visual control.
• SaaS templates let you start with a ready-made foundation and customize for your specific needs, so you don’t have to design every screen and workflow from scratch.
• No technical expertise required to get started — the visual, drag-and-drop editor puts you in full control of iterations without writing code. If you can navigate a design tool, you can build a SaaS app.
• Built-in Stripe integration for subscriptions and one-off purchases, eliminating one of the most common technical hurdles for SaaS builders.
• Plugins let you integrate with other tech, including SaaS tools your users already rely on — whether that’s analytics, communication, or productivity platforms.
• Options to add AI features to your app through plugins or Bubble’s API Connector, now available as a dedicated editor tab for configuring external API connections without code.

How much does it cost to build a SaaS app?

The cost to build a SaaS app varies dramatically depending on the development approach you choose. Understanding these ranges is critical for planning your budget and timeline.

• Traditional development: Hiring a development agency or freelance developers is the most expensive route, typically ranging from $50,000 to $250,000+ for an initial version. Costs are driven by developer salaries, project complexity, and the months-long timeline. Ongoing maintenance, bug fixes, and feature additions add to the total cost of ownership.
• AI vibe-coding tools: These tools are often inexpensive to start with, but costs vary significantly by platform, plan, token or credit usage, and how much iteration your app needs. Costs can become unpredictable as you burn through tokens trying to fix bugs or add complex features. Some builders may need developer help to resolve technical debt or production-readiness issues in AI-generated code, especially when they cannot read or maintain the generated code themselves.
• AI-powered visual development (Bubble): This approach offers the most predictable and affordable path to a real, scalable product. Instead of high upfront costs or unpredictable token usage, you pay a low monthly subscription. You can build and test for free, then upgrade when you’re ready to launch — Starter plans begin at $32/month for web-only, $49/month for mobile-only, and $69/month for web + mobile when billed monthly.

The cost difference becomes even more significant when you factor in iteration. With traditional development, every change requires developer time. With AI-only tools, complex changes can spiral into expensive prompt loops. With visual development, you make changes directly — no additional cost per edit.

How to build a SaaS app with AI and visual development

Successful SaaS application development — whether it’s for your own team to use or to start a business — doesn’t have to require a ton of time, expertise, or resources.

This section walks through building a SaaS app without coding using Bubble, an AI-powered visual development platform. You’ll validate your idea, choose a monetization model, define core features, build and refine your MVP, collect feedback, and launch.

Prefer to learn by watching? Binge our Bubble for AI Builders series, where Gregory John walks you through every step of building an app on Bubble with AI:

Step 1: Validate your idea

Jumping straight into building is tempting, and AI only makes it easier to whip up quick prototypes and MVPs.

But rushing into the building process without the necessary prep work is a mistake. If you haven’t validated your idea so you know exactly what you need to build, you’ll be slowed down in the long run with more iterations needed, lack of product-market fit, and slower growth.

Instead, start by refining your vision. The more clarity you have, the easier (and faster) building will be. Define your:

• Target market (the who): Define exactly who your app is for, including their goals, pain points, and why existing solutions don’t work for them. Conduct user interviews and analyze competitor reviews to build a clear picture of who you’re serving before you write a single line of logic.
• Problem to solve (the what): Identify the specific problem your app eliminates and what users can accomplish with it that they couldn’t before. The more precisely you can define this, the faster and more focused your build will be.
• MVP functionality (the how): Determine the minimum set of features your app needs to deliver real value — not everything you eventually want to build, just what solves the core problem. This scoping decision directly affects how long your MVP takes to ship.
• Value proposition (the why): Articulate the main benefit of your app in a single sentence. If you can’t do that yet, your thinking about the problem isn’t sharp enough to start building.
• Main competitive differentiation (the why us): Identify what makes your app meaningfully different from competing solutions — whether that’s price, niche focus, better UX, or a feature set competitors have ignored. This becomes the core of your positioning once you launch.

Step 2: Choose your monetization model

Most SaaS apps use a subscription model for monetization.

Subscriptions as a business model is simple: users pay a monthly (or annual) fee to access the product, and you have recurring revenue to continue building and maintaining the app for those users.

But it’s not the only monetization model available. You could also consider:

Step 3: Determine core features

If you’ve done steps one and two, this step should be straightforward.

Your core features are determined by:

• Your core problem: What features you need to solve this particular problem for this particular user base (step 1). For example, if you’re building a project management tool for freelancers, task tracking and time logging are core — team collaboration features can wait.
• The competitive differentiators between your app and other solutions: What does your app need to have that others don’t (step 1). This might be a unique workflow, better pricing, or integration with tools your competitors ignore.
• Your monetization method: Features like shopping, billing, or purchase management to monetize your app (step 2). If you’re using subscriptions, you need account management and billing features from day one.

Besides your unique core features, there are some foundational features that every SaaS app needs:

• User authentication: Allow users to log into your app and see their data. This includes signup, login, password reset, and session management.
• Billing and account management: Let users manage their subscription, update payment methods, and view invoices.
• Ability to add and edit user data: Whatever your app does, users need to create, read, update, and delete their information.
• Dashboard: A central place for viewing and editing app data and tasks. This is often the first screen users see after logging in.
• Responsive design: Make your app functional on a variety of screen sizes, from desktop monitors to mobile phones.

Step 4: Build your MVP

With your idea and core functionality solidified, you’re ready to start building.

Traditionally, this stage of the process could take months or years and cost upwards of $100,000 — but with Bubble AI and visual editing, you can generate a working foundation in minutes and shorten the MVP build process substantially, depending on app scope and complexity.

Start by prompting Bubble AI to generate your foundation, then switch into the visual editor or the AI Agent to refine the app with full control. This is the quickest way to get a foundation of your app in place. You can iterate from there without spending a ton of time on the basic pieces of your SaaS platform.

For our example, we gave Bubble AI the following prompt:

Bubble AI can generate a working MVP foundation in minutes, then bring you into the editor to preview and iterate.

Preview your app. In the editor, click the “play” icon in the nav bar so you can review the AI output. You’ll likely be pleasantly surprised by how far AI can get you — but you’ll also likely see plenty you want to change or add, too.

From preview mode, go through each page and feature of your app, focusing on three key areas:

• Design (how your app looks)
• Data (what information your app can hold)
• Logic (how your app works)

For each of these areas, look for what’s working well, what’s missing, and what needs to change in some way. For example:

• Does your app look the way you want it to? What styles or design changes do you want to make?
• Does your app have the pages it needs? Are any pages incomplete or hard to find?
• Does every button and element work as expected? Are any features missing or not working properly?
• What data types or fields do you want to add to your app?

For our example, Bubble AI generated several pages for our app, including a basic dashboard, calendar, tasks, and progress page.

The design of the app looks pretty good straight from the AI.

As we click through the app, we can note what needs to be changed or adjusted, as well as what features already work (e.g., most of the buttons) and which features need additional work (e.g., the scheduling function).

Step 5: Refine and finish your SaaS app

With our list of refinements in hand, it’s time to tackle each of those three core areas of your SaaS app: design, data, and logic.

This is the most time-intensive aspect of SaaS software development, but as many Bubble builders have found, it often takes much less time than they expect:

“The biggest surprise is that I was able to build this AI legal mediation [MVP] in 8 weeks. In my head, that was going to be a years-long process, and I didn’t think in a million years that I would be able to finish my product that quickly and have it actually work.” — Renee Jackson, founder of Dyspute.ai

Configure your app’s data

Data serves as the foundation for your app — but it’s mostly stored in the background. In the backend of your app, you’ll have a database (a library or catalog of all the types of data your app stores) and data types (individual “things” stored in your database, like “projects” or “tasks”).

For our example, Bubble AI generated the basic data types for us — appointments, calendar blocks, projects, tasks, and users. It also included the basic data fields within those types.

If you need more fields on a data type, just click Create a new field to add more.

To add or modify data types, use the Bubble AI Agent where possible. The Agent understands your existing database structure and can help you avoid duplicate or disconnected fields. The older Generate Data Types tool in the data tab can create new data types and fields, but it cannot reference existing data types or modify existing fields — so for relational changes, the Agent is the better choice.

For example, we might decide to add a feature to this app that allows users to add team members and assign them to projects and tasks.

Using the Bubble AI Agent, we can create a “TeamMember” data type with a name and email field, and add fields like “role” as needed. We can also ask the Agent to add fields to existing data types — for example, an “Assigned Projects” and “Assigned Tasks” field on the TeamMember type.

We also need the other half of that — to be able to see assigned team members on “Tasks” and “Projects” data types. To connect existing Tasks or Projects to team members, manually add fields to those existing data types or use the Bubble AI Agent to help modify the database structure. To add a field manually, click on the appropriate data type (e.g., “Project”), then click Create a new field.

From there, you can set the field name (e.g., “Assigned Team Member”) and the field type (i.e., where is this data coming from? In this case, it’s from the data type “TeamMember”).

Watch a quick demo of more ways to use data in your app:

Refine the design

Design covers the look and feel of your app — the overall design, the user interface (UI), and elements like buttons, headers, images, and so on.

The styles tab gives you a one-stop-shop to adjust the overall look and feel of your app, such as setting up universal fonts, colors, and element styles.

Unlike many AI builders, on Bubble, you have full control over every aspect of design: from the colors, shape, size, and location of each element to the overall look and feel of your app, all down to the pixel. It’s all within your control, but you never have to code — just use the visual menus and drag-and-drop components to build exactly the app you had in mind.

You can edit the appearance of individual elements simply by opening their editor and using the appearance and layout tabs.

If you’re new to the world of app design, read our guides on web app design or mobile app design, or watch our walk-throughs on customizing your app’s design once you’ve built with AI:

Build out additional features and logic

Logic is what brings together your design (the visual side of your app) and data (the information in your app) to create functionality.

In short: it’s what makes your app do stuff.

On Bubble, workflows are the foundation of logic — and they’re designed visually, without code, too. They use a simple if this, then that structure.

For example, this workflow shows that when someone clicks the submit button on creating a new task, the app should “Create a new thing” in the database — a new task. It also defines what input data from the popup form the database should enter in each of the data fields under that data type.

Then, once the new database item is created, the app should close the task popup.

You can create new workflows directly from any element. Open the editor and click the Add workflow button, then use the “+” button to add actions to your workflow.

Sometimes, it’s easier to work on a single feature at a time, and carry it across all the categories. For example, let’s say you added a “Task owner” field to the “Task” data type while setting up the “adding team members to the app” example above.

With the new fields in place, you can go back to your UI in the design tab and add input forms or places where you want that data to display. For example, you might edit the “Create a new task” popup to include an input box to assign it to a team member.

You can add an input box by dragging and dropping “dropdown” and “text” elements onto your canvas, or you can even copy and paste existing input forms.

Then, tell the app what to do with this dropdown. In this example:

• Placeholder shows the placeholder text that will show in the input box.
• Dynamic choices tells the app that it’s going to pull dropdown options from somewhere in your database, vs. from a static list.
• Type of choices tells your app what data type to use for the choices.
• Choices source tells your app where to find that data.
• Option caption tells your app what to display in that input form once a choice is made (in this case, the name of the selected option).

Now, when you preview your app, you’ll see this dropdown in place, pulling the appropriate data selections from your database.

Without any coding, you’ve linked your data (the backend) with your UI (the frontend) and added one more feature to your app.

Add plugins to expand your app’s capabilities

Another great thing about Bubble: you don’t have to build every feature from the ground up. Plugins allow you to integrate other tech into your app and add more advanced features more quickly.

For example, the AI tool built a calendar manually in our app. That’s fine for a prototype, but it’s going to be a lot to manage long-term. Instead, we can use a calendar plugin (look for the plugins tab in the editor) and drag-and-drop in a pre-built calendar feature. In this example, we use the Full Calendar plugin.

Then, use the element editor to set up how it works and what data it displays — including features like editing by dragging and dropping or dragging to resize an event length.

And just like that: you have a fully-functional calendar feature with interactive functionality, without having to build it manually.

Plugins are also a great way to:

• Add other technology from your tech stack into your app, like integrating Stripe to collect SaaS subscription payments.
• Add AI features to your app — for example, adding an AI agent that could schedule upcoming tasks onto a calendar based on priority.
• Allow users to integrate their external data to your app — for example, by adding a Google calendar plugin so users could link their Google calendar with this app.

Step 6: Collect feedback

You’ve built your app, and now, you need to make sure it makes sense for your users.

The best way to do that is through user testing. There are many different ways to do user testing (especially on Bubble). Think about testing your app in three layers:

• Product testing, aka Quality Assurance (QA) testing: This means checking to make sure every element, workflow, and feature works as designed. On Bubble, you can use the debugger, the issue checker, and, for mobile apps, Bubble Go to run QA testing.
• Usability testing: Usability testing looks at how users navigate and interact with your app, helping you make sure the app is easy to use. Typically, you’ll give users specific tasks to do using your app and collect feedback on how they accomplish them — and what their experience was of doing so.
• User acceptance testing (UAT): UAT is the last step of product testing before launch. The goal is to make sure all the details are in place so that your tool meets user needs, is ready for real-world tasks, traffic, and usage, and functions as expected for users. Beta testing with a closed group of users and in-app feedback are common ways of running UAT.

Step 7: Iterate, launch, and scale

You might never feel “ready” to launch — so once all the major features of your app are in place and you’ve done your testing, get your app out in the world.

Launching on Bubble is simple: just click Deploy and Bubble will push your web app live. With a paid Mobile or Web + Mobile plan, you can also publish native mobile apps directly to the Apple App Store and Google Play Store from the Bubble editor; native mobile is currently in beta.

Once you’ve launched, don’t stop testing and iterating. Feedback from real users will give you more valuable insight than any pre-launch testing can — so keep testing, iterating, and scaling.

Iteration on Bubble is a major benefit to building with visual development vs. using AI-only tools. Most AI tools only have two iteration options: prompt the AI to make the change, or make the change yourself with traditional code. If you don’t know how to code, your options are limited and you’ll find yourself hitting walls frequently.

On Bubble, you’re in full control the whole time. You won’t get stuck in prompt loops trying to iterate, but you also don’t need code. Any feature, element, design change, or workflow can be edited visually, so you can always understand how your app works and how to adjust it.

Common SaaS development challenges (and how to plan for them)

No matter where you build, if you can plan for these common challenges with building SaaS apps before you start building, you’ll have a much easier (and faster) development process.

App security

With SaaS apps, users are logging in, storing personal — or business — data, and often sharing, collating, and managing data between apps in your tool. Security and data protection are musts.

When you’re building with traditional development, building a secure app is completely up to you. But in that case, at least you have experienced developers who (hopefully) know how to address your security needs.

With vibe coding, security issues are becoming common and can be destructive to a fledgling business. AI-generated code is not automatically secure — so if you don’t have the experience and expertise to develop privacy and security rules by writing it into the code yourself, you’ll need to hire an expert to help build and maintain a secure app.

Bubble knows that not every founder and entrepreneur will be a security expert, so it provides no-code tools to make building secure apps easier — while still requiring builders to configure them correctly. On Bubble, you get:

• Secure infrastructure and hosting via AWS, with DDoS protection.
• User authentication and access control, including 2FA and permissions to manage who can access your app’s backend and how your users access your app.
• Data encryption at rest and in transit, including HTTPS encryption for data transmitted between the browser and Bubble’s servers.
• SOC 2 Type II compliance and measures designed to meet applicable data privacy laws, including GDPR in the EU and UK.
• Visual privacy rules and security settings so you can configure security for your app in an intuitive way.
• Built-in Security Dashboard checks that help identify potential vulnerabilities such as missing privacy rules, exposed sensitive data in workflows, database exposure risks, compromised API tokens, and unprotected backend workflows — though builders should still perform their own security review.

Multi-platform development

SaaS isn’t just for work laptops anymore. Building SaaS apps often requires you to build for web, Android, and iOS.

AI and visual development for mobile have typically lagged behind web development. But traditional mobile development is slow and costly — and requires you to rebuild your app for each platform (Android, iOS, and web).

Bubble lets you build web and native iOS and Android apps from one visual editor with shared backend, data, and workflows; native mobile is currently in beta. Web and native mobile apps can share the same database, workflows, and backend logic from one editor, reducing duplicate work and maintenance. And best of all: you get true native mobile apps — not just web apps wrapped for mobile.

Integrations

SaaS solutions almost always require integrations with other tools and tech. For example:

• Connecting to Google Workspaces for email management or docs collaborations.
• Integrating with LLMs for AI-powered assistants and features.
• Integrating with Stripe or other payment processors for billing and subscriptions.
• Syncing with other SaaS solutions like Quickbooks or Mailchimp for seamless workflows.

Building these integrations yourself can require a lot of coding expertise. On Bubble, thousands of pre-built plugins give you quick access to the integrations and features you need. And if there happens to be something you can’t find, use Bubble’s API Connector — now a dedicated editor tab — to build your own connection and workflow without code.

Scalability

If you want to build a business, not just an MVP, you need more than a pretty design. You need a platform that can support real-world usage, traffic, and user data.

Scaling can be a challenge, especially with AI-generated apps and platforms. Traditional development makes this easier, but it also puts the responsibility on you to make sure your app is ready to scale.

Bubble’s built-in hosting, workload tiers, flexible overages, and automatic scaling help apps grow from MVP to large-scale usage without builders managing servers themselves. With millions of apps built on Bubble, it has a proven track record at real production scale.

Build your SaaS app on Bubble

Bubble lets you vibe code without the code: generate with AI when you want speed, edit visually when you want control, and launch real SaaS apps to real users. No matter what kind of SaaS app you want to build — or how big or small your audience is — Bubble gives you the tools, resources, and flexibility to make it possible.

Ready to get started? Here are resources to make your next step easier:

• Learn the basics: Binge the Bubble Basics for AI Builders to get up and running with your first app in just a few hours, or take a deep dive into the Bubble YouTube channel or Bubble Academy for complete courses.
• Get inspired: See how Marina Trajkovska built an AI-powered SaaS platform on Bubble with an app walk-through of Odyseek, or kickstart your creative juices with Bubble AI or Bubble’s SaaS templates.
• Find help and support: Check out the Bubble Forum for help with building in real-time, or work with an agency as a SaaS development partner.

Frequently asked questions about SaaS app development

What is SaaS in app development?

SaaS, or Software as a Service, is a model for delivering software over the internet on a subscription basis — users access it through a browser rather than installing it locally, and the provider builds, hosts, and maintains one central application that serves all users simultaneously. That centralized model is what distinguishes SaaS from traditional software distribution, where users own and manage their own installed copies.

How much does it cost to build a SaaS app?

Costs vary dramatically by approach. Traditional development typically costs $50,000 to $250,000+ for an MVP. AI vibe-coding tools can be inexpensive to start with, but costs vary by platform, plan, and token usage, and can become unpredictable as you iterate. Visual development platforms like Bubble offer the most predictable path: free to build and test, with paid Starter plans beginning at $32/month for web-only, $49/month for mobile-only, and $69/month for web + mobile when billed monthly.

Is Netflix a SaaS product?

Netflix shares many traits with SaaS products: users pay a monthly subscription to access centrally hosted software through a web or mobile app, and Netflix handles all updates and infrastructure. It’s more commonly described as a subscription streaming service than a canonical SaaS example, but the delivery model is similar.

Is ChatGPT a SaaS product?

Yes, ChatGPT is a SaaS product. Users access it through OpenAI-hosted web and app interfaces, with plan tiers including Free, Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise. The free tier provides basic access, while paid tiers unlock more advanced features and higher usage limits.

What features does every SaaS app need?

Most SaaS apps need a few core components regardless of what they do: user authentication (signup, login, and password reset), a database for storing user data, an interface for users to view or manage their data, account management, and privacy or access controls that keep one user’s data invisible to another. Subscription management is needed when the app uses subscription billing. Beyond those, the features your specific app needs depend entirely on the problem you’re solving.