Software Publishers Revenue Benchmarks
The average software publishers business in the United States generates $31.2M in annual revenue, according to the U.S. Census Bureau Statistics of U.S. Businesses (SUSB 2021). There are 12,741 software publishers businesses in the U.S., employing 769,084 workers with an average profit margin of 18.0%.
What Does a Software Publishers Business Actually Do?
Software companies developing and selling their own products — SaaS platforms, packaged software, mobile apps, enterprise systems. Include tech giants (Microsoft, Oracle, Adobe) and specialty vendors.
Who buys: Businesses of every size buying software, plus consumers for consumer software (games, mobile).
Average Revenue
$31.2M
per year
Profit Margin
18.0%
industry average
Revenue / Employee
$517K
per year
Total Businesses
12,741
in the US
Est. Owner Income
$5.6M
small business avg
Labor Cost
40.0%
of revenue
Avg Employee Wage
N/A
per year (BLS)
Market Saturation
3.8
firms per 100K people
How Much Do Software Publishers Charge?
Software companies earn on licensing, subscriptions (SaaS), and services.
| Service | Typical range |
|---|---|
SaaS per user/month (SMB) | $10–75/user/month |
SaaS per user/month (enterprise) | $50–500/user/month |
Perpetual license | $300–15,000 per seat |
Enterprise site license | $50,000–5,000,000+/year |
Support contract | 18–22% of license/year |
Ranges based on industry rate surveys and typical published pricing. Actual quotes vary by city, business size, and job complexity.
Complete software publishers business plan
A 12-section data-backed business plan for a software publishers business — executive summary, market analysis, competitive landscape, revenue model, 3-year financial projections, operations, marketing, staffing, funding request. Pre-populated with real Census, IRS, and BLS data on this industry. Free to view.
Cost Structure — Where Every $100 in Revenue Goes
Approximate P&L breakdown for the software publishers industry. Labor share and net profit are grounded in Census SUSB and IRS SOI data. Other lines are split using sector-typical ratios.
| Category | Per $100 revenue | Per typical business | What's in it |
|---|---|---|---|
Hosting & third-party services | $6 | $2.0M | Cloud infrastructure (AWS/Azure/GCP), APIs, content licensing, payment processing. |
Wages & benefits | $40 | $12.5M | Payroll for all employees at the business (owner comp not included for small owner-operators). |
Rent & facilities | $6 | $2.0M | Rent or mortgage on business location plus utilities tied to the space. |
Marketing & advertising | $8 | $2.6M | Google/Meta ads, SEO, print, referral fees, event sponsorships. |
Other operating costs | $21 | $6.5M | R&D, software licenses, sales commissions, customer support tools. |
Net profit | $18 | $5.6M | What remains for the owner or shareholders after all business expenses. |
Directionally accurate for a typical business in the industry. Individual businesses vary widely — a franchise may run a very different cost mix from an independent, and older established businesses often have lower labor share than newer ones.
Average Revenue by Business Size
Industry Dynamics (Census BDS 2023)
New Business Rate
15.49%
openings/year
Closure Rate
13.03%
closings/year
Net Job Growth
+3.31%
annual
Businesses Closed
1,526
in 2023
Firm Count Trend
Should You Start a Software Publishers Business?
Startup Cost
$50K – $250K
Break-Even
0 months
5-Year Survival Rate
50.0%
Related Industries
Frequently Asked Questions
- What does a software publishers business do?
- Software companies developing and selling their own products — SaaS platforms, packaged software, mobile apps, enterprise systems. Include tech giants (Microsoft, Oracle, Adobe) and specialty vendors. Businesses of every size buying software, plus consumers for consumer software (games, mobile).
- How much do software publishers charge?
- Software companies earn on licensing, subscriptions (SaaS), and services. See the pricing table above for typical rates by service type.
- How much does the average software publishers make per year?
- The average software publishers business generates $31.2M in annual revenue, based on U.S. Census Bureau data (SUSB 2021). After expenses, the estimated owner profit is $5.6M per year at a 18.0% profit margin.
- How many software publishers businesses are there in the US?
- There are 12,741 software publishers businesses operating in the United States, employing a total of 769,084 workers.
- How much does it cost to start a software publishers business?
- Startup costs for a software publishers business typically range from $50K to $250K, with a 5-year survival rate of 50.0%.
Industry Growth & Survival
The software publishers industry is actively growing — adding jobs at a net rate of 3.3% per year. New establishments are opening faster than existing ones close (15.5% entry vs 13.0% exit), indicating healthy demand.
Approximately 50% of software publishers businesses survive their first 5 years. This is near the national average (~50%), with typical business risk. In 2023, 1,526 firms in this industry closed permanently.
Industry Trend (2000–2023)
The software publishers industry has grown 53% since 2000 (from 7,626 to 11,688 firms).
See full historical statistics →Compare Software Publishers revenue with other industries: