With the expansion of online systems in companies, best software license management tools have become highly complicated to control as a company expands in 2025. The amount spent on licenses of software that businesses are not using or an excessive number of licenses is estimated to be wasting 20% to 50% of their software budget annually. The total spending in the average company is over by 30%.
It is projected that, by 2025, Global SaaS will be spending in approximately $300 billion, hence good management of a license is key in ensuring the costs remain low, compliant and maximization of the use of the software in all business sizes.
What Is Software License Management?
Software license management consists of the course of action that businesses follow in order to keep track of their software, monitor, and achieve maximum utility. It refers to maintaining accurate records of all licenses, adhering to vendor regulations, monitoring expiration dates, monitoring usage of software and cost reduction methods.
Effective license management will prevent firms from purchasing those licenses that they are not using or facing audit fines. These tasks are provided automatically with modern tools, offer an overview of how the software is deployed, and allow companies to make decisions about purchasing and distributing software based on data.
Why Your Business Needs a License Management Tool
- Economy: Identify licenses that were not used and eliminate unnecessary expenditure of similar subscriptions.
- Compliance: Maintain proper records of licenses so as not to pay costly audit fines.
- Full view: View all the software assets in departments.
- Auto renewals: Prevent change of service termination by monitoring the expiration and renewal dates.
- Smart planning: Purchase software on actual usage data.
Key Features to Look for in a License Management Tool
- Automated discovery Keep scanning systems are used to discover all installed software.
- Use analytics: Monitor software usage by employees so that you utilize the software accordingly.
- Checks on compliance: Generate reports that indicate that you follow the vendor license requirements.
- Integration: Co-operate with the current IT and financial systems.
- Among the alert,s there are early notices of renewals and potential issues with compliance.
Comparison Table
|
Tool |
Key Feature |
Ideal For |
Pricing |
|
Zylo | SaaS spend optimization |
Mid to large enterprises |
Custom quotes |
|
FlexNet Manager |
Comprehensive IT asset tracking |
Large organizations |
Enterprise pricing |
|
Torii |
Automated SaaS discovery |
Growing businesses |
Starting at $3/user/month |
|
Spendflo |
Procurement automation |
Finance teams |
Custom quotes |
|
ServiceNow SAM |
Workflow automation |
ServiceNow users |
Platform-based pricing |
|
ManageEngine AssetExplorer |
Full asset lifecycle management |
IT-focused businesses |
Starting at $595 |
|
Lansweeper |
Automated asset discovery |
Organizations of all sizes |
Starting at $1/device/year |
|
Ivanti ITAM |
Combined asset and service management |
Medium to large enterprises |
Custom quotes |
|
Microsoft Endpoint Manager |
Microsoft ecosystem integration |
Microsoft-centric organizations |
Included with licenses |
|
KACE Systems Management |
All-in-one IT management |
IT departments |
Starting at $4,000 |
|
Aspera LicenseControl |
Multi-vendor optimization |
Large enterprises |
Enterprise pricing |
|
License Manager for WooCommerce |
E-commerce license sales |
Online retailers |
Starting at $79 |
|
Belarc Advisor |
Hardware and software inventory |
Small to medium businesses |
Free for personal use |
|
Scalable Software Asset Vision |
Modern enterprises |
Custom quotes | |
|
Eracent ITMC |
IT lifecycle management |
Organizations with complex environments |
Enterprise pricing |
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15 Best Software License Management Tools
1. Zylo
Zylo assists companies in identifying, regulating, and realizing the utmost worth of their SaaS expenditure through improved analytics. It depicts the use of software, expenditure and customer interactions. Firms are in a position to make intelligent decisions regarding software to utilize.
Zylo enhances the value through the identification of duplicate and unused licenses and ensuring that nothing goes adrift. Its dashboard simplifies the complex data into easy-to-understand charts, enabling IT, finance, and buying departments to work and manage the increased complexity in modern SaaS.
Key Features:
- Track usage
- Look at spending
- Monitor compliance
- Handle renewals
- Help with integration
Best For: Enterprises
Pricing: Custom quotes
Rating: 4.6/5
Link: https://zylo.com/
2. FlexNet Manager
FlexNet Manager also allows it to track and manage software licenses within the entire network, regardless of the size of the business. It is a combination of an IT asset management powerhouse and a smart license optimization. It assists the firms to remain within their budget and deal with the software expenses.
The platform also allows a clear view of how it is used, compliance rat,e and cost to aid in the decision of purchasing and allocation of a license. Its reports are helpful in scheduling an audit of the vendor and reducing costs by reusing or transferring the licenses to another department or location.
Key Features:
- Track assets
- Manage budget
- Learn from usage
- Report compliance
- Give optimization tips
Incorporating best: big organizations.
Pricing: Enterprise pricing
Rating: 4.4/5
Link: https://www.flexera.com/products/flexnet-manager
3. Torii
Torii is the leading SaaS management platform that provides businesses with complete visibility and control of their software stack. It artificially intelligence to locate all SaaS applications, spend management, and introduce security and debt tracking.
Recognized among the best Software License Management tools, Torii is user-friendly and can be integrated with other applications thus vital in dealing with the list of SaaS that are increasing in the current working environments. It will decrease administration time and maintain access and business demand balance during the career of an employee.
Key Features:
- Discover automatically
- Manage spending
- Enforce security
- Integrate well
- Simple dashboard
Best For: Growing businesses
Pricing: From $3/user/month
Rating: 4.7/5
Link: https://www.toriihq.com/workflow-tag/license-management
4. Spendflo
Spendflo is an all-robotic system that alters the management of SaaS subscriptions, purchases, and licenses of contemporary firms. It particularly comes in handy with finance and operations. Spendflo aids in spending SaaS, bargain improved contract charges and harmonize technology to actual business requirements.
It is easier to monitor costs, renew subscriptions automatically, and balance the use of licenses in the company thanks to the system. Spendflo achieves huge savings, reduces administration, enhances financial efficiency, prevents undesired expenditure, and holds the vendors in check.
Key Features:
- Automate purchasing
- Negotiate contracts
- Track renewals
- Optimize spending
- Manage vendors
Best For: Finance teams
Pricing: Custom quotes
Rating: 4.8/5
Link: https://www.spendflo.com/
5. ServiceNow Software Asset Management
This solution integrates with ServiceNow in order to make license management less complex and entirely automated. It reflects precise spending trends, software life cycle automation, and is aligned with various vendors. The most suitable tools to cut down the undesirable costs and minimize compliance risks are active monitoring and intelligent automation.
The platform will combine the use of asset information to other IT service systems that will provide a global picture of tech investments and enable teams to make more effective decisions and allocate resources more effectively between purchasing and disposition assets.
Key Features:
- Automate workflows
- Handle lifecycle
- See spending insights
- Track compliance
- Integrate with the platform
Best For: ServiceNow users
Pricing: Platform-based
Rating: 4.5/5
Link: https://www.servicenow.com/products/software-asset-management.html
6. ManageEngine AssetExplorer
This is an effective means of keeping records of IT assets through planning and ending. It provides a clear visibility of software licenses, makes sure that the vendor is compliant and contributes to negotiating a better deal through virtually keeping track of usage and installations. A centralized view of the license information is a simpler way of managing the license information and therefore it is less difficult to maintain an accurate list of assets.
The compliant reports of ManageEngine AssetExplorer, considered among the best Software License Management tools, enable IT workers to demonstrate compliance at the audit stage and identify optimization opportunities and then make smart decisions regarding renewal and acquisition according to the actual use of the applications.
Key Features:
- Monitor assets
- Track lifecycle
- Ensure compliance
- Analyze usage
- Centralized management
Best Suited: IT companies
Pricing: From $595
Rating: 4.3/5
Link: https://www.manageengine.com/products/asset-explorer/
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7. Lansweeper IT Asset Management
This is a great tool, as it automates finding and provides a comprehensive inventory of IT assets within the company, which assists in the good management of software licences. It provides a clear understanding of installed software, their usage, or lack thereof, and privileged access to all endpoints and servers. Lansweep assists organisations in finding room to consolidate and reallocate their licences, thereby spending them more wisely, through their potent reporting and alerting functionality to prevent potential problems of compliance.
The agentless scan has little effect on the network and yet provides the correct and up-to-date data of software deployment. Specialized dashboards and reports allow the IT, finance, and managers to view the information that they require in a format that will be useful in their respective decision-making.
Key Features:
- Discover automatically
- Alert on compliance
- Provide usage insights
- Give detailed reports
- Maintain asset inventory
Best fits: Any size of organization.
Pricing: From $1/device/year
Rating: 4.6/5
Link: https://www.lansweeper.com/solutions/use-cases/it-asset-management/
8. Ivanti IT Asset Management
This portal has integrated the IT asset and service management tools in a single system in order to foster efficiency. It also gives complete resources to manage and get and monitor software licenses inside the company and reduce software expenditures prudently. Ivanti is among the best software license management tools.
It assists companies to reduce audit risks, and saves money by reallocating unutilized licenses and transporting them to where they are required. Its superior analytics identify overutilization or underutilization of software. This allows you to allocate purchases to meet actual requirements, maintain compliance and reduction of waste.
Key Features:
- Work together
- Reduce risk
- Control cost
- Reclaim licenses
- Track assets
Best: Medium and large corporations.
Pricing: Custom quotes
Rating: 4.4/5
Link: https://www.ivanti.com/products/it-asset-management
9. Microsoft Endpoint Manager
This platform was previously known as Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager and allows managing software license of Microsoft, installing updates and controlling compliance with ease. It has a single source of control thus allowing you to allocate software, instill security and check compliance effectively. Companies that desire modernized yet face compliant Microsoft environments should have it; besides, it is compatible with Microsoft services to enhance productivity. Automation lowers the possibility of manual labor and ensures that patches, configuration, and changes are implemented regularly regardless of the Windows PCs, Microsoft 365, and Azure services.
Key Features:
- Control centrally
- Deploy updates
- Monitor compliance
- Integrate with Microsoft
- Enforce security
The best to use: Microsoft-based firms.
Pricing: Included with licenses
Rating: 4.2/5
Link: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/intune/endpoint-manager-overview
10. KACE Systems Management Appliance
Its purpose is to automate IT assets and license management and thus makes it easier to maintain a hold of, process, and remain within the license of software. It comes with inventory, software distribution and features of patches and thus, it is a lot simpler to maintain license compliance in various IT environments. A device-based implementation is simpler to implement and reduces infrastructure complexity, as well as offers enterprise-level functionality.
KACE, recognized as one of the best Software License Management tools, automates the activities such as measuring software use, collecting software licensing and reporting compliance. This liberates the IT personnel to work on strategy rather than on administration besides ensuring that the company is in optimum terms of license with all vendors.
Key Features:
- Manage inventory
- Distribute software
- Handle patches
- Track automatically
- Facilitate compliance
Best For: IT departments
Pricing: From $4,000
Rating: 4.3/5
Link: https://www.quest.com/products/kace-systems-management-appliance/
11. Aspera LicenseControl
Aspera, smart license optimization, and full-management LicenseControl facilitates companies to reduce software expenditures and reduce compliance risks. It offers powerful tools to organize licenses of numerous vendors and platforms to offer useful feedback on their usage and where one can save money. Its analytics can assist companies in understanding complex licensing regulations and make intelligent decisions regarding the purchases and deployment of software.
Aspera technical software licensing experience is particularly applicable in specialized markets in which software prices have consumed a significant portion of the IT budget and complicated multi-part licenses that require sophisticated management.
Key Features:
- Reduce costs
- Support multiple vendors
- Get usage insights
- Mitigate risk
- Show how to optimize
Best For: Large enterprises
Pricing: Enterprise pricing
Rating: 4.5/5
Link: https://www.usu.com/en/aspera-is-now-usu
12. License Manager for WooCommerce
The tool is useful in the management of online stores in the context of WordPress and WooCommerce when it comes to software products. It also allows businesses to manage licenses without any complications and sell them in the most suitable time to maximize income. The plug-in allows enterprises to activate and deactivate licenses remotely and have control over distribution and prevent illegal usage.
It is direct to WooCommerce and thus it suits well with the shops which already use WordPress. Its automation simplifies the entire sales process: design, deliver, and enable licenses and eliminates manual work and enhances the customer experience.
Key Features:
- Sell licenses
- Activate remotely
- Integrate with WooCommerce
- Manage easily
- Control distribution
Best For: Online retailers
Pricing: From $79
Rating: 4.1/5
Link: https://wordpress.org/plugins/license-manager-for-woocommerce/
13. Belarc Advisor
Belarc Advisor is also detected to have detailed software and hardware inventory and also assists in updating about license administration by revealing what software is installed, along with its usage.It is often included among the best Software License Management tools because it assists businesses to remain on track with vendor agreements and exploit software resourcefulness with precise data on inventory at reasonably derived or mechanically amassed data.
Even though it is mostly an inventory rather than an active management report, its detailed reports provide a solid foundation on which license optimization can be done. Belarc Advisor is capable of identifying unseen security updates and license information, which is a benefit to a firm that aims to address security and compliance joined in a shared inventory system.
Key Features:
- Full inventory
- Show software
- Maintain compliance
- Track accurately
- Provide usage insights
Best For: The small and middle companies.
Pricing: Free for personal use
Rating: 4.0/5
Link: https://www.belarc.com/products/belarc-advisor
14. Scalable Software Asset Vision
This cloud platform provides the profound insight into the utilization of software and the amount of money that is spent, detecting the great opportunities to save and optimize all types of software. It simplifies compliance, reduces risk, and with the comprehensive information and reports it is easier to command licenses under all the departments. It maintains its updated data because it is cloud-based and therefore is available at all times and accessed by authorized individuals.
Scalable Software Asset Vision is dedicated to valuable insights rather than raw information and assists the companies to concentrate on the most promising project resulting in the greatest benefit and demonstrates that license management is connected with business value.
Key Features:
- Cloud platform
- Show usage insights
- Identify savings
- Simplify compliance
- Give detailed analytics
Best For: Modern enterprises
Pricing: Custom quotes
Rating: 4.4/5
Link: https://www.scalable.com/products/asset-vision/
15. Eracent IT Management Center (ITMC)
ITMC has provided a complete IT lifecycle suite including good Software licenses management in complex environment. It is also used to automatically gather and analyze software data across the entire organization and enables companies to optimize their assets, remain in compliance with the law and save money through reallocation. Its general capabilities include all that is required in terms of IT asset management, including monitoring hardware to streamlining software licenses.
In the company of the best software license management tools, Eracent is going to shine as it uses a connection of license data to the hardware to allow the clear view of IT investments and make a more intelligent decision regarding technology changes and standardization.
Key Features:
- Manage lifecycle
- Automate usage checks
- Optimize assets
- Reduce cost
- Provide all features
Best For: Complex IT setups
Pricing: Enterprise pricing
Rating: 4.3/5
Link: https://eracent.com/
How to Choose the Right Software License Management Tool
- Organizational Scale: Choose those tools that are relevant to the scale of your organization and the complexity of your infrastructure.
- Integration Requirements: Ensure that it is compatible with your existing systems, such as the finance and IT management, successfully.
- Budget Versions: Match Your requirement has been fulfilled according to the features provided and your anticipated ROI.
- Vendor Support: Determine the quality of the support and training.
- Enterprise: Select those tools that can scale with the growth of your organization.
Benefits of Using License Management Tools
- Financial Savings: Get rid of unnecessary expenses through finding and eliminating unused/duplicate licenses.
- Audit Preparedness: Maintain complete records in place against audit of vendor.
- Operation Efficiency: Eliminate manual operations and make IT work on strategy.
- Risk Mitigation: Eliminate the risk of non-compliance with legal and other fines.
- jedoch, acts of selling can be made more intelligent with data-driven decisions: retrieve real usage data to program smart buying and use decisions.
Conclusion
The selection of the best software license management tools in 2025 is a significant choice that has a significant impact on the effectiveness of the functioning of a company, its compliance, and its financial performance. Since software is becoming increasingly complex and subscription-based systems are going to proliferate, a proper license management system will help accomplish big issues in small steps. Concentrate on SaaS optimization, complete IT asset administration, or even special compliance requirements. The best software license management application in this guide has the genuine potential to provide you with software license control.
FAQs
Q: What are the best software license management tools for small businesses?
A: Lansweeper, Belarc Advisor, and Torii are cheap and scalable applications that suit a small business with its small IT team and budget.
Q: How do license management tools help with compliance?
A: They log automatically software installs, use in comparison to what is permitted, generate compliance files, and send a notification of potential violations to managers prior to an audit.
Q: Can license management tools work with cloud-based software?
A: Yes, the contemporary applications like Zylo, Torii, and Spendflo are aimed at operating SaaS and cloud subscriptions as well as periodic licenses. When exploring the best software license management tools, these platforms stand out for their cloud-focused capabilities.
Q: What is the average ROI of implementing license management software?
A: Generally companies can save 20-30 percent of software amounts during the initial year by eliminating unnecessary licenses together with making improved purchasing decisions.