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For twenty years, the price of business software has been written the same way: so much per user per month. Every finance department knows the flaw in this model: the bill follows headcount, not value. Hiring ten salespeople means paying ten more licences, whether or not they fill in the CRM.
In 2026, the big surveys say this model is wobbling. They are partly right. But what replaces it is not necessarily cheaper, and the idea of rebuilding everything yourself with AI has its own costs. Here is what is changing, and what it means for a CRM.
In short
Most US executives surveyed by EY find per-seat pricing less relevant for their industry.
Deloitte forecasts hybrid pricing, based on consumption and outcomes: a forecast, not a measurement.
AI makes it faster to build in-house software, but 72% of the executives surveyed by EY say these tools slow down their progress.
Usage-based billing shifts the risk: the bill no longer follows hiring, it follows consumption.
For a CRM, the third way already exists: open source software hosted on your side, with no per-seat licence, and operations to plan for.
What executives say
EY’s July 2026 survey, from a firm that sells consulting and AI services, covers 534 US executives whose organisation already invests in AI, with no published size threshold. Its results all point the same way.
think per-seat pricing of online software will become less relevant in their industry
expect their relationship with software vendors to change within five years
say off-the-shelf software no longer meets their specific needs
This is an intention, not an observed change: the same companies still pay their licences. And the sample only includes organisations already investing in AI, more inclined than others to believe it will change everything.
What the firms forecast
In its 2026 technology, media and telecommunications predictions, Deloitte, which sells consulting, audit and AI services, forecasts that software pricing could shift from seat-based and subscription licensing to a hybrid model mixing consumption and outcomes. The firm even reports that some suggest replacing enterprise software with AI agents, an opinion it relays without endorsing it.
The shift already shows in offers: AI credits added to subscriptions, features billed per action. We have detailed the traps in our article on what “included” AI in software really costs.
Usage is not necessarily cheaper
Moving from seats to usage does not lower the bill: it changes what drives it up.
Per-seat licence
The bill follows hiring
It can be forecast to the month
An occasional user costs as much as a heavy one
Usage-based billing
The bill follows consumption
It varies with activity, and with agents running on their own
A runaway use costs money before anyone sees it
On the AI side, the phenomenon is already measured: the unit price falls and the bill rises, because volume climbs faster. We explain it in the token price falls, the AI bill rises. Software billed by usage inherits that variability.
Build it yourself with AI?
The third promise is the most appealing: since AI writes code, why not build your own tools? The same EY survey shows the flip side.
In-house software built with AI, according to the executives surveyed
Building fast does not mean maintaining fast. In-house software has to be hosted, backed up, updated, secured and understood by someone two years from now. Our article on vibe coding shows where that gap between the demo and the product lies.
What it means for a CRM
The CRM is the textbook case of per-seat licensing. According to Eurostat, the European Union’s public statistics office, 30.7% of French companies with 10 or more people used customer relationship management software in 2025: 27.1% of those with 10 to 49 people, 45.6% of those with 50 to 249. That is the point where a team moves from spreadsheets to a tool, and where the per-seat price starts to weigh.
Between per-seat licences, usage and in-house software, a third way already exists: an open source CRM hosted on your side. Twenty and Dolibarr install with no per-user licence, as does Odoo in its Community edition. The cost lies elsewhere: setup, data migration, a server and its operation. But it follows neither hiring nor a consumption meter.
We speak from experience: we have run Twenty in production since early 2025, more than a year and a half, with a server, backups and updates to keep up. That is the work to cost before choosing, and we do it line by line in CRM pricing over three years and in the real cost of leaving SaaS.
- Count seats in three years.
Not today: a per-seat price follows your hiring.
- Spot the features billed by usage.
AI credits, sends, automated actions: these are what will vary.
- Cost the operation of an open source option.
Server, backups, updates, and the time of the person in charge.
- Compare over three years, for the same needs.
Choosing between Twenty, Dolibarr and Odoo depends first on team size and the processes to cover.
Key takeaway
Our position, signed Jim
Per-seat licensing will not disappear tomorrow, but it has stopped being the only option. The right model is the one where you can say what will push the bill up. We would change our minds if vendors offered capped, predictable usage pricing that, for the same needs, costs less over three years than a well-run open source tool.
If the numbers point to a tool with no per-seat licence, our CRM and ERP offer chooses the right solution with you, migrates your data and trains the team.
Frequently asked questions
Will per-seat licensing disappear?
Not in the short term. Most executives surveyed by EY find it less relevant, and Deloitte forecasts hybrid models, but these are intentions and forecasts. Vendors are mostly adding usage on top of seats, in the form of credits.
Is usage-based billing cheaper?
Not necessarily. It stops following hiring, but follows consumption, which can climb fast with AI and agents. It is only cheaper if usage is capped and tracked.
Can you replace your CRM with a tool built with AI?
You can build it faster than before, but then you have to host, secure and maintain it. In EY’s survey, 72% of the executives surveyed say these in-house tools slow down their progress. For a standard need, an existing CRM, open source or not, is usually the safer bet.
Does an open source CRM really have no licence cost?
Twenty and Dolibarr can be self-hosted with no per-user licence, as can Odoo in its Community edition. The real cost is setup, hosting and operation: backups, updates, monitoring.
Sources
- EY’s July 2026 survey (new tab)ey.com
- 2026 technology, media and telecommunications predictions (new tab)deloitte.com
- Eurostat (new tab)ec.europa.eu
Jim · founder of Brain Plus AI
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