How do I calculate how much my company wastes on unused software seats?

Multiply each tool's annual cost by the share of seats nobody opens in a normal week, then add it up across your stack. The average company leaves about half its licenses unused (Zylo, 30M licenses analyzed), so the number is usually larger than leaders expect.

What is a normal software seat utilization rate?

About 49% of paid software licenses get used in the average company (Zylo), and marketers use just 33% of their martech stack's capabilities (Gartner). Half-empty is the norm, not the exception, which is why per-tool utilization is worth auditing before every renewal.

What is cost per active user and how is it calculated?

Cost per active user is your total annual software spend divided by the seats actually used each week, not the seats you bought. It exposes the real price of a tool once idle seats are counted, which often runs two to three times the sticker price.

How do I find out how many of my software seats are actually used?

Pull the active-seat or last-30-day usage report from each tool's admin panel, or check last-login data in your SSO such as Okta or Entra. A gut estimate works to start, but the admin panel gives you the real number for a renewal conversation.

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The AI Bill

Add up what the AI stack actually costs, then compare it to the pipeline it produces. The gap between those two numbers is the bill nobody itemizes.

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