See How Much Costs CurrentWare Could Help You Save
Get a conservative business case based on industry-wide savings, not best-case projections.
- Discover total estimated savings in unused software licences
- Estimate annual savings from improved productivity
- Overview total energy savings in $
Find out how much you can save on software nobody uses
Are rising software costs eating into your annual budgets? It’s a common problem with SaaS businesses. You know some of it is waste. What you can’t say is how much, in which tools, or what it would be worth to cancel. So the renewal comes round, it gets approved because cutting feels riskier than paying, and nothing changes.
That’s just the licences. You’re also paying for capacity nobody tracks and machines left running overnight. This calculator prices all three, in dollars, so you can take a number you can justify in a budget meeting.
What you will get back, and how much to trust each figure
Most ROI calculators give you an inflated number. Our calculator gives you three, each priced in dollars and ranked by how confident you can be in it. It uses a conservative benchmark for a 175-person company, so you get a figure before you type anything.
| Software licences: hard cash | Productivity: capacity, not cash yet | Energy: small and verifiable |
|---|---|---|
| Your software bill is headcount × spend per employee. Usage reports show which paid seats go unused. Those licences can be removed at renewal, making this the clearest and largest direct saving. | A 2024 peer-reviewed study found a 7.1% productivity increase after computer monitoring was introduced. But recovered time only becomes savings if it avoids a hire, cuts overtime, or creates billable output. The calculator counts 25% of the gain. | Powering down 175 devices outside working hours saves roughly 39,900 kWh a year, or under $5,000. It is small compared with the other savings, but it is easy for facilities teams to verify. |
Your Free, Instant Software Cost Savings Calculator
Pre-filled for a 175-person company, so you get a number straight away. Change anything and it updates live; nothing is sent to us unless you ask. Not sure about a figure? Tap the What these notes doEach one tells you where the number came from, which study backs it up, and what to change it to if your business looks different. beside it for the source and what to use instead.
Which products are you pricing?
SaaS list pricing, billed annually. Pick the Suite or individual modules.
Your selection: CurrentWare Suite · $20/user/mo
Your workforce
One license covers one monitored computer or user.
Matched to your license count.
Where the savings come from How the levers workTwo measurable levers, each switchable. Each lever loads at its published benchmark. Drag any slider down to model a lower figure you can defend in a budget meeting.Not counted hereBandwidth savings, hardware and energy savings from enPowerManager, audit and compliance evidence time, and the cost of a breach you avoid are all excluded. Actual results may be higher or lower depending on workforce composition, software contracts, implementation and how recovered capacity is used.
Productivity recovered across the team How this lever worksA 2024 field study measured about a 7% average productivity gain when monitoring is introduced. The gain is applied to eligible payroll to size the productive capacity created; only the share you expect to convert to cash (the financial-realization rate below) enters the ROI. BrowseReporter or BrowseControl
Unused software licenses reclaimed How this lever worksYour total software bill is headcount multiplied by spend per employee. Application usage reports show which paid seats nobody actually opens, and that share is reclaimable at the next renewal. Two inputs, one multiplication. BrowseReporter
Data loss and device risk avoided How this lever worksOff by default, with no benchmark behind it, because incident costs vary too much to assume one. If you have your own exposure figure from a risk register or insurer, put it in. Optional · your figures
Leave at zero if you do not have a defensible number.
Energy saved by powering down devices enPowerManager How this lever works
enPowerManager powers monitored devices down outside working hours. The saving is metered
directly: devices × the watts avoided (on-state minus managed sleep) ÷ 1,000 × your non-working hours × your electricity
rate. It is direct cash, so it counts in full.
Where the defaults come from
A desktop draws
roughly 60 W left on and about 3 W in managed sleep or off (ENERGY STAR). The $0.12/kWh rate sits below the US
commercial average of about 13.5 cents (EIA). Enabling PC power management cuts idle energy by up to about 70% (ENERGY
STAR) and up to 60% (US Department of Energy) – sanity checks only, since the figure here is computed from your own
watts and hours.Sources: ENERGY STAR computers · US EIA Electric Power Monthly
How We Calculate Your Ballpark Savings
We believe in transparency. These are the exact formulas the calculator runs, and the published research each default is measured against.
The formulas
Three rules that keep it honest
- No double counting. Disengaged employees are removed from lever 1, so their hours are never claimed twice.
- No full-salary claims. Lever 2 counts only the share of cost you say you can actually recover, half of it by default.
- No discount assumed. Investment uses public list price, so it is the most you would pay.
Sources behind the defaults
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics: Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, March 2026 Private-industry employer cost averaged $46.60 per hour worked; wages 69.9%, benefits 30.1%. bls.gov Used for: fully loaded hourly cost default of $25
- Gallup: State of the Global Workplace 2026 20% of employees engaged, 64% not engaged, 16% actively disengaged; low engagement costs an estimated $10 trillion, around 9% of global GDP. gallup.com Used for: disengaged employee default of 2 in 175, about 1.1%
- Zylo: 2026 SaaS Management Index An average 36% of SaaS licenses sit unused against recommended utilization, 46% of applications are unused or underused, and median spend is $9,455 per employee. zylo.com Used for: unused license default of 15% and software spend default of $500
- Information Systems Research: longitudinal field quasi-experiment on internet monitoring, 2023 Introducing internet monitoring measurably reduced cyberloafing; researchers estimate one to two hours of non-work internet use per workday. culverhouse.ua.edu Used for: productivity default of 2%, roughly 10 minutes per day
- Microsoft: Work Trend Index 2025 Knowledge workers are interrupted by a meeting, email or message roughly every two minutes during the working day. microsoft.com/worklab Used for: context on the size of the recoverable time pool
- CurrentWare store page, August 2026 Suite $20; BrowseReporter $12; AccessPatrol $12; BrowseControl $6; enPowerManager $6 per user per month, billed annually. Minimum annual contract $1,440 USD. Volume discounts from 100 licenses. currentware.com/store Used for: all pricing and the minimum contract floor
Every default is set below the research. Here's by how much
| Assumption | This calculator | Published benchmark | How conservative |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fully loaded cost per hour | $25 | $46.60 US private industry average | 46% below |
| Productivity recovered | 2% | 12–25% of the day is non-work internet use | Claims a small fraction |
| Disengaged employees found | 1.1% | 16% actively disengaged worldwide | 93% below |
| Cost recovered per disengaged employee | 50% | Commonly modeled at 100% | Halved |
| Unused software licenses | 15% | 36% unused, 46% underused | 58% below |
| Software spend per employee | $500 | $9,455 median | 95% below |
| Volume discount applied | None | Available from 100 licenses | Overstates your cost |
Sources: BLS ECEC March 2026; Gallup State of the Global Workplace 2026; Zylo 2026 SaaS Management Index; CurrentWare store page, August 2026.
How It Works (Simple Steps)
Three steps. No sign-up, no waiting, no emails.
Adjust the inputs
Defaults are loaded already. Change your licence count, hourly cost and software spend, or leave them and see the benchmark case.
Watch the result move
ROI, payback period and net annual benefit recalculate as you type. Switch any lever off to model it out entirely.
Keep or share it
Copy a link that carries your figures with it, email yourself the summary, or print to PDF for a budget pack.
You can also build multiple scenarios and compare outcomes. Change the license count, switch products, or drag the sliders to see how each assumption moves the return.
Validate the Estimate With Your Own Baseline
This calculator is a model, not a measurement. Here’s how you can replace every assumption on this page with a measured figure before you put it in front of anyone.
- Measure a two-week baseline. Run BrowseReporter, BrowseControl and AccessPatrol in monitor-only mode to capture current application, web and device activity.
- Find your own waste. Pull real unused-licence and avoidable-activity figures from your usage reports, in place of the benchmark defaults above.
- Introduce the policies you’ll actually use. Roll out the filtering, device controls and management conversations you intend to keep.
- Compare like for like. Measure an equivalent post-implementation period against your own baseline, not against this model.
- Swap the defaults for your figures. At that point the estimate stops being a model and becomes a validated, company-specific result.
Bring us your figures. We’ll tell you where they’re optimistic.
A calculator can’t see your tooling, your headcount mix or your renewal preferences but a 20-minute call with our experts can, including when the answer is that CurrentWare isn’t the right fit for you. What you get:
- Your calculator inputs arrive with the request, so you never repeat yourself
- A volume-discounted quote for your actual licence count
- A Cost Insights walkthrough on real software usage data
- Deployment options: cloud, self-managed cloud or on-premises
Built for the people who have to defend the numbers For
Created for the Experts, By the Experts
This calculator is designed to help professionals like you take control of software spending and drive real value.
Built for the people who have to defend the numbers
IT Teams
Cut licence waste and control costs with real application usage data, not renewal-time guesswork.
Finance Teams
Forecast more accurately and walk into contract negotiations with usage evidence behind you.
Executives
Justify software spend with figures that survive scrutiny because the assumptions are sourced and deliberately low.
Teams that already found the savings
Two customers who used usage data to cut spend, not just estimate it.
Teams that already found the savings
Two customers who used usage data to cut spend, not just estimate it.
Insurance agency reduces software cost
Application usage reporting exposed paid seats that nobody was opening, giving the team evidence to right-size at renewal.
Read the case study → Case study · Cost reductionCutting software costs and saving time
What changed once usage data replaced assumptions in budget and renewal conversations.
Read the case study →Ready to Unlock Hidden Savings?
Stop paying for software you don't use. Two weeks of your own usage data beats any calculator. Deploy BrowseReporter on up to 10 computers, free.
Frequently asked
Frequently Asked Questions:
-
A software cost savings calculator helps IT and finance teams estimate potential savings from eliminating unused licenses, reducing SaaS overspend, and optimizing software budgets. With CurrentWare’s calculator, you can forecast ROI by identifying cost reduction opportunities in your IT environment.
-
A SaaS ROI calculator compares the total cost of your software subscriptions with the value gained from active usage. By tracking license utilization, renewal costs and adoption rates, IT teams can see whether their SaaS investments are delivering measurable returns.
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An effective IT cost savings calculator should consider:
- Number of unused or underutilized licenses
- Subscription renewal timelines
- Departmental software usage patterns
- Shadow IT and unsanctioned apps
- Compliance and audit requirements
These are the same insights provided by CurrentWare’s Cost Insights tool.
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Every default sits at the published benchmark for that assumption, and every source is dated between 2023 and 2026. Drag any slider down to model the floor of its range instead. The fully loaded hourly cost references the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the productivity default references Ko and Baek’s 2024 field study in Management Science, and the unused-license default references Gartner’s 2026 Magic Quadrant for SaaS Management Platforms. All pricing comes from our store page.
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The accuracy depends on the quality of your usage and cost data. By integrating license tracking and software metering, tools like CurrentWare provide reliable, real-world insights to support accurate IT budgeting and financial forecasting.
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The CurrentWare Suite is $20 USD per user per month billed annually. Individually, BrowseReporter and AccessPatrol are $12, BrowseControl and enPowerManager are $6. The minimum annual contract value is $1,440 USD. Volume discounts start at 100 licenses, and education and non-profit organizations may qualify for 10% off. See full pricing.
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No. It uses public list pricing, so the investment figure is the maximum you would pay. Discounts begin at 100 licenses, which means the return shown is understated for most teams above that threshold. Ask for a quote to see your actual number.
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Benefits include:
- Identifying unused or redundant licenses
- Forecasting software expenses more accurately
- Supporting compliance with IT budget policies
- Improving collaboration between IT, finance and procurement
With CurrentWare, these benefits are automated through ongoing software usage monitoring.
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Yes. A key feature of cost savings calculators like CurrentWare’s is detecting unused or underutilized licenses. This allows IT teams to reallocate or cancel subscriptions, reducing waste and improving license compliance. Here is how to track license usage in practice.
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Software spend calculators give IT leaders visibility into SaaS adoption, usage and renewal cycles. This insight enables better vendor negotiations, reduces shadow IT risks, and ensures every subscription delivers measurable business value.
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Continue exploring employee monitoring
Turn the estimate into a plan.
Software license optimization
The reports behind lever three: find paid tools nobody opens before the renewal lands.
SolutionEmployee monitoring software
How visibility into web, app and idle time works across office, hybrid and remote teams.
SolutionEmployee productivity tracking
Active versus idle time, productivity classification and scheduled reporting.
ProductBrowseReporter
The module that produces the data behind every lever in this calculator.
PricingPlans and pricing
Module and Suite pricing, volume discounts, minimum contract and payment options.
EvidenceCustomer case studies
What other IT teams measured after deploying, including software cost reductions.
ComparisonCurrentWare vs alternatives
Side-by-side against ActivTrak, Teramind, Insightful and others.
TemplateEmployee monitoring starter kit
Policy templates and checklists to roll out monitoring transparently.
TemplatesPolicy template library
Free, editable workplace policy templates covering internet, monitoring and removable media.
Have questions? Talk to a CurrentWare expert.
This tool has been created to give you a sense of the savings you can expect. For more precise, real-world insights, book a demo of our Cost Insights feature. The accuracy depends on the quality of the data you provide.
We respect your privacy. Your data is safe and will not be shared.
Still have questions?
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