SaaS borrowers account for just 8% of 2025 private credit loans
Mar 27, 2026, 1:00 AM GMT-4 | By DLDSaaS borrowers accounted for 8% of the $327 billion in private credit loans captured by DLD in 2025, broadly in line with their 9% share of the broader $1 trillion private loan universe in DLD’s historical database.
SaaS is vulnerable to AI disruption because it can automate and replace many software features and user workflows, reducing the need for separate applications and paid user seats. Thus, investors are concerned about exposure in private credit portfolios.
DLD reviewed private-equity owned, software-as-a-service (SaaS) borrowers in its US direct lending dataset. Among the key takeaways:
SaaS borrowers are roughly twice as large as non-SaaS software borrowers: SaaS average EBITDA is $109M vs $56M for non-SaaS
Lending to smaller SaaS companies dropped significantly in 2025 and is negligible in 2026.
The share of SaaS loans with a recurring revenue structure dropped to 27% last year, from 36% in 2024, and 51% in 2023.
The pricing premium for SaaS borrowers with a recurring revenue structure ranges from 60 to 90 bps.
—Dave Puchowski