Top SaaS conferences to attend in 2023
Expected to grow by nearly $100 billion over the next four years, the SaaS (software as a service) industry is firmly making its presence felt in markets across the world. With unexpected situations happening worldwide, more businesses are looking for innovative solutions to improve their efficiencies and stay one step ahead of the competition.
For these reasons, SaaS conferences deserve a lot of attention right now. In such a niche—and still relatively new —industry, any opportunity that tech professionals have to further their learning could have vital importance to a company’s future.
Below, we’ll look at the best upcoming events for the next year, plus the reasons why SaaS conferences are worth it, together with getting prepared for your own attendance.
To help you find what you’re looking for, we’ve separated this post by sub-headers. Use the following links to jump to your chosen section.
- Best 2023 SaaS Conferences
- Why attend a SaaS conference?
- Is it worth my time and money to attend a SaaS conference?
- How to choose the right SaaS conference to attend
- How to build your presence at an SaaS conference
Best 2023 SaaS Conferences
There are literally hundreds of annual SaaS conferences to choose from around the world, from SXSW to ProductCon. And that’s not even mentioning the broader, non-SaaS focused events, like Adobe Summit.
Fortunately, most of these conferences will be in-person events again after being strictly virtual for two years due to the pandemic. And they’re not all based in Silicon Valley, either! So, where to start? Let’s take a look at the best SaaS conferences coming up in 2023.
February – March 2023
ProductCon 2023
Date: February 21, 2023
Location: London, UK
Virtual options: Yes
ProductCon is billed as the largest product management conference in the world, hosting events throughout the year in San Francisco, London, and New York, as well as an online virtual event.
This single day conference will feature a collection of product leaders from some of the top technology companies out there. They’ll be sharing their tactics and best practices for building the next generation of software products. If you’re looking for a product-led summit, this is the one for you.
Speakers will include James Smith, Group Product Manager for Google, Katie Cummings, VP of Product at Deliveroo, and Simone Paul Tamussin, VP of Global Products at Mastercard.
SXSW 2023
Date: March 10-19, 2023
Location: Austin, Texas
Virtual options: No
Known for its large-scale festival atmosphere, SXSW (or South by Southwest) is a must-attend event for digital creatives of all stripes looking to learn new ideas and make long-lasting career connections.
Each SXSW spans numerous tracks, with those confirmed for 2023 including Advertising & Brand Experience, Civic Engagement, Startups, and Workplace Revolution.
Features sessions confirmed for 2023 include ‘Data Privacy After Roe v. Wade’, and ‘2050: Digital Identity is a Human Right’. Speakers include Ian Beacraft, CEO and Chief Futurist at Signal and Cipher, Author and former Chairman, President, and CEO of IBM Ginni Rometty, and Amy Webb, quantitative futurist and CEO of the Future Today Institute.
April – June 2023
Web Summit 2023
Date: May 1-4, 2023
Location: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Virtual options: No
For the first time, Web Summit are hosting an event outside of Europe. Heading to Rio, it’s set to be the largest tech event in Brazil, with an expected 15,000 attendees. While there’s little information on this specific event yet, past events in Lisbon have been described as “…the World Cup of tech conferences” by Fortune.
SubSummit 2023
Date: May 31 – June 2, 2023
Location: Dallas, Texas, USA
Virtual options: No
The world’s largest dedicated DTC subscriptions conference, SubSummit is a three day event, giving attendees a range of workshops, track sessions, and keynotes to attend. There’s also plenty of networking opportunities.
If you’re looking to optimize your business model, learn how to improve retention, or future proof your business by understanding the evolution of the subscription industry, SubSummit has something for you.
The call for speakers for the 2023 conference has gone out, with past conferences featuring speakers from companies such as Hello Fresh, EveryPlate, and Netflix.
Dublin Tech Summit 2023
Date: May 31 – June 1, 2023
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Virtual options: No, but some keynotes will be made available online after the summit
Known as Europe’s fastest growing tech conference, Dublin Tech Summit returns as a live event in 2023, after hosting virtual events for the past two years. This two-day event is expected to attract guests in their thousands, and media outlets from around the world.
Featuring hundreds of international speakers representing 60 countries, Dublin Tech Summit aims to help tech companies elevate, integrate, and accelerate.
Speakers for the 2023 conference have yet to be announced, but DTS22 featured such esteemed guests as Cassie Kozyrkov, Chief Decision Scientist for Google, and Bryan Che, CSO for Huawei.
TNW Conference 2023
Date: June 15-16, 2023
Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Virtual options: No
TNW Conference gives industry leaders and tech enthusiasts alike all the benefits of a conference, combined with the atmosphere of a festival. In fact, James Beacham, Particle Physicist at CERN, describes it as being “like Woodstock for innovators”.
Attendees will receive insights from industry pioneers, and will have the chance to meet policymakers, tech execs, startups, and scale-ups. In excess of 6,000 companies from over 120 countries attend.
Previous speakers have included Maxine Williams, Chief Diversity Officer for Meta, and Priscilla Chomba-Kinywa, Chief Technology Officer for Greenpeace International.
July – September 2023
MozCon 2023
Date: August 7-9, 2023
Location: Seattle, Washington, USA
Virtual options: 2022 had a livestream pass available, but no mention yet for 2023.
MozCon is self-described as a summer camp for marketers. It gives digital marketers a chance to come together and get to grips with SEO, learn from industry experts, and network with peers.
The three-day experience attracts speakers from around the world, from backgrounds in search marketing, conversion optimization, local search, mobile, and more. A range of sessions take place in a non-stuffy environment, with a focus on content and community. While not uniquely targeted at SaaS businesses, it’s a great place for both networking and learning.
Speakers in previous years have included Andy Crestodina, Co-Founder and CMO of Orbit Media, and Karen Hopper, Performance Marketing Strategist at Razorfish.
INBOUND 2023
Date: September 5-8, 2023
Location: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Virtual options: 2022 had digital access, no information on 2023 yet.
INBOUND is an annual conference powered by HubSpot, and provides a platform for leaders in marketing, sales, customer success, and revenue operations to meet and share wisdom. Business leaders from over 150 countries gather at INBOUND to share new perspectives and insights.
More than just a software conference, interactive booths, networking events, a VIP welcome party, and a picturesque outdoor space all combine to make INBOUND a unique and exciting event. In-person and online experiences combine to provide an accessible experience for all.
Past speakers at INBOUND include TJ Adeshola, Head of Global Content Partnerships for Twitter, and President Barack Obama.
Traffic and Conversion Summit 2023
Date: September 12-14, 2023
Location: San Diego, California, USA
Virtual options: Yes
Traffic and Conversion Summit combines a live, in-person event in North America, with a virtual online event, giving marketers from around the world access to content, inspiration, and networking events.
Experts share tested, proven tactics that can help businesses increase traffic, conversions, and sales. Marketers, business owners, and entrepreneurs from virtually every industry gather at T&C Summit to advance their businesses, their contacts, and their knowledge.
Speakers at previous Traffic and Conversion Summits have included Ryan Deiss, CEO of DigitalMarketer.com and Melanie Balke, Founder and CEO of The Email Marketers.
SaaStr Annual 2023
Date: September 6-8, 2023
Location: San Francisco, USA
Virtual options: No
After a strong showing last year, SaaStr Annual is set to return. It’ll be outdoors, in their own words, “festival style”. Taking place over three full days, with hundreds of workshops and mentoring sessions, there’s a lot to do.
Past speakers include a range of great SaaS leaders, including Ben Chestnut, CEO of Mailchimp, Michelle Benfer, SVP at HubSpot, and Shuo Wang, Co-Founder and CRO at Deel.
October – December 2023
Watch this space, as we expect to see regular conferences like SaaStock, SAAS North, and more, return.
Why attend a SaaS conference?
There’s lots of fantastic content online – from case studies like our content marketing case study for RingCentral US, UK, France and Germany, to ebooks, webinars and more.
Despite these increased opportunities to grow your own knowledge, conferences still offer opportunities that can’t be found elsewhere.
Networking opportunities
While video chat options mean you can talk to anyone, anywhere, you simply can’t beat networking on a face-to-face level. Conferences bring people together from all around the world, including niche experts you wouldn’t normally get the chance to converse with at all. From company founders to VCs, SEO specialists to back-end coders, there’s space for everyone.
For example, accelerate agency offers a range of SaaS SEO specializations including content marketing that’s primed to those working in the SaaS industry. Anyone can tap into the wide range of content we offer on our site—such as this article on tried-and-tested SaaS marketing strategies—but we still prefer to use the human approach wherever possible.
Live SaaS events and conferences grant us the opportunity for us to meet fellow marketers, to get to know other people, and for other people to get to know us.
At any event, there’ll be hundreds or thousands of fellow professionals from the SaaS community available for roundtable discussions, and it only takes one spark to form meaningful connections and open the doors to new opportunities.
Learning from others
We all go to conferences eager to learn new things, but there’s more to it than just using them as potential knowledge centers.
Hearing about the successes and/or failures of like-minded SaaS companies can show you where you’re going right, and where improvements need to be made.
For example, you may be making waves with your latest SaaS product but don’t have the knowledge to promote it. At the best conferences, you can come across other firms to help you fill in the gaps. accelerate doesn’t just offer one-size-fits-all SEO like most companies you’ll come across—we actually specialize in content marketing for the SaaS industry and have a host of case studies to demonstrate our expertise —so meeting companies like us at a conference will help you and your team pick up actionable ideas and to stay across the latest trends in the sector.
Learning from industry leaders
Not all SaaS conferences are equal. When you’re looking into events that could be relevant to your own business, make sure to check the speaker list.
If CEOs and SaaS founders of hugely successful companies are giving up their time to talk at a conference, they’ll likely have something worthwhile to share – from their best growth strategies to market insights. Such events can allow you to tap into knowledge from those who are normally too busy to share it. Or, if you’re strapped for time you can always read a handy ebook to fill any possible gaps.
Is it worth my time and money to attend a SaaS conference?
All business leaders need to budget, and here’s where research comes in. We’ll look at the best ways to choose the right SaaS conferences for your business shortly. But in brief, it’s definitely worth your time and money if you maximize the chance of getting a good return on your investment.
Look at the needs of your own business and match these to the expected content of this season’s events. Are there companies present that can provide a stepping stone to your own success? It’s one thing to provide knowledgeable SaaS content marketing for businesses. But really, you want to look for companies that can go beyond that—for instance, as an all-round SaaS SEO agency accelerate can get you coverage in some leading places including HubSpot, Freshdesk and BigCommerce.
Furthermore, you should consider the other bonuses that can be gained from your attendance. Can a particular business of software (BOS) conference showcase your own firm to the right people? Is there more to be gained by attending than missing out?
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How to choose the right SaaS conference to attend
Begin by making a list of what you’re hoping to achieve from attending a conference. For example, if you’re looking to learn more about a particular aspect of content marketing, such as excellently-optimized SaaS landing pages, focus on the events that showcase expertise in that field.
Research the background of the various speakers. These days, you don’t need to hire a private detective—the world of marketing is full of expert stalkers who can find pretty much anyone via the likes of LinkedIn or Facebook.
Checking the size of an event is also an indicator of quality—look at the number of people who’ve signed up. This is an important factor when considering whether a particular conference is worth the time and money—you don’t want to turn up and find there’s no one there to network with!
How to build your presence at a SaaS conference
It goes without saying that a good smile and cheery persona can work wonders when it comes to networking. A good dress sense can also open the doors to new conversations and business friendships.
If you’re planning to be an exhibitor at one of the physical SaaS conferences, then make sure you’re offering a premium customer experience. Aim to hit the fine line between professionalism and friendliness. Make sure any slogans you use are short enough to be absorbed at a glance. Your mission is to draw people in, and once you’ve done that you can really turn on the marketing charm.
Consider giving away some brand-related free gifts to those you meet. Everyone will likely do the same, so choose these wisely. You’ll want something that sums up your brand identity, and at the same time shows you have a friendly personality. And make sure you have a unique selling point (USP).
For example, accelerate agency is just one of thousands of digital marketing agencies operating worldwide, but few can match our content marketing offering. We’ve years of experience in working with tech companies and can offer the kind of dedicated SaaS SEO strategies that are proven to work within a highly-specialized sector.
View any conference that you attend as merely a step on a longer journey. There’s no point in gathering together a great list of new contacts if all these potential relationships remain professionally unconsummated. Treat them as hot leads and be sure to follow-up any conversations within a few days.
If you are enjoying this post why not book a consultation with accelerate agency to see how we can help skyrocket your SaaS business
Nick Brown is the founder & CEO of accelerate agency, a SaaS SEO agency. Nick has launched several successful online businesses, writes for Forbes, published a book and has grown accelerate from a UK agency to a company that now operates across US, APAC and EMEA and employs 160 people. He was also once charged at by a mountain gorilla
