Rating of the Best SaaS Companies in Ukraine from Ukrainian Business Award

Ukrainian SaaS is one of the most striking success stories of domestic business in the last decade. Despite all the challenges, Ukrainian product companies create world-class software solutions that are used by millions of customers in dozens of countries – from marketers and security teams to large corporations. This is a story about engineering skills, ambitions and the ability to build global products from Ukraine. When choosing a SaaS solution, customers are guided by product functionality, innovation, quality of support, international recognition and years of operation on the market.

This rating presents ten leading SaaS companies: Serpstat, Ahrefs, SendPulse, Creatio, Ajax Systems, Ringostat, YouScan, Mailtrap, Stripo and Peopleforce. Ukrainian Business Award conducted a comprehensive study based on a number of key criteria, which allows us to evaluate each company not only by scale, but also by product quality, innovation and position in the global market.

The breadth of functionality determines how fully the product covers the user’s needs and how many tasks it can solve within a single ecosystem. The leader is Serpstat with 18 functional modules – the most comprehensive platform among all participants in the rating, which makes it a powerful universal tool. Ahrefs offers 15 modules, SendPulse and Creatio – 9 each, maintaining strong positions in terms of multifunctionality. Ajax Systems works with 8 modules, Ringostat – with 7, YouScan – with 4. Mailtrap has 3 modules, Stripo – 2, Peopleforce – 1, which reflects a more focused approach of these products to a specific task.

Innovation is a key indicator in the SaaS segment, because it is the ability to quickly implement new technologies that determines the competitiveness of a product in the global market. Ahrefs, Ajax Systems, Creatio and Serpstat received the maximum 10 points, which puts these companies in the group of technological leaders of the rating. YouScan, Ringostat and SendPulse received 9 points each, forming a strong innovative segment. Stripo, Peopleforce and Mailtrap have 8 points each, which also indicates a high level of technological development of products.

The technical level of the official website affects the first impression of the product and the convenience of onboarding new users. Stripo, Mailtrap and YouScan received the maximum 10 points, which indicates the highest loading speed, adaptability and impeccable technical implementation. Ajax Systems, Serpstat, Ringostat and SendPulse received 9 points each. Ahrefs, Peopleforce and Creatio have 8 points each, maintaining a consistently high technical level.

The Customer Experience Index reflects the level of customer experience, the quality of support and user satisfaction with the product. Eight companies received the maximum 10 points at once: Ajax Systems, YouScan, Ahrefs, Stripo, Ringostat, Peopleforce, SendPulse and Serpstat, which indicates an extremely high level of service and user-orientation of Ukrainian SaaS. Mailtrap and Creatio each have 9 points, which also reflects the high quality of customer experience. Such indicators confirm the maturity of the Ukrainian SaaS market.

The duration of operation on the market is an indicator of the company’s stability and accumulated expertise in product development and development. The leader in terms of experience is YouScan with 14 years of operation. Ahrefs, Ajax Systems, Mailtrap and Creatio have been operating for 12 years each, forming a group of the most experienced players in the rating. Serpstat and Ringostat have 10 years of experience each, SendPulse – 8 years. Stripo has been operating for 6 years, Peopleforce – 5 years, demonstrating rapid growth in a short time.

The level of brand awareness is determined by the number of branded search queries on Google using the Serpstat service. The undisputed leader is Ajax Systems — the highest awareness among all participants in the rating, which reflects the company’s status as one of the brightest Ukrainian SaaS success stories on the global market. SendPulse is in second place, Peopleforce is in third, forming a group of the most recognizable brands. Ahrefs, Ringostat and Serpstat operate in a strong upper segment for branded queries. Creatio and Stripo have a stable level of awareness, while YouScan and Mailtrap complete the list according to this criterion.

International awards are a strong confirmation of the quality of the product and the company’s recognition on the global market. The undisputed leader is Creatio with 50 international awards and distinctions — an impressive figure that puts the company on a par with the world leaders of the SaaS industry. YouScan has 20 awards, Ahrefs 15, Ajax Systems 14, maintaining a strong position in international recognition. Ringostat received 12 awards, Stripo and Peopleforce 10 each, Mailtrap and Serpstat 8 each, SendPulse 6 awards.

Customer reviews are one of the most objective criteria for building a SaaS product’s reputation. Ajax Systems has the highest score of 32.56 points, which puts the company in first place in terms of user satisfaction. SendPulse is in second place with 21.58 points, Ahrefs is in third place with 13.65 points, forming a group of leaders in terms of reputation. Serpstat has 8.37 points, Creatio has 7.24, Peopleforce has 4.21. Stripo has 3.89 points, YouScan has 3.57, Ringostat has 2.8, Mailtrap has 2.14.

Social media activity determines the level of interaction with the audience and the quality of the company’s digital communication. Stripo is the leader with 8 points, which indicates the most systematic approach to content. Serpstat has 7 points, YouScan and SendPulse have 6 points each, maintaining strong positions. Ahrefs, Ajax Systems, Peopleforce, Mailtrap, and Creatio operate with 5 points, Ringostat with 4, which reflects a stable level of presence in social networks.

The final jury score is based on the expert opinion of the panel members and takes into account all key performance indicators of the companies. Creatio received the highest score — 8.8 points, which reflects the company’s leadership in innovation and international recognition. Ajax Systems and Peopleforce received 8.6 points each, YouScan and SendPulse — 8.4 points each, forming a strong group of leaders. Ahrefs has 8.2 points, and Ringostat, Mailtrap, Stripo and Serpstat — 8 points each. The minimal difference between the participants emphasizes the exceptionally high overall level of the Ukrainian SaaS market.

A special place in the Ukrainian Business Award jury is occupied by Myroslav Koval — founder and CEO of Techlexity, a software architect with over 10 years of experience in building and scaling commercial digital products. Over the years, he has built and rescued real commercial products at the intersection of technology, business, and execution, which has given him a holistic understanding of how successful technology companies are created and developed — from idea validation to a viable business model.

When evaluating the participants in the SaaS companies rating, Myroslav relied on a comprehensive approach: does the product solve a real market need and is there a demand for it, how well-thought-out and useful the solution is for the user, what is the quality of implementation and speed of entry into the market, is it possible to actually scale and support the product, and how well-founded is the company’s strategy. His key principle is to evaluate the business in essence: model, metrics, team and sustainability, without the influence of hype around technologies. It is this sober and independent view of the practicing architect and founder that added professional depth to the rating and helped to evaluate Ukrainian SaaS products not by volume, but by real value and potential.

The Ukrainian Business Award study showed that the Ukrainian SaaS market in 2023 is a world-class segment that combines engineering skills, innovation and global ambitions. The leaders of the rating are companies that create products that are competitive on the international stage, including Creatio for innovation and a record number of international awards, Ajax Systems for brand recognition and customer satisfaction, Serpstat for platform functionality, and SendPulse and Ahrefs for reputation and scale. These companies shape the face of Ukrainian technology business in the world and prove that Ukraine can build global-scale products. This rating will become a useful reference point for businesses, investors, and professionals who follow the development of Ukrainian SaaS and are looking for reliable technological solutions.

The analytics were developed by Ukrainian Business Award with the support of analytical partners Serpstat, Clarity Project.

The following members of our jury also reviewed the analytics and gave their expert opinions: Ilya Slavhorodsky (CEO — Ukrainian Business Award), Oleksandr Stepanov (HBD — Head of Business Development Department UBTA — Ukrainian Business & Trade Association), Mykola Shcherbyn (CEO of the ANTs pharmacy chain), Alisa Konchenko (IT innovations for business, AI, digital transformation) and Myroslav Koval (Entrepreneur, software architect and expert in the field of technological entrepreneurship. Founder and CEO of Techlexity).

Conclusion based on the Results of the Ukrainian Business Award: TOP-10 SaaS companies in Ukraine 2023.

Summarizing all the information, we can announce the nominees of SaaS companies in Ukraine 2023:

Place in the rating	Company	Baly	Baly %
1	Ajax Systems	18,43340117	100,0
2	Ahrefs	17,36426593	94,2
3	Serpstat	13,53569624	73,4
4	Creatio	11,59568675	62,9
5	SendPulse	11,43028075	62,0
6	Ringostat	7,948941069	43,1
7	Worksection	6,609593957	35,9
8	Webstick	6,539446428	35,5
9	AcademyOcean	6,077877131	33,0
10	NetHunt	5,464810573	29,6