The Biggest Software Companies in The World

In 2011, co-founder and general partner of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, Marc Andreessen, wrote an essay about software growth that was published in The Wall Street Journal. Marc Andreessen’s headline, “Software is eating the world,” quickly became a phrase often referred to by investors. More than a decade later, his words ring even truer than they did when the essay was published.

Today, many of the world's most influential and valuable companies are software companies. This is an outcome of the superior scalability that a software company has over a hardware-producing company. This is partly the result of the nature of software businesses and is in and of itself relatively self-explanatory. Instead of dealing with supply chains, manufacturing costs, distribution, and similar things, a software company is able to scale both domestically and internationally at a rapid pace. This can all be done while keeping the marginal costs low.

As previously mentioned, some of the biggest businesses globally are large software companies. Below, we’ve listed the largest software companies in the world by market capitalization as of 2023.

1. Apple
   Although primarily considered a hardware company by many, Apple also offers a multitude of different software solutions that work in tandem with its physical products. Some examples of this include Apple Music, Apple TV+, iCloud, and other similar services.

2. Microsoft
   Microsoft and the host of various software services that they provide means that they come in second place on a list of the biggest software companies in the world. Microsoft provides things like the popular operating system Windows, the workspace platform Teams, the Office package with a host of various programs, and much more.

3. Alphabet (Google)
   Alphabet is the owner of Google, one of the most influential companies of the 21st century. Most widely known for their popular search engine, Alphabet provides a host of various software and websites. It is the owner of websites and services such as YouTube and Gmail, various advertising services, Google Docs, and much more.

4. Oracle
   Oracle is a massive corporation selling database software, cloud systems, and enterprise software. It’s a business focused on B2B sales, and its products and services can be found in everything from small businesses to giant multinational corporations.

5. Adobe
   Adobe is an American software company providing a range of software that aids professionals and enthusiasts in the production of various types of content. It offers software for video production, graphic design, photography, and similar things. These programs are sold individually, or through the Adobe Creative Cloud.