Software Escrow vs. SaaS Escrow: Which Protection is Best for Your Systems?

When you start researching escrow providers, you might ask for "software escrow" but then end up signing up for "SaaS escrow" instead. Or you're looking for "source code escrow," but your search results bring up "IP escrow" or "Escrow as a service." Don't let all the different names throw you—they're really just variations on the same theme. The core safeguards work the same way, but what gets protected is different.

The two main types you'll see are software and SaaS escrow. Both options would be considered best practice for licensing mission-critical software. But the right choice for you depends on what kind of software you're actually running.

Below, we compare software escrow vs. SaaS escrow to help you determine which protection is best for your systems.

» Manage your software risk with the right control

What is software escrow?

Software escrow safeguards your business when you depend on software from third-party vendors. The concept works like a high-tech bank vault: your vendor deposits their source code, technical documentation, and software data with a neutral third party, like Codekeeper. If something happens to the vendor—bankruptcy, acquisition, or they simply stop supporting your critical application—you can access these materials to maintain, modify, or rebuild the software yourself.

Software escrow was developed for applications that run on your own infrastructure, where you have direct control over the environment.

5 benefits of using software escrow

Software escrow:

1. Ensures business operations continue even if your software vendor goes bankrupt or discontinues support.
2. Provides leverage in negotiations and alternatives if vendor relationships deteriorate.
3. Meets industry requirements for critical system protection in finance, healthcare, and government sectors.
4. Grants source code access for deep integration and customization when release conditions are met.
5. Protects against abandoned software by providing materials for self-maintenance or smooth transitions.

» Discover more key benefits of software escrow

What is SaaS escrow?

SaaS escrow shields your business when you depend on cloud-based software applications. Instead of just storing source code files, SaaS escrow captures complete cloud environments—deployment configurations, database schemas, API integrations, and cloud infrastructure setups. If your SaaS vendor disappears, gets acquired, or shuts down their service, you can use these materials to recreate the entire application environment elsewhere.

5 benefits of using SaaS escrow

SaaS escrow:

1. Ensures complete retrieval of data, configurations, and customizations if your cloud provider fails.
2. Maintains critical operations through alternative hosting or replacement solutions during provider disruptions.
3. Safeguards against sudden SaaS discontinuation with access to data and application code.
4. Enables confident partnerships with innovative smaller vendors without typical startup risks.
5. Demonstrates data governance due diligence and meets regulatory requirements for cloud-based systems.

Software escrow vs. SaaS escrow: Escrow contents

The key difference between software escrow and SaaS escrow is its protection scope. Software escrow gives you what you need to rebuild on-premises applications on your own infrastructure. SaaS escrow gives you everything required to recreate a working cloud environment elsewhere—because having just the source code won't help you migrate a cloud application.

The table below shows what each solution covers:

Software escrow vs. SaaS escrow: Features

Both options include automated uploads, daily synchronization with your development repositories, dashboards for tracking deposits, AES256/512 encryption, and legal agreements. You can connect to platforms like GitHub, monitor your deposit status, and handle escrow agreements without lawyers.

SaaS escrow adds specialized cloud capabilities: integration with 50+ cloud platforms, including AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud, complete application environment capture, and deployment asset management. 

» Read our complete guide to SaaS escrow

Software escrow vs. SaaS escrow: Costs

Software escrow starts at $99 per month for a single application, while SaaS escrow starts at $149 per month. The price difference covers the additional infrastructure required to secure complete cloud environments versus on-premises source code.

Software escrow protects against rebuilding costs and downtime for on-premises systems. SaaS escrow prevents the much higher costs of recreating entire cloud infrastructure and losing operational data—expenses that can reach hundreds of thousands of dollars and months of downtime.

» Compare software vs. SaaS escrow pricing plans to find the best fit for your budget

Software escrow vs. SaaS escrow: Verification & compliance

Software escrow verification confirms your deposited materials are complete and your source code compiles successfully. The escrow provider tests build instructions, validates that documentation matches the code, and ensures you can rebuild the application. You get Software Resilience Certificates proving your recovery protection works for regulatory compliance.

SaaS escrow verification goes much further. The process validates that deposited configurations can recreate working applications in live environments, API connections function correctly, and database migrations succeed. You get comprehensive compliance documentation proving your entire application ecosystem can be restored—not just that code exists, but that it works.

Software escrow vs. SaaS escrow: Which is right for your technology?

Both software escrow and SaaS escrow solve the same fundamental business problem—securing your operations when vendor relationships end unexpectedly. But which you should choose comes down to matching your safeguards to your actual technology architecture.

Start by auditing your critical applications and their dependencies. If you can rebuild your systems from source code and documentation alone, software escrow provides the coverage you need. If your applications depend on cloud infrastructure, API integrations, and specific deployment configurations, SaaS escrow captures the complete environment required for recovery.

Note: Many organizations use both approaches—software escrow for their on-premises systems and SaaS escrow for their cloud applications.

Choose your escrow strategy

Figuring out which solution fits your specific technology stack isn't always straightforward.

If you're not sure which type of escrow makes sense for your applications, our escrow experts can help you audit your systems and recommend the right protection. The worst time to discover you have the wrong coverage is when you need it.

» Send us a custom proposal request to get a personalized escrow strategy for your specific applications