Looking to lock in the top SaaS and software conferences to attend this year without wasting budget or time? We’ve done the legwork. From GTM-heavy SaaS gatherings to deep technical summits in cloud, devops, and open source, here’s where we’d actually send our teams, and why.
How We Chose These Conferences
Industry Impact And Content Quality
We prioritized conferences that consistently shape the conversation, where launches happen, frameworks are born, and playbooks get refined. We looked for strong editorial curation (not just pay-to-play), practical talks with real metrics, and recordings or decks that stand up after the hype cycle. If speakers are practitioners (founders, PMs, engineers, CS leaders) sharing numbers, case studies, or code, strong signal.
Audience Fit And Networking Value
Great content isn’t enough if you can’t meet the right people. We favored events with targeted audience tracks (e.g., early-stage founders vs. scale-ups, platform engineers vs. app devs) and high-density networking formats: roundtables, Braindates, office hours, and AMAs. Bonus points for a good hallway track, space, time, and culture that invites real conversations.
Format, Accessibility, And Cost
We balanced flagship, in-person experiences with hybrid or virtual access. Clear scheduling, easy-to-navigate venues, and published talk libraries matter, so does ticket price relative to outcomes. We also weighed travel convenience (major hubs), scholarship options, and whether teams can justify sending multiple roles without overlap.
Must-Attend SaaS Conferences
SaaStr Annual
The largest community-driven SaaS gathering, typically in the SF Bay Area each September. Expect hands-on sessions from founders and execs on scaling ARR, NRR playbooks, pricing, PLG vs. sales-led motions, and fundraising realities. The outdoor campus layout makes networking effortless, and the mentorship-style sessions are gold for seed-to-growth-stage teams.
SaaStr Europa
Europa brings the same quality content to a shorter, tighter format in Europe (recent editions in London and Paris). We like it for EU GTM perspectives, cross-border scaling lessons, and access to European investors and partners. If you’re building in EMEA, Europa’s density of relevant conversations is hard to beat.
SaaStock (Dublin And Regional Editions)
SaaStock Dublin each October is a must for founders focused on sustainable growth. Programming leans into capital-efficient scaling, churn battles, and GTM alignment. The regional spin-offs (SaaStock Local) are useful for earlier-stage teams to test narratives and meet partners without a transatlantic flight.
Pulse (Customer Success)
Gainsight’s Pulse is the premier event for Customer Success, community, and product-value realization, usually in late spring (US) and a fall European edition. You’ll find practical NRR tactics, health scoring debates, and adoption frameworks that go beyond slogans. CS leaders, this is where your playbook levels up.
Product-Led Summit
Run by Product-Led Alliance, this series hits multiple cities and online. It’s tactical: activation, onboarding friction, monetization experiments, and cross-functional PMM alignment. We like the practitioner-led sessions and smaller roundtables that surface what actually moved conversion.
ProductCon
Hosted by Product School, ProductCon runs multiple times a year worldwide. It’s accessible, with clear tracks for aspiring and mid-career PMs. Expect roadmap strategy, AI-assisted product development, stakeholder management, and live demos. Ideal for PMs who want a broad scan of current product trends.
Must-Attend Software Engineering And Cloud Conferences
AWS re:Invent
Late November/early December in Las Vegas. If your stack leans AWS, this is the center of gravity: major service launches, architecture patterns, and deep dives on data, AI/ML, serverless, and security. Plan well, session seats go fast, and the builder labs are where real learning happens.
Google Cloud Next
Springtime (recently in Las Vegas). Strong on data cloud, gen AI, Vertex AI, security, and Kubernetes ecosystem integrations. The demos are polished and the roadmap sessions give practical guidance on cost, performance, and migration paths.
Microsoft Build
Usually in May, with robust virtual access. Ideal for developers living in the Microsoft ecosystem: Azure, .NET, GitHub, Copilot/AI tooling, and enterprise security. Great for teams modernizing apps and building AI copilots with responsible AI patterns.
KubeCon + CloudNativeCon
The flagship for cloud-native. Rotates between Europe (spring) and North America (fall). If you’re in platform engineering, SRE, or devops, this is home base: Kubernetes internals, service mesh, observability, supply chain security, and production anecdotes from large adopters.
QCon
Practitioner-first and editorially curated by InfoQ, with editions in London, San Francisco, and more. Topics span architecture, performance, ML systems, and team practices. Talks are refreshingly candid, with fewer vendor pitches and more “here’s what broke and how we fixed it.”
GitHub Universe
Primarily in the fall (San Francisco area). It’s the best lens into the developer workflow of the future: GitHub Copilot, Codespaces, security, and platform extensibility. If you care about productivity engineering and inner-source, Universe is time well spent.
DockerCon
Containerization’s comeback tour. Recent editions have doubled down on developer experience, secure supply chains, and productivity toolchains. Expect demos that shorten idea-to-deploy and sessions on image provenance, SBOM, and multi-stage builds.
Open Source Summit
Linux Foundation’s umbrella event (regional: North America, Europe, Asia). A broad, contributor-forward gathering, licensing, community governance, maintainership health, plus deep technical tracks across CNCF, LF AI & Data, and security. Great for teams investing in OSS strategy and compliance.
Role-Based Picks And Why They Matter
Founders And Executives
SaaStr Annual, SaaStock Dublin, and QCon. You’ll get scale-stage revenue mechanics, capital efficiency benchmarks, and real architecture trade-offs that influence margins and roadmap speed. The investor and partner density is a bonus for strategic conversations.
Product Managers And Designers
ProductCon, Product-Led Summit, and Pulse. These offer crisp, actionable content on discovery, onboarding, monetization, and value realization. If your roadmap touches AI, GitHub Universe and Build add strong sessions on integrating AI assistants and responsible UX patterns.
Sales, Marketing, And Customer Success Leaders
SaaStr Annual, SaaStr Europa, and Pulse. Expect playbooks on pipeline quality, pricing/packaging experiments, CS-led expansion, and NRR mechanics. Many sessions come with templates or teardown formats you can take back to the team immediately.
Developers And Architects
KubeCon + CloudNativeCon, AWS re:Invent, Google Cloud Next, Microsoft Build, and Open Source Summit. These go deepest on performance, reliability, platform cost control, and secure software supply chains, core to scaling without surprises.
Plan Your Conference Calendar
Q1–Q2 Highlights
• Build (May) for AI+developer productivity and Azure updates.
• Google Cloud Next (spring) for data cloud and AI platform moves.
• KubeCon EU (spring) for platform engineering trends.
• Product-Led Summit and ProductCon cycles for PM skills tune-ups.
• Pulse US (late spring) to sharpen NRR and adoption.
Q3–Q4 Highlights
• SaaStr Annual (September) to lock GTM and fundraising narratives before Q4.
• GitHub Universe (fall) for Copilot and workflow advances.
• KubeCon NA (fall) for cloud-native roadmaps and OSS momentum.
• SaaStock Dublin (October) for capital-efficient scaling.
• AWS re:Invent (late Nov/early Dec) for year-end cloud strategy and cost plans.
Balancing In-Person And Virtual
Anchor two to three flagship, in-person events for relationship-building: supplement with virtual passes to catch specific talks and share internally. Use recorded sessions to onboard new hires and to compare vendor claims against real-world case studies.
Get The Most Value From Every Event
Set Goals And Shortlists
Before you buy tickets, write three outcomes: a metric to improve (e.g., activation rate +10%), a capability to learn (e.g., platform cost controls), and a relationship to secure (e.g., a design partner). Build a session shortlist that maps to each outcome. If a talk doesn’t serve a goal, skip it, hallway time often pays better.
Network With Intent
Reach out two weeks ahead: 10–15 targeted meetings using crisp asks (“15 minutes to compare SOC 2 automation approaches”). Attend roundtables and office hours, not just keynotes. Take notes on next steps in the moment and send same-day follow-ups, future you will thank you.
Capture And Share Learnings
Assign a note-taker per session. Create a one-page debrief: top 5 insights, 3 experiments to run, 1 decision to revisit. Record short Looms for the team. Import slides into your knowledge base with tags (topic, role, quarter) so the content doesn’t vanish in a shared drive abyss.
Conclusion
The top SaaS and software conferences to attend aren’t just big names, they’re the ones that move your metrics, sharpen your roadmap, and expand your network with the right people. Pick a few flagships, layer in role-specific events, and go in with clear goals. Do that, and one great week can power a whole quarter of progress.