# How Asato compares

> A SaaS management platform, a SAM tool and a HAM tool each manage one kind of technology. Asato does that work from the systems you already run, read-only by default. Then it finds what you pay for and do not use across all of it, and carries out the fixes you approve. An AI cost tool starts from one part of an AI bill. Asato ties that bill to people and contracts in the same record, beside the gateway, the cloud cost tool and the finance tools you run.

Canonical page: https://www.asato.ai/compare

Headline on the page: How Asato compares.

Line under the headline: With the tools built for one kind of technology.

## The comparisons

Each page compares Asato with a kind of tool, not with one product: what the category does, what Asato does, row by row, and how a customer switches. The fourth is different: AI cost tools each have a job of their own, so that page says how a customer starts beside them.

- [Asato vs SaaS management platforms](https://www.asato.ai/asato-vs-saas-management-platforms.md): Asato does the SMP's work on spend, in every kind of technology, and carries out the fix.
- [Asato vs SAM tools](https://www.asato.ai/asato-vs-sam-tools.md): Asato gives you the license position, then removes what you pay for and do not use.
- [Asato vs HAM tools](https://www.asato.ai/asato-vs-ham-tools.md): Asato builds the hardware record from the systems you run, then finds what you pay for and nobody runs.
- [Asato vs AI cost tools](https://www.asato.ai/asato-vs-ai-cost-tools.md): Each tool starts from one part of an AI bill. Asato puts seats, credits and tokens in one ledger, and proposes an owner for each line.

## One platform, not three tools

A SaaS, SAM or HAM tool covers one kind of technology. Asato covers them all.

Asato is built in three parts:

1. **Link: Asset Knowledge Graph.** Contextualizes and connects your records: each asset is linked to its owner, its contract and its cost.
2. **Think: Data Intelligence Engine.** Data products use rules, machine learning and language models to turn the graph into recommendations, each with a price and an owner.
3. **Execute: Agentic AI.** Agents carry out each fix with a human in the loop: a person you name approves it. Then they keep watching.

A SaaS management platform, a SAM tool and a HAM tool each manage one kind of technology. Asato does that work from the systems you already run, read-only by default. Then it finds what you pay for and do not use across all of it, and carries out the fixes you approve.

An AI cost tool starts from one part of an AI bill. Asato ties that bill to people and contracts in the same record, beside the gateway, the cloud cost tool and the finance tools you run.

| Kind of tool | What it does | What Asato does |
|---|---|---|
| SaaS management platforms | Finds the SaaS applications in use, tracks their seats and spend, and automates access when people join or leave. | Finds the applications too, approved or not, and the seats nobody uses. Then it goes past SaaS: hardware, AI spend and contracts in one record, each finding priced, owned and carried out once you approve. |
| Software asset management tools | Finds installed software, reconciles it with what you are entitled to, and gives you a license position. | Gives you the license position too, from the records you already hold, with nothing to install. Then it finds what nobody uses across software, hardware, AI and contracts, and carries out the fixes you approve. |
| Hardware asset management tools | Keeps the register: what each device is, who holds it, and where it is in its life. | Builds that record from the device, security and network tools you already run, with warranty, assignment and refresh in one place. Then it checks what you pay for against what is running, and carries out the fixes you approve. |
| AI cost management tools | Starts from what it was built to see: the payment, the cloud bill, or the traffic routed through it. | Starts from your people and contracts. It reads each vendor's seats, credits and tokens into one ledger, proposes an owner for each line, and writes the budget you approve into the vendor's own limits, where the vendor allows it. |

## How a customer starts

Page heading: No savings, no fee. Your Asset Clarity Report: a priced list of savings, in one week. The action is "Get your Asset Clarity Report".
The offer: one area, one week, read-only access, and the Asset Clarity Report. Asato's fee is a share of the savings. If it finds no savings, the customer pays nothing.

To start, request a demo at https://www.asato.ai/talk-to-sales.

## Related pages

- [What is IT asset optimization?](https://www.asato.ai/it-asset-optimization.md)
- [What is AI tokenomics?](https://www.asato.ai/ai-tokenomics.md)
- [Platform](https://www.asato.ai/platform.md)
- [Case studies](https://www.asato.ai/case-studies.md)
- [Asato home](https://www.asato.ai/index.md)
- [Site index for agents](https://www.asato.ai/llms.txt)

Last updated: 2026-10-12