Do B2B startups still really need Gartner in 2025?

Ah, Gartner. The analyst firm that every B2B tech startup simultaneously respects, resents, and debates endlessly over whether they should shell out a chunk of their marketing budget to be part of its world. The same firm that can open enterprise doors or keep you waiting in the lobby, depending on whether you’re paying to play.

I’ve recently invited Michael Yehoshua, CMO at WiseStamp, to dig deep into the question every B2B startup asks at some point:

Is Gartner Still Worth the Money in 2025?

If you're a CMO, VP of Marketing, or Growth Lead in a tech startup, especially in cybersecurity, DevOps, healthcare, or fintech, this is for you. We’ll cover:

• When (and if) you should pay for Gartner
• How enterprises actually use Gartner’s Magic Quadrant
• The rise of alternative validation methods
• Whether creating your own category is worth the pain

And if you prefer to listen to our chat, it’s here:

Why Startups Pay Gartner in the First Place

For decades, being listed in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant (MQ) has been the holy grail especially for enterprise-focused startups. If you made it, you weren’t just some unknown vendor, but you had “industry validation.” The reasoning behind paying for a Gartner subscription went something like this:

• Enterprise buyers trust Gartner – CISOs, CTOs, and procurement teams are busy. They don’t have time to sit through a dozen SDR demos. Instead, they turn to Gartner analysts, asking, “Who are the top three players I should consider?” If you’re not on that shortlist, good luck.
• It’s a shortcut to credibility – Want Fortune 500 clients? They like to see a Gartner MQ mention. It reassures them they’re not making a terrible decision.
• Gartner helps shape categories – If you want to be taken seriously in your space, Gartner’s category definitions can work for you or against you. You either fit into an existing category or fight an uphill battle proving your market is worth its own space.
• Vendor briefings give you inside access – Startups that pay for a Gartner subscription get access to vendor briefings, where analysts provide feedback on positioning, product-market fit, and messaging.

Now, if you’ve been in B2B tech long enough, you’ve probably heard the cynical take:

“Gartner is pay-to-play. If you stop paying, you disappear.”

There’s some truth to that. Gartner analysts aren’t outright lying, but their research is heavily influenced by the vendors they talk to most. If you don’t engage, you’re less likely to be in their reports or ranked well.

So, should every startup write a $60K+ check to Gartner? Not necessarily.

Why Some Startups Are Skipping Gartner

COVID-19 changed a lot in B2B tech, and one major shift was how startups approach validation. In the past, Gartner felt like a rite of passage; raise a Series A or B, then pay up for analyst recognition. But post-2020, a lot of startups started asking: "Do we actually need Gartner to succeed?"

Turns out, plenty of them didn’t. Here’s why:

• Peer reviews are taking over – Platforms like G2, Capterra, and TrustRadius have become the Yelp of enterprise software. Buyers trust their peers more than analysts. If your customers love you, a strong presence on G2 can carry serious weight.
• Influencers and dark social are more powerful than ever – Enterprise buyers are increasingly influenced by LinkedIn conversations, Slack communities, and industry newsletters. If a respected CISO raves about your product, that can do more than a favorable MQ mention.
• Category creation is possible without Gartner (but hard) – More startups are skipping the MQ by defining their own space. (More on this later.)
• Enterprise sales teams are bypassing analyst reliance – Some enterprise sales teams have become so strong at relationship-building that they don’t rely on analyst firms as much. If you have strong referrals and network-based selling, Gartner matters less.

So, should your startup go all-in on Gartner or take an alternative path? Let’s break it down.

Gartner vs. The Alternatives: When Should You Pay?

Here’s a “simple” decision framework:

Now, what if Gartner doesn’t recognize your space at all?

Creating Your Own Gartner Category

Michael knows this struggle firsthand. Instead of squeezing into an existing Gartner MQ, he decided to create his own category. He spoke about it at one of our events:

If one thing is clear, it’s this: category creation is HARD. Startups who try it often:

• Burn years evangelizing a new concept
• Get told by analysts, “This isn’t a real category.”
• Struggle with SEO and lead generation (because nobody is searching for a category that doesn’t exist yet)

But when it works… It changes the game. Look at Gong. They forced Gartner to create the “Revenue Intelligence” category—after years of investing in branding, events, and sheer persistence.

Should Your Startup Create a Category?

Before you start that battle, ask yourself:

1. Are you solving a completely new problem? If you're just a better version of an existing solution, you don’t need a new category—just better messaging.
2. Do you have the budget and patience? Creating a category takes years and deep pockets.
3. Will analysts eventually recognize it? If your category isn’t getting traction with industry analysts, it’ll be harder to gain legitimacy.

One tip that Michael recommended and I couldn’t disagree is this: if you’re creating a category, don’t do it alone. Get competitors involved. The more companies pushing the same idea, the more legitimacy it gains.

So Is Gartner a Must-Have or a Nice-to-Have?

If you're selling to large enterprises, Gartner is foundational. It’s annoying, expensive, and sometimes feels rigged, but it works.

If you're in mid-market or SMB, skip it. Invest in peer reviews, community building, and influencer marketing instead.

At the end of the day, Gartner is like the FDA for B2B tech—annoying, but still influential. The real question is: does your buyer still trust them? If so, pay up. If not, spend that budget elsewhere.

Want to chat about your startup’s marketing strategy? Let’s talk.