SMBs cannot audit which SaaS tools hold their data hostage or estimate real switching costs before prices escalate after integration

SMBs sign up for SaaS tools at introductory pricing, integrate them deeply, then face price hikes they cannot escape because switching costs have ballooned with data gravity and proprietary API dependencies. There is no tooling for an SMB to proactively audit their SaaS stack for lock-in risk: which tools use proprietary data formats, which APIs would break downstream integrations, what an export + rebuild would actually cost. Enterprise tools (Fivetran, Airbyte, Informatica) handle data movement but not the upfront risk audit for small teams. The EU Data Act (September 2025) adds regulatory tailwind requiring data portability from cloud providers. HN thread 'SaaS is just vendor lock-in with better branding' (222 pts, 200 comments) validated this as a widely felt pain with no resolution in comments.