How our free plan stays free

Tailscale's free plan remains free by maintaining low scaling costs compared to typical SaaS companies, focusing on privacy and leveraging word-of-mouth to promote its corporate plans. The company's unique hybrid centralized/decentralized architecture minimizes operational expenses by separating the control plane and peer-to-peer data plane, allowing for efficient management and reduced latency. While most SaaS companies track costs in product development, customer acquisition, and goods sold, Tailscale's costs are kept in check by focusing on product quality, self-serve payments, and community support, with a significant investment in tech support to handle early-stage user inquiries. Their business model, referred to as "bottom-up" or product-led growth, offers a free tier to individuals and charges incrementally for team and corporate features, encouraging users to introduce Tailscale in their workplaces. By doing so, the company ensures that while users enjoy free services, they promote Tailscale to potential paying customers, maintaining a balance between offering free services and achieving profitability without compromising user privacy.