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Frameworks, core principles and top case studies for SaaS pricing, learnt and refined over 28+ years of SaaS-monetization experience.
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In the fast-paced world of DevOps and cloud-native applications, GitOps has emerged as a powerful methodology for managing infrastructure and deployments. As organizations adopt GitOps platforms, a critical question arises: what pricing model makes the most sense? Specifically, should you be paying based on how frequently you deploy? This question becomes increasingly important as teams scale their automation capabilities and deployment frequencies.
The Evolution of GitOps Pricing Models
GitOps platforms have traditionally offered pricing based on several factors:
- User-based pricing: Charging per seat or user account
- Infrastructure-scale pricing: Based on the number of clusters, nodes, or resources managed
- Flat subscription models: Offering tiered features at different price points
- Deployment-based pricing: Charging based on the frequency or volume of deployments
That last model—deployment-based pricing—deserves special scrutiny as it directly ties costs to one of the core activities that GitOps aims to optimize.
The Case For Deployment-Based Pricing
Proponents of deployment-based GitOps pricing highlight several potential benefits:
1. Alignment with Value Creation
According to a 2022 DORA report, elite performing teams deploy 973 times more frequently than low performers. When organizations derive competitive advantage from rapid, frequent deployments, a pricing model that scales with deployment frequency theoretically aligns costs with value creation.
2. Granular Cost Attribution
Finance teams appreciate the ability to attribute costs directly to specific activities. Deployment-based pricing enables organizations to track deployment costs across teams, projects, or products.
"Our deployment-based pricing model allows customers to pay only for what they use, rather than guessing at capacity requirements," explains the CEO of a leading GitOps platform provider.
3. Encourages Optimization
When teams know that each deployment carries a cost, they may be more motivated to optimize their deployment pipelines and package changes more efficiently.
The Case Against Deployment-Based Pricing
Despite these potential benefits, deployment-based pricing for GitOps platforms presents significant concerns:
1. Penalizing Good DevOps Practices
The core philosophy of continuous deployment suggests that smaller, more frequent deployments reduce risk and increase stability. According to research from Puppet's State of DevOps report, high-performing organizations deploy up to multiple times per day.
A pricing model that charges per deployment could inadvertently penalize teams for following best practices. As one DevOps leader put it: "Why would I want to be financially penalized for achieving the very thing I implemented GitOps to accomplish?"
2. Creating Perverse Incentives
When financial considerations enter the deployment decision-making process, teams may begin batching changes to reduce costs, potentially leading to:
- Larger, riskier deployments
- Delayed feature releases
- Slower feedback cycles
- Hesitancy to deploy critical security patches
3. Unpredictable Costs
For organizations with variable deployment needs, costs could fluctuate dramatically from month to month, making budgeting difficult. During intense development periods or when responding to critical issues, deployment costs could spike unexpectedly.
Alternative Pricing Approaches for GitOps
What alternatives might better serve both vendors and customers?
Value-Based Metrics
Instead of charging for the activity itself (deployments), platforms might consider charging for the value created:
- Change volume: Pricing based on the amount of configuration changes rather than deployment frequency
- Environment complexity: Charging based on the number and complexity of environments managed
- Success metrics: Tying costs to reliability improvements or reduction in mean time to recovery
Hybrid Models
Some platforms have found success with hybrid approaches:
- Base subscription for core functionality plus consumption-based components
- Tiered deployment volumes within subscription levels
- Credits systems that allow for usage flexibility
Making the Right Decision for Your Organization
When evaluating GitOps platform pricing models, consider:
1. Analyze Your Deployment Patterns
Before committing to any pricing model, understand your current and anticipated deployment patterns. How frequently do you deploy now? How might that change as you mature?
2. Calculate Total Cost of Ownership
A seemingly expensive flat-rate model might actually be more economical than a usage-based model for high-deployment organizations. Model various scenarios based on your deployment frequency.
3. Consider Alignment with Your DevOps Goals
If your strategic goal is to increase deployment frequency and reduce deployment size, ensure your pricing model doesn't create friction against that objective.
Conclusion
The question of whether your GitOps platform should charge by deployment frequency ultimately depends on your organization's specific needs, deployment patterns, and DevOps maturity. While deployment-based pricing offers transparency and direct cost attribution, it risks creating incentives that run counter to continuous deployment best practices.
As you evaluate GitOps solutions, look beyond the initial pricing figures and consider how the pricing structure might influence your team's behavior and your organization's deployment strategy. The ideal pricing model should scale reasonably with your organization's growth while encouraging—not inhibiting—DevOps excellence.
Remember that the goal of GitOps automation is to make deployments so reliable and low-risk that they become a non-event. Your pricing model should support that journey, not create new barriers along the way.