Is per-seat VPN pricing always bad?

No. For very small teams (e.g., 3–10 users) it can be ok. Beyond a certain size, it often becomes more expensive than a fixed price.

From how many users does a VPN flatrate pay off?

Rule of thumb: from ~14–20 users (depending on seat price and add-ons). With $18/user (Tailscale Premium), the break-even is around 14 users at €249.90 fixed price.

What does Tailscale cost for businesses?

Tailscale Premium costs $18/user/month. With 50 users, that's $900/month.

What does Twingate cost per user?

Twingate Business costs $10/user/month (annual) or $12/user/month (monthly).

What does ZeroTier cost?

ZeroTier is plan- and device-based (not per-seat). The Essential plan costs $18/month incl. 10 devices, additional devices $2/month. Scale costs $179/month incl. 100 devices.

Can you migrate from Tailscale/Twingate without downtime?

Yes. The typical path is parallel operation + gradual rollout (pilot → groups → routes → cutover). No big bang needed.

VPN Cost per User/Device: When Per-Seat Pricing Gets Expensive

Many modern business VPN and ZTNA tools feel cheap at first: quick setup, SSO/policies, "easy" remote access. The problem: The bill scales linearly with your people and devices – and that's where it gets painful for businesses fast.

Enterprise VPN Flatrate: We offer Managed NetBird at a fixed price – unlimited users & devices, hosted in Germany or location of your choice (EU, USA, UAE). Try 14 days free →

In this post you'll get:

A simple calculation model (break-even)
Price anchors for common providers (with sources)
Typical cost traps (gateways, add-ons, policies/SSO)
A checklist for when a fixed-price model makes sense

More resources:

Note: Prices and plans change. All figures are snapshots; use the sources below to verify.

TL;DR — When Does Flatrate Beat "Per Seat"? Rule of thumb: Break-even Seats = 249.90 / (Price per User/Month) (plus add-ons/gateways)

Examples (Price Snapshots):

Tailscale $18/User/Month → Break-even at ~14 users (249.90 / 18 ≈ 13.9)

Twingate $10/User/Month → Break-even at ~25 users (249.90 / 10 = 25.0)

Add-ons (relays, gateways, higher tiers for SSO/policies) can shift the break-even point significantly forward.

The Core Problem: VPN Costs Rise with Growth
Quick Calculator: When Does a Fixed Price Pay Off?
Price Reality: What Do Tailscale, Twingate, ZeroTier Cost?
The 5 Most Common Cost Traps
What's the Alternative?
Decision Guide: When Does a Flat Model Make Sense?

The Core Problem: VPN Costs Rise with Growth

Per-user/per-seat/per-device models have a logic: providers earn with growth. For you that often means:

New employees → more licenses
More devices (laptop + phone + test device) → more licenses
More locations/networks → more add-ons
More security/SSO → higher tier

With Twingate, for example, business plans are clearly priced per user (monthly or annually) and increase with user count.

With Tailscale, the business/premium tier is also priced per active user/month (e.g., $18 in Premium plan).

Quick Calculator: When Does a Fixed Price Pay Off?

You only need:

U = Number of users (or seats)
P = Price per user/month
F = Fixed price/month (your flat model)
Optional: Gateway/add-ons per month

Cost per month (per-seat):

Cost = U × P (+ add-ons)

Break-even user count:

U_break_even = F / P

Break-even Examples

Tailscale Premium ($18/user): Break-even at ~14 users (249 / 18 ≈ 14)

Twingate Business ($10/user, annual): Break-even at ~25 users (249 / 10 ≈ 25)

Add-ons, relays, and gateways can shift the break-even point forward – in practice, many teams reach the tipping point sooner than expected.

→ View cost comparison in VPN Hub

Price Reality: What Do Tailscale, Twingate, ZeroTier Cost?

Tailscale (per-seat model)

Plan	Price	Basis	Source
Premium	$18/month	per active user	tailscale.com/pricing

Twingate (per-seat model)

Plan	Price (annual)	Price (monthly)	Source
Business	$10/user/month	$12/user/month	twingate.com/pricing

ZeroTier (plan + device-based)

ZeroTier is not per-seat, but plan- and device-based: Each plan includes a certain number of devices, additional devices cost extra. This looks cheap initially but also scales noticeably with many endpoints.

Plan	Base Price	Incl. Devices	Extra Devices	Source
Essential	$18/month	10	$2/device/month	zerotier.com/pricing
Scale	$179/month	100	$1.80/device/month	zerotier.com/pricing

Quick Comparison: 25 / 50 / 100 Users (License Costs)

Assumptions:

Tailscale: $18/active user/month
Twingate: $10/user/month (annual billing)
WZ-IT: €249.90/month flatrate

Team Size	Tailscale (per-seat)	Twingate (per-seat)	WZ-IT (Flatrate)
25 Users	$450/month	$250/month	€249.90/month
50 Users	$900/month	$500/month	€249.90/month
100 Users	$1,800/month	$1,000/month	€249.90/month

ZeroTier Note: ZeroTier is plan + device-based (included devices + cost per additional device). For a fair comparison, estimate devices, not seats (e.g., laptop + smartphone = 2 devices/user).

Want to check the break-even with your real numbers? → Try Enterprise VPN Flatrate for 14 days (no subscription, no credit card)

The 5 Most Common Cost Traps

1. SSO/Policies Only in Higher Tiers

With many tools, "Business" is only where SSO, policies, provisioning etc. actually work properly. The cheap entry price often doesn't include these features.

2. Additional Infrastructure Components

With many ZTNA/VPN providers, additional components are required depending on architecture (relays, gateways, connectors). As soon as traffic doesn't run purely P2P, you need this infrastructure – which can increase costs or become a bottleneck.

3. More Devices per User = More Costs

Some providers limit devices per user or tier indirectly. Laptop + smartphone + tablet = 3 devices, but sometimes only 2 allowed.

4. Compliance: Where Are Control Plane & Metadata?

For EU/DACH decision-makers, "where does it run" is a real purchase criterion, not just "nice to have". US cloud hosting can be a deal-breaker.

5. Ops Effort Stays with You

Even "SaaS" doesn't automatically mean: no operational work. Policies, rollouts, IdP integration, routing, troubleshooting stay with your team.

What's the Alternative?

If you want predictable costs, there are two paths:

A) Self-hosted: Infrastructure Costs Instead of License Costs

NetBird can be self-hosted or cloud-hosted. Both share core functionality (mesh/WireGuard), while the cloud variant offers additional business features for automation/auditing (e.g., IdP provisioning, event streaming, EDR integrations).

Self-hosted pros:

No per-seat license costs
Full data sovereignty
Unlimited users/devices

Self-hosted also means:

Operations, updates, and backups are your responsibility
Certain automation/audit features are primarily in the cloud variant

B) Managed Flatrate: Fixed Price + Operations Outsourced

For many companies the sweet spot: flat price, but without your team having to play "VPN ops".

What you get:

Dedicated instance (no shared SaaS)
Hosting in Germany (or USA, UAE, EU of your choice)
Updates, monitoring, support included
Fixed price, regardless of user count

→ Enterprise VPN Flatrate: Try 14 days free

Decision Guide: When Does a Flat Model Make Sense?

A fixed-price/managed model often makes sense when:

✅ You have > 15–20 users (break-even depends on seat price)
✅ You really need SSO/policies (not "somehow")
✅ You have EU/DE hosting / data sovereignty as a requirement
✅ You're hybrid (cloud + on-prem + sites)
✅ You don't want VPN costs to increase with every hire

Quick Check: Per-Seat vs. Flatrate

Criterion	Per-Seat	Flatrate
< 15 users	✅ Often cheaper	⚠️ Oversized
15–50 users	⚠️ Gets expensive	✅ Break-even reached
> 50 users	❌ Very expensive	✅ Significantly cheaper
Growth planned	❌ Costs increase	✅ Costs fixed
GDPR/Compliance	⚠️ Check required	✅ DE/EU/US/UAE hosting available

30-Second Check: Is Per-Seat Pricing Already a Problem for You?

If you answer 3+ questions with "Yes", comparing flatrate vs. per-seat is worth it:

☐ You have 15+ users (or plan to grow)
☐ You need SSO + policies (not just "basic VPN")
☐ Devices per user are increasing (laptop + phone + …)
☐ EU/DE hosting / data residency is relevant (GDPR/compliance)
☐ You don't want VPN ops in-house (monitoring, updates, routing support)

3+ times "Yes"? → Schedule a free consultation

Conclusion

Per-seat pricing for VPN/ZTNA tools can work for small teams – but quickly becomes a cost trap with growing organizations. From ~15–20 users, it's worth looking at flatrate models that remain predictable regardless of user count.

The combination of self-hosted NetBird (open source, no license costs) or managed flatrate (fixed price, no ops effort) offers a real alternative to the per-seat models from Tailscale, Twingate and others.

Our Services

We help you with decision and implementation:

Cost analysis: Compare your current VPN costs vs. alternatives
Migration: Gradual switch without downtime
Managed Service: We operate NetBird for you – you just connect your devices

→ Schedule a consultation

More VPN Comparisons

NetBird vs. Tailscale – Self-hosted vs. cloud
NetBird vs. Twingate – Zero Trust approaches
NetBird vs. ZeroTier – WireGuard vs. proprietary
NetBird vs. Enclave – Open source vs. closed

→ All VPN comparisons in the Hub

Sources

NetBird is a product of NetBird GmbH. Tailscale, Twingate, and ZeroTier are registered trademarks of their respective owners. Prices subject to change, as of December 2024.

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