How Chainguard prices
Captured November 4, 2026 at 1440px wide. The page continues below the crop (10,966px in total).
Chainguard plans and prices
| Plan | Price | Billing |
|---|---|---|
| Free ImagesFive images to test and deploy in production for free. | Free | |
| Per ImageLicensed by number and type of images (base, app, AI/ML, and FIPS). | — | |
| CatalogUse Chainguard as the trusted source for all your container images. | Starts at $19K | for a team of 10 |
As printed on the page captured November 4, 2026.
How does Chainguard pricing work?
The value metric changes with the product, and each one follows how that product is used. Containers offer two licenses: Per Image, 'Licensed by number and type of images (base, app, AI/ML, and FIPS)', and Catalog, 'Licensed by size of engineering organization.' Libraries are 'Licensed by ecosystem based on the number of developers using that language.' VMs repeat the Per Image and Catalog pair, and Actions are 'Priced by compute minutes consumed, with access to the entire Actions catalog.' Across products the paid line is the same: a 'Contractual CVE SLA (7 days for critical, 14 days for high/med/low)', which Free Images leave out, since free images 'are not covered under our CVE remediation SLA'.
The motion is sales-led with a free entry point. The hero 'Build software better with Chainguard' has one button, 'Get a free quote', above four product tabs. The Containers block shows three cards labeled by scope, 'SMALL TEAMS & PROJECTS', 'SCOPED PRODUCTION DEPLOYMENTS' and 'WALL-TO-WALL STANDARDIZATION', with 'Start for free' on Free Images and 'Request Enterprise pricing' on the two paid licenses. Each product follows the same pattern of description, cards or a licensing statement, 'Get a free quote', and a features table, and a 13-question FAQ closes the page by explaining discounts and how each product is licensed.
Under the hood, Chainguard prices on proxies for value, with pulls left unmetered: every table repeats 'Unlimited pulls with no metering'. The FAQ states the reasoning, 'This approach uses team size as a proxy for both usage and the value delivered', and adds that 'pricing scales non-linearly' as an organization grows. Commercial room sits in the FAQ too: 'Customers committed to multi-year agreements or higher usage qualify for discounts', multi-product buyers 'receive bundled pricing', and startup, SMB and public sector pricing exist for qualified organizations. Worth borrowing are one printed anchor price on a quote-led page and a stated rationale for each license.
What does Chainguard's pricing page do well?
- Cards are labeled by scope of adoption, from 'SMALL TEAMS & PROJECTS' to 'WALL-TO-WALL STANDARDIZATION', so a buyer finds the license that fits their rollout
- The Catalog card prints one anchor, 'Starts at $19K for a team of 10', on a page that is otherwise quote-led
- Each product repeats the same layout of description, license, 'Get a free quote' and a features table
- The FAQ explains each license model and why it fits, including 'team size as a proxy for both usage and the value delivered'
- Free Images give a production-ready entry, 'Five images to test and deploy in production for free.', with a 'Start for free' button
What does Chainguard's pricing page reveal about its pricing strategy?
- Four products, four value metrics: images, org size, developers per language ecosystem and compute minutes, each matched to how the product is consumed
- The contractual CVE SLA is the paid line, which prices the guarantee more than the artifact itself
- 'Unlimited pulls with no metering' on every table keeps usage out of the bill for images and libraries, so pricing stays predictable for platform teams
- Non-linear scaling by org size gives large accounts a lower unit price as they grow, a land-and-expand shape built into the license
- Discounts for multi-year terms, higher usage and multiple products are named in the FAQ, the levers a sales team uses to shape each deal
Learn with Orb
- GuideAn expert's guide to enterprise pricing for SaaS Chainguard routes every paid license through 'Get a free quote' and names 'multi-year agreements or higher usage' and bundled multi-product pricing as discount levers, the deal-by-deal territory Orb's enterprise pricing guide covers.
- Guide8 SaaS pricing models: how to choose one Images 'Licensed by number and type', a Catalog 'Licensed by size of engineering organization', Libraries by developers per ecosystem and Actions 'Priced by compute minutes consumed' put several of the models in Orb's guide on one page.
- ProductPrice modeling Per Image pricing by type, 'base, app, AI/ML, and FIPS', and Catalog pricing that 'scales non-linearly' with org size are dimensional and tiered rates, the pricing logic Orb's price modeling is built to represent.
Questions about Chainguard pricing
How much does Chainguard cost?
Chainguard's pricing starts at $19K for a team of 10. The page shows 3 plans, including a free plan, with the top plan priced through sales.
What pricing model does Chainguard use?
Chainguard prices through its sales team, combined with per-seat pricing and usage-based pricing. The page is built around talking to the sales team. Its plans are aimed mainly at enterprises.
Does Chainguard have a free plan?
Yes, Chainguard has a free plan. Paid plans start at $19K for a team of 10.
Does Chainguard offer an annual discount?
Chainguard's pricing page shows a single billing period. The listed prices start at $19K for a team of 10. Terms for the plans priced through sales are set with the sales team.
How is Chainguard's pricing page laid out?
The page shows 3 plans and includes a comparison table and an FAQ. The breakdown above marks 14 points on it: 5 things it does well and 9 insights into the pricing.
How does Chainguard license its container images?
Chainguard offers two models for containers: Catalog-based licensing and Per-Image licensing. Catalog is "Licensed by size of engineering organization" and "Starts at $19K for a team of 10", while Per Image is "Licensed by number and type of images (base, app, AI/ML, and FIPS)." The FAQ adds that catalog pricing scales non-linearly, so an engineering org that doubles in size does not double its cost.
How is Chainguard Libraries priced?
Chainguard Libraries is "Licensed by ecosystem based on the number of developers using that language", currently Python, Java and JavaScript. The FAQ explains "You only pay for the developers using each language you license." Teams using two languages have each group "licensed separately based on its size tier".
Does Chainguard offer volume or multi-product discounts?
Yes. "Customers committed to multi-year agreements or higher usage qualify for discounts." Buying several products, such as containers, libraries and virtual machines, brings bundled pricing that lowers the overall cost. Startup, SMB and public sector pricing options are also available for qualified organizations.
From the page as captured November 4, 2026. Current prices are on chainguard.dev
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