So Gitlab is the latest SaaS and Cloud leader to do what seems almost impossible. To grow even faster as it scales.
At $250m in ARR, it was growing a stunning 69%. Fast forward to today, at $400m in ARR, it’s now growing even faster, at 75% year-over-year.
Wow. Just Wow.
5 Interesting Learnings:
#1. GitLab still has Free and Cheap editions, but the real growth is all in $100k+ ACV accounts. The six-figure accounts have grown 55% by logo count (even more than other editions) and much more by total revenue. Overall account growth is 65%.
#2. NRR remains top-tier at 130%, but has come down from the crazy 150% after its IPO. Still impressive, but it’s come down to a more earthly metric.
#3. Sales & Marketing coming down over time, but still 68% of revenue. GitLab may have a PLG motion and a lot of self-serve customers, but it still doesn’t sell and market itself. Sales & Marketing expenses are as high as pure B2B companies without a PLG motion.
#4. 1700 employees, so about $240,000 in revenue per employee. Not hyper-efficient, but above many of its peers.
#5. Free users still critical to scaling and GTM motion. Yes, GitLab’s revenue is driven by enterprise buyers. But they often come in via a Free edition.
GitLab is just firing on all cylinders. No, it’s not profitable yet and will likely need to get to $1B in ARR like many SaaS companies to get there. It is spending a fair amount on sales & marketing. But there’s so little to criticize, and so much to be in awe of. It keeps closing customers of all sizes, and even with a Free edition, is expanding the ACV of its $100k+ Customers. It’s not only growing at a stunning rate at $400m ARR, but it’s growing even faster than at $240m in ARR.
It’s a good one. 🙂
