specification: API Commons Plans
specificationVersion: '0.1'
schema: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/interface-research/main/schema/api-commons.yml#/$defs/Plans
provider: Linkerd
providerId: linkerd
created: '2026-05-04'
# Provenance stamped 2026-08-11: this artifact was written by the API Evangelist
# bulk sweep dated 2026-05-04, not harvested from the provider. See roadmap#35.
method: generated
modified: '2026-05-05'
reconciled: true
tags:
  - Kubernetes
  - mTLS
  - Observability
  - Security
  - Service Mesh
description: Linkerd is a CNCF-graduated open-source service mesh. The OSS edition is free under Apache
  2.0. Production-grade hardened distribution and commercial support are offered by Buoyant under "Buoyant
  Enterprise for Linkerd" (BEL). BEL has three commercial tiers — Basic, Premium, Strategic — plus a
  free tier for evaluation and for companies under 50 employees. Pricing is not publicly listed; sales
  contact required.
sources:
  - https://linkerd.io
  - https://buoyant.io/enterprise
  - https://buoyant.io/pricing
plans:
  - id: linkerd-oss
    name: Linkerd (Open Source)
    type: freemium
    description: CNCF-graduated open-source service mesh under Apache License 2.0. Includes proxy, control
      plane, mTLS, multi-cluster, viz extension. Community support via Slack, GitHub, and Linkerd Forum.
    entries:
      - label: Apache 2.0 License
        name: oss_license
        type: flat
        metric: cluster
        limit: -1
        timeFrame: usage
        geo: global
        unit: 1
        price: '0.00'
        userMultiplied: false
    elements:
      - name: Open Source Linkerd
      - name: Linkerd Proxy Admin API
      - name: Linkerd Destination API
      - name: Linkerd Identity API
      - name: Community Support (Slack, GitHub, Linkerd Forum)
  - id: linkerd-bel-free
    name: Buoyant Enterprise for Linkerd — Free
    type: freemium
    description: Buoyant's hardened, FIPS-capable distribution of Linkerd. Always free to try at any
      scale; companies with fewer than 50 employees can run BEL in production for free.
    entries:
      - label: Free evaluation / small-company production
        name: bel_free
        type: flat
        metric: cluster
        limit: -1
        timeFrame: usage
        geo: global
        unit: 1
        price: '0.00'
        userMultiplied: false
    elements:
      - name: BEL Free
      - name: Hardened distribution
      - name: Companies under 50 employees may use in production
  - id: linkerd-bel-basic
    name: Buoyant Enterprise for Linkerd — Basic
    type: subscription
    description: Commercial tier for teams adopting modern platform security, reliability, and observability
      via the service mesh. Private support ticketing.
    entries:
      - label: Basic subscription
        name: bel_basic
        type: subscription
        metric: contract
        limit: -1
        timeFrame: year
        geo: global
        unit: 1
        price: contact sales
        userMultiplied: false
    elements:
      - name: Hardened, FIPS-capable BEL distribution
      - name: Private support ticketing
      - name: Security hotfixes
  - id: linkerd-bel-premium
    name: Buoyant Enterprise for Linkerd — Premium
    type: subscription
    description: Commercial tier for companies standardizing on security, high availability, and multi-cluster
      communication.
    entries:
      - label: Premium subscription
        name: bel_premium
        type: subscription
        metric: contract
        limit: -1
        timeFrame: year
        geo: global
        unit: 1
        price: contact sales
        userMultiplied: false
    elements:
      - name: Multi-cluster + HA features
      - name: Private support ticketing
      - name: Production-grade SLAs
  - id: linkerd-bel-strategic
    name: Buoyant Enterprise for Linkerd — Strategic
    type: enterprise
    description: Commercial tier for enterprises with special security, compliance, and additional operational
      requirements. 24x7 on-call SLAs and 30-day "white glove" onboarding.
    entries:
      - label: Strategic subscription
        name: bel_strategic
        type: subscription
        metric: contract
        limit: -1
        timeFrame: year
        geo: global
        unit: 1
        price: contact sales
        userMultiplied: false
    elements:
      - name: 24x7 on-call SLA
      - name: 30-day white-glove onboarding
      - name: Architecture guidance
      - name: Compliance / regulated-environment support
maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: kin@apievangelist.com
x-canonical:
  generated: '2026-10-08'
  vocabulary: all/0-working/economics/plans-canonical.yml
  models:
  - subscription
  units:
  - compute
  - negotiated
  plans:
  - name: Linkerd (Open Source)
    access: freemium
    model: subscription
    model_how: derived
    units:
    - compute
    periods:
    - per-use
  - name: Buoyant Enterprise for Linkerd — Free
    access: freemium
    model: subscription
    model_how: derived
    units:
    - compute
    periods:
    - per-use
  - name: Buoyant Enterprise for Linkerd — Basic
    access: other
    model: subscription
    model_how: stated
    units:
    - negotiated
    periods:
    - year
  - name: Buoyant Enterprise for Linkerd — Premium
    access: other
    model: subscription
    model_how: stated
    units:
    - negotiated
    periods:
    - year
  - name: Buoyant Enterprise for Linkerd — Strategic
    access: enterprise
    model: subscription
    model_how: derived
    units:
    - negotiated
    periods:
    - year