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Different in the DNA
As finance professionals, we’re trained to seek clarity, consistency, and control. There are frameworks, standards, and well-established models that help us evaluate cost, value, and risk. So doing things differently doesn’t always come naturally.
But at TravelTime, “different” is part of the DNA.
TravelTime operates an unlimited usage, non-consumption-based pricing model in a market where usage-based billing dominates. Not only that, but we’ve also made the deliberate decision to host all of our services on our own infrastructure. No cloud. No reliance on third parties.
At first, this approach was hard for me to wrap my head around. Why go against the grain, especially when nearly everyone else in location tech, SaaS, and cloud services is doing the opposite?
But Gene Marks sums up the problem with the status quo of consumption-based business models: “This is unlike anything we’ve seen in the past and it’s awesome… for the software providers. But what about users?”
At TravelTime, we do think about users. We care about the value they extract from our API, and we believe in building systems that serve them reliably, efficiently, and sustainably. By owning our infrastructure and removing metered billing, we create alignment between cost, value, and service — not just for us, but for our customers too.
In this piece, I want to share what it’s like to run a pricing model that breaks with convention and why it works for us.
Spare Capacity – A Sunk Cost or Strategic Investment?
The unlimited usage for a fixed price business model that TravelTime offers sounds generous (and unusual) — and that’s because it is. Most companies can’t offer this without compromising performance or ballooning their costs.
That’s why, from day one, TravelTime made a bold choice: to invest in our own infrastructure, even before we had a large customer base. We committed fixed resources to building and optimising our IP.
From a finance perspective, this admittedly sometimes felt like burning unsold inventory every month. But unlike manufacturing, where unsold chairs or jackets gather dust in warehouses or get set alight, running a platform like TravelTime is more like managing a gym. Customers may not show up all at once but when they do, we must be ready.
Today, TravelTime customers rely on us for time-critical operations, and we must deliver, every single time. So, what may seem like a waste or sunk cost at first, is actually strategic headroom. It’s what allows us to guarantee performance and deliver an unmatched service quality.
Understanding Costs in an ‘Unlimited Usage’ Model
While TravelTime is not at the mercy of third-party cloud or infrastructure partners thanks to our infrastructure-first commitment, we do remain at the mercy of our server capacity.
Every API call, every geocode request, every route calculation consumes a portion of that capacity and resource. And whilst we don’t meter usage per client (number of API calls, requests etc.) to give them a price, we do need to understand what it costs to process and support these operations.
The tricky part? Usage patterns vary wildly across our customer base, by time if day, and by date. One client might make a predictable, low-volume stream of requests. Another might send millions of high-complexity calls at random intervals.
From a cost accounting standpoint, this makes modelling challenging. But that doesn’t mean we can ignore it.
Instead, we invest in understanding these patterns to inform our pricing, infrastructure planning, and long-term margins — without passing the complexity or unpredictability onto our customers.
Managing Risk in a Fixed Capacity World
Running our own infrastructure introduces a different kind of risk. What if a bug causes a usage spike? What if a client — intentionally or not — overwhelms the system?
We mitigate these risks through a combination of over-provisioning, strong internal monitoring, robust architectural design, and ongoing collaboration with our customers.
It’s a balancing act: walking a tightrope between cost efficiency and the high performance our customers expect. But it's a balance that, once struck, creates real competitive advantage.
Why This Model Works for TravelTime
The benefits of owning our infrastructure and rejecting usage-based pricing become more apparent over time.
Because we control our infrastructure, we control our costs. We’re not penalised for every traffic spike, because we’ve already built in the capacity to handle it. This gives us predictability and ownership that’s hard to achieve with third-party platforms or pay-as-you-go models.
It also drives a culture of operational discipline. Every improvement to our systems directly increases efficiency and improves our margins. We care deeply about how requests are structured and how services are architected because we see the direct impact on our customers.
This independence fuels innovation. Our developers aren’t constrained by variable cloud bills or unexpected overages. They know what resources they have and can experiment and build with confidence. That freedom powers our roadmap.
And most importantly, our customers stay with us. While pay-as-you-go models may suit early-stage or high-churn SaaS environments, TravelTime's customers typically integrate our API deeply into their operations for a long time — so cost and infrastructure stability really matters.
Sure, this approach demands more up-front investment. Yes, it requires rigorous capacity modelling. But the payoff is worth it: predictable costs, stable long-term customer relationships, and full control over our stack.
We’ve traded short-term flexibility for long-term resilience, control, and scalability.
Doing Things Differently, for the Right Reasons
At TravelTime, our pricing model isn’t just an alternative financial strategy. It’s a conscious choice to prioritise long-term value, operational clarity, and trust.
It may feel counterintuitive at first (especially from a finance perspective!). But doing things differently is how we deliver the performance, reliability, and accuracy our customers need 24/7 365.
It’s about scaling with confidence. It's about daring to do things differently.
Chat with us to get started.
