Okta vs Tailscale: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
Okta had $2.9B of annual revenue in FY2026 and $235M of net income. Tailscale had $45.2M (unaudited) of annual revenue in FY2025.
Latest financial snapshot
Financial summary
Okta
Okta crossed into GAAP profitability in fiscal 2025 ($28 million net income on $2.610 billion revenue) and expanded it in fiscal 2026: revenue rose 12% to $2.919 billion, GAAP operating income reached $149 million, net income $235 million and free cash flow $863 million (30% margin). Momentum continued in fiscal 2027. Q2 FY2027 (ended July 31, 2026) revenue grew 11% to $805 million, GAAP net income was $116 million, free cash flow $227 million, and remaining performance obligations rose 17% to $4.858 billion. Okta held $2.299 billion of cash and short-term investments after repaying the last $350 million of its 2026 convertible notes in cash, and it has been buying back stock. Okta, Inc. is a massive American cloud-based identity and access management company, commanding a market valuation typically exceeding $15 billion.
Tailscale
Tailscale is private and does not publish revenue. It raised a $3 million seed round announced in April 2020, a $12 million Series A led by Accel in November 2020, a $100 million Series B led by CRV and Insight Partners in May 2022 (reported valuation about $780 million), and a $160 million Series C led by Accel in April 2025. Bloomberg reported the Series C valuation at about $1.5 billion; CEO Avery Pennarun later described it to BetaKit as a $2 billion valuation. Total funding is roughly $275 million. In July 2026 Pennarun said sales were on track to double in 2026, as they have every year since launch, and that the company could reach profitability in under a year on its existing balance sheet.
Revenue and profit by year
Okta
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | $2.9B | $235M | 8.1% | +11.8% | Source |
| FY2025 | $2.6B | $28M | 1.1% | +15.3% | Source |
| FY2024 | $2.3B | -$355M | -15.7% | +21.8% | Source |
| FY2023 | $1.9B | -$815M | -43.9% | +42.9% | Source |
| FY2022 | $1.3B | -$848M | -65.2% | +55.7% | Source |
| FY2021 | $835M | -$266M | -31.9% | +42.5% | Source |
| FY2020 | $586.1M | -$208.9M | -35.6% | +46.8% | Source |
| FY2019 | $399.3M | -$125.5M | -31.4% | +55.6% | Source |
| FY2018 | $256.5M | -$109.8M | -42.8% | +59.5% | Source |
| FY2017 | $160.8M | -$75.1M | -46.7% | — | Source |
Tailscale
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 (unaudited) | $45.2M | — | — | — | Source |
| FY2024 (unaudited) | $32M | — | — | — | Source |
| FY2023 (unaudited) | $18.5M | — | — | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
Business model and strategy
Okta
How it makes money
Okta makes money by selling term subscriptions to its cloud identity services. Workforce identity products such as Single Sign-On, Adaptive MFA, Universal Directory, Lifecycle Management, Okta Identity Governance and Privileged Access are generally priced per user per month and sold on annual or multi-year contracts.
Growth strategy
Okta's growth strategy has three parts: sell newer products (Okta Identity Governance, Privileged Access, Identity Threat Protection, Identity Security Posture Management) into its existing base; move up-market, where customers above $1 million in ACV grew more than 20% to over 600 by mid-2026;
Competitive advantage
Okta's main advantage is neutrality. It does not sell a cloud, an operating system or a productivity suite, so customers running AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft and hundreds of SaaS tools can use one identity layer without favouring a single vendor. The Okta Integration Network offers more than 7,000 pre-built integrations, and identity systems are costly to replace once wired into HR, IT and security workflows.
Tailscale
How it makes money
Tailscale uses a product-led freemium model. A free Personal plan lets individuals and small homelab users run Tailscale at no cost, and Tailscale has said word-of-mouth from free users is what sells its paid business plans.
Growth strategy
Tailscale grows bottom-up. Free users bring it into their companies, and teams then convert to paid plans as more people join a tailnet. Integrations with Kubernetes, Docker, Synology NAS devices, cloud marketplaces and identity providers such as Okta, Google Workspace and Microsoft Entra ID keep adoption friction low. In 2026 the strategy leans heavily on AI.
Competitive advantage
Tailscale's edge is ease of setup: devices join a tailnet by signing in with an existing identity provider, and NAT traversal plus DERP relays make connections work without port forwarding. Its open-source client, peer-to-peer WireGuard data path and large free user base give it a bottom-up adoption channel that most enterprise ZTNA vendors lack.
Questions about Okta vs Tailscale
Which company has higher revenue — Okta, Inc. or Tailscale?
Okta, Inc. had $2.9B (FY2026), while Tailscale had $45.2M (unaudited) (FY2025). By latest annual revenue, Okta, Inc. is the larger business, with Tailscale showing a smaller revenue base. Note: these are from different fiscal years and are not a direct like-for-like comparison.
What is the market cap of Okta, Inc. vs Tailscale?
Okta, Inc. has a market capitalisation of $33.0B. A public market cap figure for Tailscale was not available (it may be privately held).
How does revenue per employee compare for Okta, Inc. and Tailscale?
Okta, Inc. has $459k / employee in revenue per employee, while Tailscale has $151k / employee. Headcounts may use different dates, so the ratio alone does not establish which business operates more efficiently.
How do Okta, Inc. and Tailscale make money?
Okta, Inc. and Tailscale generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. Okta, Inc.: Okta makes money by selling term subscriptions to its cloud identity services. Tailscale: Tailscale uses a product-led freemium model.
Is Okta, Inc. bigger than Tailscale?
By last reported revenue, Okta, Inc. ($2.9B (FY2026)) is the larger company compared to Tailscale ($45.2M (unaudited) (FY2025)). Revenue scale is one dimension of size — market capitalisation, employee count, and geographic reach are also relevant depending on the context.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Okta vs Tailscale overview