Air-gapped vs. self-hosted commercial: which one do you actually need?

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Air-gapped vs. self-hosted commercial

The most common question we get from security- and compliance-conscious teams is some version of “do you support air-gapped?” Almost always, the real requirement underneath that question is “our data cannot leave our environment.” Those two things are not the same — and the difference matters, because it changes what you have to give up.

Here’s the short version. If your requirement is data residency and control, self-hosted commercial already gives you that, and you can turn telemetry off with a single setting. Air-gapped is a stricter, more specialized mode for environments that are genuinely disconnected from the internet — classified networks, export-controlled programs, and the like. It comes with real trade-offs. This post lays out both so you can pick the right one on the first try.

The three ways to run Plane

Plane runs the same product across three deployment models, with full feature parity between them:

  • Cloud — We host it. You sign in and go. Fastest to start, zero infrastructure to manage.
  • Self-hosted (commercial) — You run Plane on your own infrastructure: your VPC, your data center, your servers. Your work data stays in your environment. Plane validates your license and, optionally, collects anonymous telemetry.
  • Air-gapped — You run Plane on infrastructure with no outbound internet connectivity at all. Nothing leaves the network — not telemetry, not a license check, nothing.

For most teams the real decision is between the middle and the right: self-hosted commercial vs. air-gapped. To choose well, you need to know exactly what leaves your network in each case.

What actually leaves your network

This is the crux, and it’s simpler than most people expect.

In self-hosted commercial, two things can talk to the outside world, and they are completely separate from each other:

  1. Telemetry (optional). Anonymous product analytics that help us understand usage and catch issues early. It is opt-in, fully documented, and you can switch it off with a single setting. When it’s off, no usage data leaves your environment. What telemetry collects and how to disable it →

  2. License validation (lightweight). Your instance periodically confirms that your license is valid — roughly once a day. This call carries license information only. It does not send your projects, issues, pages, comments, files, or any work data. Ever.

That’s the whole list. Your actual work — everything your team creates in Plane — never leaves your infrastructure in either self-hosted mode. Turning telemetry off doesn’t change where your data lives; your data was always yours. It just stops the anonymous analytics.

So if the reason you’re reaching for air-gapped is “our data can’t go to a vendor,” self-hosted commercial with telemetry disabled already meets that bar. The only thing still reaching out is a lightweight license check — and in most restricted networks, that single call can be routed through your existing corporate proxy without opening up anything else.

So what is air-gapped, really?

Air-gapped removes even that license check. There is no periodic call home, and telemetry isn’t merely disabled — it’s physically impossible, because the environment has no route to the internet in the first place. It’s the difference between optional and impossible by design.

You activate the license offline, updates are delivered and applied manually, and support happens without any diagnostic data flowing back to us. This is exactly what some environments require: fully disconnected classified networks, export-controlled (ITAR/EAR) programs, and settings where regulation forbids any outbound connection whatsoever.

That isolation has a cost, and it’s worth being honest about it:

  • Manual updates. There are no automatic version checks. You pull each build and apply it yourself, on your own schedule.
  • Higher-touch support. Because we can’t see telemetry or logs, troubleshooting relies on what you can share with us — obfuscated logs, redacted screenshots, sanitized diagnostics. It works, but it’s slower than debugging a connected instance.
  • A formal engagement. Air-gapped is an annual commitment with a master service agreement and guided onboarding. It isn’t a self-serve download; we set it up together with your team.

None of that is a knock on air-gapped. For the teams that genuinely need it, it’s the only acceptable option, and serving those teams is a core reason Plane exists. The point is that you shouldn’t take on these trade-offs unless your environment actually demands them.

Side-by-side

Self-hosted (commercial) Air-gapped
Your work data Stays in your environment Stays in your environment
Outbound connections Lightweight license check (~weekly) + optional telemetry None
Telemetry Opt-in, documented, one setting to disable Physically impossible
License activation Online, against Plane’s license server (a proxy is fine) Offline
Updates Automatic checks, smooth upgrades Manual — you pull and apply each build
Support Full, with diagnostics if you allow them Higher-touch; you share sanitized logs and screenshots
Commercial terms Standard licensing, quick to start Annual commitment, MSA, guided onboarding
Best for Data residency, sovereignty, no vendor data access Disconnected or classified networks, export-controlled data

Which one is for you?

Choose self-hosted commercial if:

  • Your requirement is data residency, sovereignty, or “no vendor access to our data.”
  • You run in your own cloud, private cloud, or data center and can allow a single lightweight license call — even through a proxy.
  • You want automatic updates and faster support.
  • You want to be up and running quickly.

This covers the large majority of security-conscious teams: regulated industries, enterprises with strict data policies, and companies that simply don’t want their work living on someone else’s servers.

Choose air-gapped if:

  • Your network has no outbound internet access, by policy or by law.
  • You handle classified or export-controlled data that forbids any external connection.
  • You operate on a disconnected or isolated network — defense, government, critical infrastructure, and similar.
  • Compliance requires that not even a license check can leave the environment.

If you’re not sure which side you fall on, the deciding question is simple: can a single, data-free license call reach us once a day — even routed through your corporate proxy? If yes, self-hosted commercial is almost certainly the better fit. If no, you need air-gapped.

Next steps

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