Product-led growth vs. Marketing-led growth: Which one is right for you?

If you’ve spent any time in the world of SaaS or tech startups, you’ve probably come across the terms product-led growth (PLG) and marketing-led growth (MLG). Both are legitimate strategies, but they take vastly different approaches to scaling a business.

The big question: Which one is the best fit for your company?

Let’s break down what PLG and MLG really mean, their key differences, and how to decide which approach suits your business best. And don’t worry—we’ll keep things light and full of real-world examples to make this as digestible as possible.

What is product-led growth?

Product-led growth is all about letting your product do the talking (and selling). Instead of relying on a huge marketing budget to attract customers, the product itself is designed to drive acquisition, retention, and expansion. Users get hands-on experience with the product, and if it solves their problem effectively, they naturally become paying customers.

A key characteristic of PLG is self-serve onboarding, where users can sign up, explore, and see value without needing to talk to sales. Many PLG companies offer freemium or free trial models, allowing potential customers to experience the product before committing financially.

Another defining factor of PLG is virality and network effects. A well-designed product encourages organic growth through referrals, word-of-mouth, and built-in sharing features. This significantly lowers customer acquisition costs (CAC) since a satisfied user base brings in more users without expensive marketing campaigns.

To make this model work, the product must be intuitive, valuable, and engaging. If users don’t immediately see the benefit, they are unlikely to convert into paying customers. This means companies that adopt PLG must invest heavily in user experience (UX) and continuously optimize their product to drive long-term retention.

Product-led growth in action

Slack is a great example of PLG in action. Instead of relying on aggressive marketing campaigns, Slack made it easy for teams to try the product for free. Once one team member found it useful, they invited others, leading to viral adoption.

Dropbox also successfully leveraged PLG through a clever referral program. Users who invited friends to sign up received extra storage space, which created a strong incentive to share the product. This simple but effective approach led to massive organic growth.

Another well-known PLG company is Zoom. Users could start free video calls with no friction. Once businesses saw the value, they upgraded to paid plans with more features.

What is marketing-led growth?

Marketing-led growth focuses on attracting customers through marketing and sales efforts rather than relying on the product alone. This approach uses traditional and digital marketing channels to generate leads, nurture them, and ultimately convert them into paying customers.

One of the core aspects of MLG is outbound marketing strategies, such as paid ads, content marketing, webinars, and email campaigns. These methods aim to reach potential customers and create demand for the product before they even try it.

Unlike PLG, MLG often relies on a sales-driven approach. Leads are guided through a structured funnel by a sales team, who nurtures them before closing deals. Because of this, MLG companies typically invest heavily in brand awareness and customer education, ensuring that potential buyers fully understand the value proposition before making a purchase.

While MLG often results in higher customer acquisition costs, it can lead to larger deals and stronger initial revenue per customer. This is particularly effective for companies selling complex or enterprise-level solutions that require extensive explanation and negotiation before adoption.

Marketing-led growth in action

HubSpot is a well-known MLG company. They built a massive content marketing engine to educate potential customers about inbound marketing before they ever tried the product. By providing valuable resources, HubSpot established itself as an industry leader and built trust with potential customers.

Salesforce took a different approach, using aggressive sales strategies and marketing campaigns to dominate the CRM space. Instead of relying on free trials, they invested in a strong sales team and targeted high-value enterprise clients from the start.

Adobe Creative Cloud follows a similar playbook. Instead of offering a free trial for all products, Adobe invested heavily in brand awareness and partnerships to attract enterprise customers. This approach helped them establish long-term contracts and a loyal customer base.

PLG vs. MLG: The key differences

While both strategies aim to drive business growth, they take very different paths to get there. Product-led growth relies on a self-serve, user-driven experience, while marketing-led growth depends on marketing and sales to generate and close leads.

In PLG, users can start using the product immediately, often through a freemium or trial model. This allows them to experience its value firsthand before making a purchasing decision. In contrast, MLG requires multiple marketing touchpoints and interactions before users commit to a product.

From a financial perspective, PLG generally has lower customer acquisition costs since it relies on organic growth and virality. However, it requires significant investment in product development and UX. On the other hand, MLG typically has higher upfront costs due to marketing campaigns and sales efforts but can justify those expenses by landing high-value enterprise deals.

Which growth model is right for you?

Choosing between PLG and MLG depends on multiple factors, including your product type, target audience, pricing strategy, and company goals.

PLG might be the right approach if you have a product that users can adopt without a sales team, such as collaboration tools, SaaS platforms, or developer tools. This model is ideal for businesses looking to keep acquisition costs low and grow through virality. If your target customers prefer self-service onboarding instead of engaging with sales reps, PLG is likely the better fit.

On the other hand, MLG could be the better choice if your product is complex and requires education before purchase. This is particularly relevant for enterprise software and B2B SaaS solutions, where buyers expect a personalized sales experience. If your pricing model involves long sales cycles and large contracts, investing in marketing-led strategies can help build trust and credibility.

Can you combine PLG and MLG?

Absolutely! Many successful companies blend both strategies to maximize their reach. This hybrid approach is often called product-led sales (PLS), where PLG brings in users and MLG helps convert them into enterprise customers.

Notion is a great example of this hybrid approach. Users can start for free and adopt the product organically, but Notion also has an enterprise sales team for larger accounts. Similarly, Airtable offers a free version for individuals while investing in marketing and sales to attract business customers. Figma follows the same model, allowing designers to try the product for free while targeting enterprises with premium features.

Which growth model wins?

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer when it comes to PLG vs. MLG. Some companies thrive by letting their product sell itself, while others succeed by leading with strong marketing and sales efforts. The key is understanding what works best for your audience and business model.

If you’re launching a user-friendly, scalable product, PLG might be your best bet. But if you’re selling to enterprises with long decision-making cycles, MLG can help build trust and close high-value deals.

At the end of the day, the best approach might just be a mix of both—leveraging product-led strategies to attract users and marketing-led tactics to convert high-value customers.

Are you earning what you deserve as a product manager?

Staying informed about global compensation trends is essential to advancing your career and negotiating effectively. That’s why we surveyed PMs across the globe to get an in-depth look into what they’re making so you can act accordingly.