91% of SaaS Companies Are Investing in PLG. But Most Don't Know What PLG Actually Is

March 2025. I just launched my IAE-CNAE converter.

Clean design. Free tool. No registration required.

"This is PLG," I told myself proudly.

Two months later, 20K monthly clicks on Google. Zero recurring users.

It wasn't PLG. It was a calculator with good SEO.

The difference took me time to understand. And now, seeing that 91% of SaaS companies are increasing their Product-Led Growth investment in 2026, I realize I wasn't the only one who misunderstood it.

What Everyone Thinks PLG Is (And It's Not)

If you search for "Product-Led Growth" on LinkedIn, you'll read this:

"Offer a freemium"
"Eliminate the sales team"
"Let the product sell itself"
"Self-serve everything"

Look, I did exactly that with my converter.

Result: Massive traffic. Zero engagement.

Why?

Because I confused removing friction in access with removing friction in activation.

They're two completely different things.

What PLG Actually Is (The No-Fluff Version)

PLG isn't your pricing model.

PLG is when your product creates users who can't help but come back.

Think about Slack:

You try it for a small project
Your team naturally starts using it
Three weeks later, all communication happens there
There was no sales call. No demo. The product converted you

That's PLG.

Now think about a typical "freemium SaaS":

You sign up
You see an empty dashboard
You don't understand what to do
You never come back

That's not PLG. That's a registration form with extra steps.

The 3 Real Pillars of PLG (That Nobody Explains Like This)

1. Time to Value < 5 Minutes

In 2026, the average user's patience is zero.

If your product requires:

20-minute tutorial
Initial setup
"Import data"
Wait for approval

It's not PLG.

Google's NotebookLM is perfect PLG:

You upload a PDF
In 30 seconds you have a generated podcast
You just understood the value

My IAE-CNAE converter could have been PLG if instead of just converting codes, it had:

Automatically saved your history
Suggested related codes
Generated a PDF ready for tax authorities

But it just converted. It didn't create habit.

2. Activation Loop, Not Conversion Funnel

Funnels are linear: Visit → Signup → Trial → Payment

Loops are circular: Use → Value → More use → More value

Figma is the perfect example:

You design something
You share a link with a colleague
Colleague makes changes
You see the changes in real-time
Now you're both hooked

The product created two active users without human intervention.

That's an activation loop.

3. The Product Is The Marketing Channel

This is what the 91% are understanding now:

In PLG, every feature is a distribution channel.

Loom lets you share videos without forcing registration. Result? The video itself promotes Loom.

Notion lets you publish public pages. Result? Every page is a Notion ad.

Cal.com lets you share your calendar. Result? Every invitation shows Cal.com in action.

My converter just converted codes. It didn't share anything. It didn't invite anyone. It didn't distribute itself.

Why 91% Are Betting on This in 2026

The reason is brutally simple:

Customer acquisition cost (CAC) has become unsustainable for most SaaS.

Before you could:

Spend on Google Ads
Hire SDRs
Do LinkedIn outreach

Now:

CPCs are through the roof
Inboxes are saturated
Nobody responds to cold emails

The companies surviving in 2026 are those that: 1. Get users organically 2. Activate them quickly 3. Turn them into natural promoters

PLG does all three.

But only if you do it right.

How to Actually Implement PLG (My 4 Rules)

Rule 1: Value Before Data

Let the user get value BEFORE asking for their email.

Bad: "Sign up to convert your IAE code" Good: "Here's your CNAE code. Want to save your history?"

Rule 2: Your Best Feature Must Be Shareable

If your best feature is only seen by the user, it's not PLG.

Ask yourself: What part of my product can someone else see without registering?

That part needs to be incredible.

Rule 3: Measure Activation, Not Signups

Signups is a vanity metric.

Activation is: "Did the user experience the core value?"

For Slack: You sent 2000 messages For Figma: You created and shared a design For my converter: It should have been "You used 3 conversions in one week"

I didn't measure activation. Rookie mistake.

Rule 4: Friction Is Strategic

PLG doesn't mean zero friction.

It means friction at the right moment.

Dropbox doesn't ask for your card at the start. But when you hit the storage limit, you're already hooked.

That friction converts.

What I'm Changing in 2026

My next projects will meet these criteria:

1. Value in < 60 seconds: If you don't understand what my tool does in one minute, the design is wrong

2. Sharing by default: Every output must be shareable with a public link

3. Single metric: One activation metric. If the user doesn't reach it, the product fails

4. Built-in virality: Every use should be able to create another potential user

Is it harder than making a registration form?

Yes.

Is it worth it?

Ask the 91% who are already doing it.

The Question You Need to Ask Yourself

It's not "How do I get more signups?"

It's: "Does my product create users who can't help but come back?"

If the answer is no, you don't have a marketing problem.

You have a product problem.

And no funnel is going to fix it.

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Keep building.