I’m not quite clear on the license model. I’m trying to figure out if one can basically trade convenience for savings and run grist-core on one’s own infrastructure and have a teams setup with no data limits, with no licensing cost.
BTW Grist looks absolutely amazing!
Yes! Grist-core is licensed under Apache 2.0. You can run it on your own infrastructure with no licensing costs.
The difference in savings is debatable, since running on your own infrastructure means that you’ll be spending money on the server, and time on setting it up and maintaining it, so the paid saas plan may well be less expensive and more convenient 
Incidentally, if you need to run on your own infrastructure for other reasons (to be behind VPN, compliance, data jurisdiction), and happy to pay for convenience, peace of mind, and time savings, reach out to us about the Enterprise subscription, which includes priority support.
Oh I totally agree about the burden of doing my own admin – been there, done too much of that. Your answer was perfect! The other motivations I had were related to future-proofing my own business. I just want to be sure that I can run this lovely looking puppy on my own gear whatever might happen to GristCo. The whole point (for me) in desiring tech along these lines is so that I can be unhindered in doing a bunch of integration, modelling and automation work around it. Such an investment is almost a bet-the-company proposition, so future-proofing is essential.
BTW I was in love with Lotus Improv on the NeXT back in the early 90s. Was it any kind of influence?