VARCHAR(MAX) column values will be stored IN the table row, space permitting. So if you have a single VARCHAR(MAX) field and it’s 200, 300 bytes, chances are it’ll be stored inline with the rest of your data. No problem or additional overhead here.
Only when the entire data of a single row cannot fit on a single SQL Server page (8K) anymore, only then will SQL Server move VARCHAR(MAX) data into overflow pages.
So all in all, I think you get the best of both worlds – inline storage when possible, overflow storage when necessary.
