diff --git a/model2vec/inference/mlp.py b/model2vec/inference/mlp.py
index a1bcd51..fe8e8ed 100644
--- a/model2vec/inference/mlp.py
+++ b/model2vec/inference/mlp.py
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ def __init__(
     ) -> None:
         """An MLP with ReLU activation.
 
-        :param layers: The linear layers, in order.
+        :param layers: The linear layers, in order. If empty, the input is passed through unchanged.
         :param activation: The output activation.
         :param classes: The classes, if the task is a classification task.
         """
@@ -54,6 +54,8 @@ def __init__(
     def _logits(self, X: np.ndarray) -> np.ndarray:
         """Run the forward through the layers."""
         out = X
+        if not self.layers:
+            return out
         *hidden_layers, last_layer = self.layers
         for layer in hidden_layers:
             out = np.maximum(layer(out), 0.0)
diff --git a/model2vec/onnx.py b/model2vec/onnx.py
index 73900e7..e1f12aa 100644
--- a/model2vec/onnx.py
+++ b/model2vec/onnx.py
@@ -124,10 +124,13 @@ def __init__(self, pipeline: StaticModelPipeline) -> None:
     def forward(self, input_ids: torch.Tensor, attention_mask: torch.Tensor) -> torch.Tensor:
         """Encode the inputs and run them through the head, applying the output activation."""
         out = self.encoder(input_ids, attention_mask).float()
-        *hidden_layers, last_layer = self.layers
-        for layer in hidden_layers:
-            out = torch.relu(layer(out))
-        logits = last_layer(out)
+        if len(self.layers) == 0:
+            logits = out
+        else:
+            *hidden_layers, last_layer = self.layers
+            for layer in hidden_layers:
+                out = torch.relu(layer(out))
+            logits = last_layer(out)
         if self.activation == Activation.SOFTMAX:
             return torch.softmax(logits, dim=-1)
         if self.activation == Activation.SIGMOID:
diff --git a/model2vec/train/base.py b/model2vec/train/base.py
index 982176e..ef2317a 100644
--- a/model2vec/train/base.py
+++ b/model2vec/train/base.py
@@ -50,7 +50,8 @@ def __init__(
         :param vectors: The embeddings of the staticmodel.
         :param tokenizer: The tokenizer.
         :param hidden_dim: The hidden dimension of the head.
-        :param n_layers: The number of layers in the head.
+        :param n_layers: The number of layers in the head. If this is 0 and `out_dim` equals the embedding
+            dimension, the model has no head and the embeddings are used as is.
         :param out_dim: The output dimension of the head.
         :param pad_id: The padding id. This is set to 0 in almost all model2vec models
         :param token_mapping: The token mapping. If None, the token mapping is set to the range of the number of vectors.
@@ -111,7 +112,9 @@ def construct_weights(self) -> nn.Parameter:
         return nn.Parameter(w, requires_grad=not self.freeze_weights)
 
     def construct_head(self) -> nn.Sequential:
-        """Constructs a simple classifier head."""
+        """Constructs a simple head, which is empty if it has no layers and doesn't change the dimension."""
+        if self.n_layers == 0 and self.embed_dim == self.out_dim:
+            return nn.Sequential()
         modules: list[nn.Module] = []
         if self.n_layers == 0:
             modules.append(nn.Linear(self.embed_dim, self.out_dim))
diff --git a/model2vec/train/classifier.py b/model2vec/train/classifier.py
index cb23568..93c3cd5 100644
--- a/model2vec/train/classifier.py
+++ b/model2vec/train/classifier.py
@@ -87,6 +87,15 @@ def classes(self) -> np.ndarray:
         """Return all clasess in the correct order."""
         return np.array(self.classes_)
 
+    def construct_head(self) -> nn.Sequential:
+        """Constructs a classifier head, which always has at least one linear layer."""
+        if self.n_layers == 0:
+            linear = nn.Linear(self.embed_dim, self.out_dim)
+            nn.init.xavier_uniform_(linear.weight)
+            nn.init.zeros_(linear.bias)
+            return nn.Sequential(linear)
+        return super().construct_head()
+
     def predict(
         self, X: list[str], show_progress_bar: bool = False, batch_size: int = 1024, threshold: float = 0.5
     ) -> np.ndarray:
diff --git a/model2vec/train/pairs.py b/model2vec/train/pairs.py
index 07f9254..672bf84 100644
--- a/model2vec/train/pairs.py
+++ b/model2vec/train/pairs.py
@@ -54,7 +54,8 @@ def __init__(
 
         :param vectors: The embeddings of the staticmodel.
         :param tokenizer: The tokenizer.
-        :param n_layers: The number of layers in the head.
+        :param n_layers: The number of layers in the head. If this is 0 and `out_dim` equals the embedding
+            dimension, the model has no head, and the embeddings are used as is.
         :param hidden_dim: The hidden dimension of the head.
         :param out_dim: The output embedding dimension. If None, defaults to the input embedding dimension.
         :param pad_id: The padding id. This is set to 0 in almost all model2vec models.
diff --git a/tests/test_export_to_onnx.py b/tests/test_export_to_onnx.py
index b229d24..04df5f8 100644
--- a/tests/test_export_to_onnx.py
+++ b/tests/test_export_to_onnx.py
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@
     _save_tokenizer_and_config,
     export_model_to_onnx,
 )
-from model2vec.train import StaticModelForClassification
+from model2vec.train import StaticModelForClassification, StaticModelForPairSimilarity
 
 
 def _tokenize(pipeline: StaticModelPipeline, texts: list[str]) -> tuple[torch.Tensor, torch.Tensor]:
@@ -147,6 +147,23 @@ def test_pipeline_onnx_matches_projector(
     np.testing.assert_allclose(onnx_output, expected, atol=1e-4)
 
 
+def test_pipeline_onnx_matches_empty_head(mock_vectors: np.ndarray, mock_tokenizer: Tokenizer, tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    """A pipeline whose head has no layers exports the static model's embeddings."""
+    model = StaticModelForPairSimilarity(
+        vectors=torch.from_numpy(mock_vectors).float(), tokenizer=mock_tokenizer, n_layers=0
+    )
+    pipeline = model.to_pipeline()
+    assert pipeline.head.layers == []
+    texts = ["dog", "cat"]
+    torch_model = TorchStaticModelPipeline(pipeline)
+    input_ids, attention_mask = _tokenize(pipeline, texts)
+
+    onnx_output = _export(torch_model, input_ids, attention_mask, tmp_path / "model.onnx")
+    expected = pipeline.predict(texts, use_multiprocessing=False)
+
+    np.testing.assert_allclose(onnx_output, expected, atol=1e-4)
+
+
 def test_save_tokenizer_and_config_removes_post_processor_by_default(
     mock_static_model: StaticModel, tmp_path: Path
 ) -> None:
diff --git a/tests/test_trainable.py b/tests/test_trainable.py
index 7d90fb0..034254f 100644
--- a/tests/test_trainable.py
+++ b/tests/test_trainable.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import logging
 from tempfile import TemporaryDirectory
+from typing import Any
 
 import numpy as np
 import pytest
@@ -44,7 +45,7 @@ def test_init_base_class(mock_vectors: np.ndarray, mock_tokenizer: Tokenizer) ->
     """Test successful initialization of the base class."""
     vectors_torched = torch.from_numpy(mock_vectors)
     s = BaseFinetuneable(
-        vectors=vectors_torched, tokenizer=mock_tokenizer, hidden_dim=256, out_dim=2, n_layers=0, pad_id=0
+        vectors=vectors_torched, tokenizer=mock_tokenizer, hidden_dim=256, out_dim=3, n_layers=0, pad_id=0
     )
     assert s.vectors.shape == mock_vectors.shape
     assert s.w.shape[0] == mock_vectors.shape[0]
@@ -445,6 +446,63 @@ def test_pair_similarity_out_dim_defaults_to_embed_dim(mock_vectors: np.ndarray,
     assert s.out_dim == 7
 
 
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "model_class", [StaticModelForSimilarity, StaticModelForRegression, StaticModelForPairSimilarity]
+)
+def test_no_head_without_layers(model_class: Any, mock_vectors: np.ndarray, mock_tokenizer: Tokenizer) -> None:
+    """Without layers and with an unchanged dimension, the model has no head and matches its static model."""
+    model = model_class(
+        vectors=torch.from_numpy(mock_vectors).float(),
+        tokenizer=mock_tokenizer,
+        n_layers=0,
+        out_dim=mock_vectors.shape[1],
+    )
+    assert len(model.head) == 0
+
+    texts = ["dog cat", "dog"]
+    np.testing.assert_allclose(model.encode(texts), model.to_static_model().encode(texts), atol=1e-6)
+    np.testing.assert_allclose(model.encode(texts), model.to_pipeline().predict(texts), atol=1e-6)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "model_class", [StaticModelForSimilarity, StaticModelForRegression, StaticModelForPairSimilarity]
+)
+def test_head_without_layers_changes_dimension(
+    model_class: Any, mock_vectors: np.ndarray, mock_tokenizer: Tokenizer
+) -> None:
+    """Without layers but with a different output dimension, the head is a single linear layer."""
+    model = model_class(
+        vectors=torch.from_numpy(mock_vectors).float(),
+        tokenizer=mock_tokenizer,
+        n_layers=0,
+        out_dim=mock_vectors.shape[1] + 1,
+    )
+    assert len(model.head) == 1
+    assert isinstance(model.head[0], torch.nn.Linear)
+
+
+def test_similarity_fit_without_layers(mock_vectors: np.ndarray, mock_tokenizer: Tokenizer) -> None:
+    """The head of a similarity model follows the dimension of the targets it is fit on."""
+    model = StaticModelForSimilarity(
+        vectors=torch.from_numpy(mock_vectors).float(), tokenizer=mock_tokenizer, n_layers=0
+    )
+    texts = ["word1", "word2", "word3", "word1 word2"] * 2
+    model.fit(texts, torch.randn(len(texts), mock_vectors.shape[1]), max_epochs=1)
+    assert len(model.head) == 0
+
+    model.fit(texts, torch.randn(len(texts), mock_vectors.shape[1] + 1), max_epochs=1)
+    assert isinstance(model.head[0], torch.nn.Linear)
+
+
+def test_classifier_keeps_head_when_dimensions_match(mock_vectors: np.ndarray, mock_tokenizer: Tokenizer) -> None:
+    """A classifier without layers keeps its linear layer, even if the number of classes equals the dimension."""
+    model = StaticModelForClassification(
+        vectors=torch.from_numpy(mock_vectors).float(), tokenizer=mock_tokenizer, n_layers=0
+    )
+    assert model.out_dim == mock_vectors.shape[1]
+    assert isinstance(model.head[0], torch.nn.Linear)
+
+
 def test_pair_similarity_forward(mock_trained_pair_similarity_pipeline: StaticModelForPairSimilarity) -> None:
     """The forward pass should return one head output per half of the pair batch."""
     model = mock_trained_pair_similarity_pipeline