Flagsmith vs LaunchDarkly: A Detailed Comparison

Flagsmith vs LaunchDarkly at a glance

LaunchDarkly needs no introduction, but we’ll give them one, anyway: They were founded in 2014, are largely responsible for popularising feature flags, and are arguably the most well-known feature flag tool. But despite all that, you’re reading this. Maybe you’re evaluating their pricing and reviews and are worried about getting locked in. You asked yourself, “Isn’t there something better out there?”

And the answer is, maybe.

LaunchDarkly will be a better fit for some companies—but Flagsmith will make more sense for others. We’ll take you through the ins and outs of both platforms so you can decide for yourself. 

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Price considerations

LaunchDarkly is a fantastic tool for solo developers or those needing an all-in-one tool with all the bells and whistles. If you're looking for feature management and don't want to pay for extras you don't need (or are concerned about price hikes/lock-ins), it's fair to look for other options like Flagsmith that can guarantee a lower price tag.

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Secure & flexible deployment options

If you operate in a heavily regulated industry, data security will top your list of priorities when evaluating a feature flagging tool. Flagsmith offers private cloud and self-hosted (install on-prem or in your own cloud) deployment options in addition to SaaS. LaunchDarkly is a great SaaS tool, but does only offer cloud deployment. If you need to stay in full control of your data and meet stringent compliance requirements, Flagsmith will likely make more sense.

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Open source as an antidote to vendor lock-in

Most of our platform is open source and Flagsmith’s core functionality will always stay open. We have an active community of devs regularly contributing to our GitHub, making for a stronger and more secure product, and our roadmap is public. We’re allergic to vendor lock-in, which is why we’re a founding member of OpenFeature, which allows you to switch to a different feature flag provider without huge roadblocks like cost and legal hoops.

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Bootstrapped vs venture-backed

Somewhere in the past five years, amidst runaway valuations and price hikes and layoffs as shortcuts to profitability, being VC-backed ceased to hold the same appeal it once had. Customers are turning away from some VC-backed companies now, with things like price hikes and lack of human support leaving a bad taste. On the flip side, profitable bootstrapped companies offer a lot of stability and customer focus that VC-backed companies traditionally haven't been able to provide. We’ve chosen to bootstrap so we can focus on our customers, grow sustainably, and stay in control of our own destiny.

The 3 key differences between Flagsmith & LaunchDarkly 

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1. Feature management focus

LaunchDarkly comes with a whole bunch of bells and whistles—and honestly some really cool features—but you’ll end up paying for them. If you’re looking for straightforward feature flags, remote configuration, and A/B testing, Flagsmith will be a better, more cost-effective option.  

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2. Lower prices

Many users have reported issues with LaunchDarkly’s pricing, like a lack of transparency around usage costs and a major increase in enterprise pricing after one year, which can result in higher-than-expected bills and even some disruptions in usage. With Flagsmith, we don’t hide fees and extra costs in the fine print, and we will guarantee our rate. The cost of additional API calls or seats is on our website.

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3. Built-in analytics

LaunchDarkly has built-in analytics, whereas Flagsmith integrates with established analytics providers. Some teams will prefer using LaunchDarkly’s bespoke analytics solution, but, in our opinion, it’s hard to beat purpose-built solutions. And why should you pay extra for features you don't need... and another decision point?

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Flagsmith vs LaunchDarkly: Which should you choose?

Ultimately, this will come down to your needs, and—crucially—your budget. 

Flagsmith is built to allow for maximum flexibility: whether it’s the ability to choose your own adventure when it comes to deployment options (self-hosted, private cloud, or cloud),  our open-source nature (and OpenFeature membership, allowing you to easily change to another feature flag provider in the future), or our pricing. We understand that your needs change, and we’re here to support you.

LaunchDarkly is the original feature flag tool, sporting an extensive feature set and a great SaaS offering. If you're a solo developer looking for a SaaS option, if you don't need the control and flexibility of self-hosted or private cloud deployments, or if you aren't worried about vendor lock-in and will use all the bells and whistles, LaunchDarkly could be a great choice.  

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Key factors for evaluation

When it comes down to Flagsmith vs LaunchDarkly, three parameters should be weighed more heavily than anything else: Price, deployment options, and usability. 

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Price

This LaunchDarkly user review says it all: “LaunchDarkly: a great product, but at a premium price”.  If budget is not a concern and you’re looking for a platform that has everything and then some, LaunchDarkly could be the right choice. But if you’re budget-conscious and looking for a straightforward feature management solution, Flagsmith is probably the better option.

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Flexible deployments

If you operate in a heavily regulated space where security is top of mind, LaunchDarkly has a rather large downside: They only offer cloud deployments. Flagsmith offers self-hosting in addition to private cloud and cloud. 

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Ease of use

We’ve built Flagsmith to be as straightforward and intuitive as possible. You can set up the platform in less than 5 minutes—we’ve timed it!

This user review sums it up perfectly:

“The Flagsmith UI is also so easy to understand and get onboarded which makes it super convenient to use by both developers and non technical folks.”

Abhishek A. - Software Engineer, G2 review

With comprehensive documentation, an active Discord community that our co-founders and founding engineers regularly contribute to, if you do encounter any difficulties or have any questions, help is only a quick message away. 

LaunchDarkly users also mention an intuitive user interface, but some reviews mention that  mastering all its features and capabilities can take some time:

“Despite its intuitive interface, mastering all of LaunchDarkly's features and capabilities requires some time and effort.” - Ross G. - Director Of Engineering, G2 review

Another review mentions some reliability issues: 

“I find Launchdarkly frustrating at times due to occasional reliability issues on the website with the state of a flag. There have been instances where I've needed to refresh the page multiple times to ensure I have the current state of a flag, which disrupts my workflow and diminishes the overall user experience.” - Verified User in Computer Software, G2 review