GrowthBook vs Unleash
Self-host pick — both replace LaunchDarkly (Feature flags / progressive delivery).
Both GrowthBook and Unleash self-host as a replacement for LaunchDarkly (Feature flags / progressive delivery). Pick GrowthBook if you want a MIT-licensed codebase (MIT); pick Unleash for Apache (Apache-2.0). Both run in roughly the same cost bracket — $10/mo vps vs $10/mo vps for the app; sdks are free.
| GrowthBookopen-source | Unleashopen-source | |
|---|---|---|
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Setup time | 20min docker-compose (Node + MongoDB) | 20min docker-compose (Node + Postgres) |
| Monthly cost | $10/mo VPS. | $10/mo VPS for the app; SDKs are free. |
| GitHub | growthbook/growthbook | Unleash/unleash |
| Replaces | LaunchDarkly | LaunchDarkly |
Good fit for
GrowthBook
Teams that already have an analytics warehouse and want feature-flag + experimentation in one tool.
Weak at:MongoDB ops surface; experimentation analysis assumes you have the warehouse pipeline already in place.
Unleash
Engineering teams that want a battle-tested feature-flag platform with a clean self-host story.
Weak at:A/B testing depth is shallower than LaunchDarkly Experimentation; pair with PostHog or GrowthBook if experimentation is core.
In a terminal? npx -y github:SolvoHQ/os-alt-cli launchdarkly prints LaunchDarkly's self-host options including both —
how the CLI works →
FAQ
Which is easier to self-host, GrowthBook or Unleash?
GrowthBook: 20min docker-compose (Node + MongoDB). Unleash: 20min docker-compose (Node + Postgres).
What does each cost to run?
GrowthBook: $10/mo VPS.. Unleash: $10/mo VPS for the app; SDKs are free.. Both projects are free and open source.
Do GrowthBook and Unleash replace the same SaaS?
Yes — both are open-source alternatives to LaunchDarkly.