GrowthBook is $75/mo (Pro). Salt Lick is a self-hosted alternative at $0.99/mo. Here's when each makes sense.
| Salt Lick | GrowthBook | |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting | Self-hosted, your infra | Open source, self-hostable with Docker and MongoDB |
| Data location | Your server, your disk | Your server (if self-hosted) |
| Free tier | 10 flags | Paid only |
| Pro pricing | $0.99/mo | $75/mo (Pro) |
| Dependencies | None (single binary + SQLite) | Docker, Postgres, etc. |
| Setup time | ~30 seconds | 15-30 minutes (self-host) |
| Dashboard | Built-in at /ui | Web UI |
| License | BSL 1.1 | Open source |
Salt Lick is a single Go binary with embedded SQLite. Install it with one command, and you are running in under a minute. Your data stays on your server.
curl -fsSL https://stockyard.dev/saltlick/install.sh | sh
Teams evaluating GrowthBook alongside Salt Lick tend to split on two axes: feature depth and data residency. GrowthBook wins on feature depth — it is a mature product with integrations, mobile apps, and a dedicated support team. Salt Lick wins on residency — your feature flag service data lives on your server in a SQLite file you can inspect, back up, and migrate without asking anyone for permission.
The operational difference is significant. GrowthBook requires you to trust their infrastructure, their security practices, and their business continuity. Salt Lick requires you to run a process and keep the data directory backed up. If your server dies, restore the binary and the SQLite file to a new server. The entire recovery procedure fits in a single paragraph because there is nothing else involved.
Both Salt Lick and GrowthBook offer self-hosted options, but the operational requirements differ. Open source, self-hostable with Docker and MongoDB Salt Lick is a single binary with embedded SQLite — no containers, no external databases, no orchestration. The practical difference: Salt Lick runs on a $5 VPS with no configuration. Self-hosting GrowthBook typically requires a more substantial infrastructure investment.
Switching from GrowthBook to Salt Lick is straightforward for most teams. Export your data from GrowthBook (most services offer CSV or JSON export), then POST each record to Salt Lick's API. A migration script that reads the export and writes to /api/ endpoints typically takes less than 50 lines of code. The reverse migration is equally simple — Salt Lick's SQLite database is a standard file you can query with any SQLite client.
Single binary. Free to start. $0.99/mo for Pro.