Unleash is $80/mo (Pro). Salt Lick is a self-hosted alternative at $0.99/mo. Here's when each makes sense.
| Salt Lick | Unleash | |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting | Self-hosted, your infra | Open source, requires Node.js and Postgres |
| Data location | Your server, your disk | Your server (if self-hosted) |
| Free tier | 10 flags | Paid only |
| Pro pricing | $0.99/mo | $80/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
Choosing between Salt Lick and Unleash is less about which tool is better and more about what kind of infrastructure you want to maintain. Unleash at $80/mo (Pro) handles hosting, backups, and uptime for you. Salt Lick at $0.99/mo shifts that responsibility to you — but also shifts the control. If you already run servers, Salt Lick adds negligible operational burden. If you do not, Unleash removes it entirely.
Salt Lick runs as a single static binary with an embedded SQLite database. There is no application server, no cache layer, no background worker. One process handles HTTP requests and reads from and writes to the database file directly. This simplicity is the entire point — fewer moving parts means fewer things that can break at 2 AM.
Both Salt Lick and Unleash offer self-hosted options, but the operational requirements differ. Open source, requires Node.js and Postgres 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 Unleash typically requires a more substantial infrastructure investment.
The migration path from Unleash depends on how much history you need to bring over. If you only need active records, a manual re-entry through Salt Lick's dashboard might be faster than writing a migration script. If you need full history, export from Unleash and use Salt Lick's POST API to import records. Either way, the process is measured in hours, not weeks.
Single binary. Free to start. $0.99/mo for Pro.