A review of Flagsmith
Flagsmith is a feature management platform that helps development teams control the full lifecycle of feature flags. It allows teams to manage feature flags across environments, target specific users, and roll out features gradually.
We must first identify Flagsmith's strengths and weaknesses before moving on to explore other alternatives.
Pricing
Below is the cost breakdown for Flagsmith depending on the size of your team. Note that advanced features are only accessible in larger subscription tiers.
- Price for 5 seats: $2 400/yr
- Price for 10 seats: $3 600/yr
Flagsmith provides a 14-day free trial period, allowing you to try out the product and develop your own perspective.
Features
Flagsmith's starter package offers typical feature flag services like remote config, A/B testing, unlimited projects, progressive rollout, unlimited environments, kill-switches and unlimited feature-flags, making it a suitable choice for teams just starting out.
Unfortunately, some more advanced features will require you to move await from the starter plan and make a significant jump in pricing. For instance, features such as flag scheduling or MFA start at $540 a year and reviews, custom roles or audit log start at $2 400 a year.
Overall, as long as you stick to the starter plan you should be good, but be prepared to significantly increase your bill as your company succeeds.
Ease of use
Here's where Flagsmith falls behind. Besides pricing, this is likely the leading factor that prompts people to look elsewhere. The user interface is clunky and can discourage new-comers.
It's worth noting that Flagsmith has a lengthy history and has undergone multiple revisions, which might make its user interface a bit daunting for newcomers. For comparison with other options, we've created videos demonstrating how to enable a feature flag for 20% of users in France for each solution. Here are the results for Flagsmith:
Here are the ratings from people who use Flagsmith for both the ease of use and the setup time (the higher the better). We will compare those metrics with other alternatives later on in this post:
- Setup time: 4.2/5
- Ease of use: 3.4/5
Our top pick#1 Tggl.io
Tggl.io a great alternative to Flagsmithbecause of its ease of use for developers and product managers, modern UI, simple and competitive pricing, and great customer support.
Here is the same workflow in Tggl where we enable a flag for 20% of users in France:
Here, Tggl is a better alternative to Flagsmith in terms of simplicity, usability, and efficiency. Here's what users have to say about Tggl:
- Setup time: 4.8/5
- Ease of use: 4.9/5
We also have put together an in-depth comparison between Flagsmith and Tggl where we compare pricing and list all features on a more granular level.
Regarding price, Tggl is actually cheaper than Flagsmith regardless of the size of you team. This difference is even higher for larger teams. Here is the pricing breakdown:
- Price for 5 seats: €180/yr
- Price for 10 seats: €530/yr
#2 Unleash
Unleash is a solid alternative to Flagsmith, offering all necessary features to get started with feature flags: remote config, unlimited feature-flags, MFA, progressive rollout, kill-switches and A/B testing.
Note that some features are only available in higher plans. You will need to talk to a Unleash sales representative to get a quote for some more advanced features like unlimited projects, reviews, custom roles, unlimited environments, unlimited seats and flag scheduling.
Here is the video where we enable a flag for 20% of users in France using Unleash:
Here is what people who are using Unleash think about the product (the higher the better):
- Setup time: 3.8/5
- Ease of use: 3.2/5
If you're interested in learning more, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison between Flagsmith and Unleash. You can access a detailed list of features and prices for both services here.
When it comes to price, Unleash is actually cheaper than Flagsmith, and the difference increases as your team and usage grows:
- Price for 5 seats: $960/yr
- Price for 10 seats: $1 860/yr
#3 LaunchDarkly
LaunchDarkly is also a great alternative to Flagsmith, providing a complete set of features, including kill-switches, MFA, A/B testing, unlimited environments, progressive rollout, remote config and unlimited feature-flags.
Note that some features are only available in higher plans. This includes features such as duplicate flags, unlimited projects or reviews that start at $1 000 a year. You will need to talk to a LaunchDarkly sales representative to get a quote for some more advanced features like custom roles and flag scheduling.
Here is the video where we enable a flag for 20% of users in France using LaunchDarkly:
Here is what people who are using LaunchDarkly think about the product (the higher the better):
- Setup time: 4.1/5
- Ease of use: 3.5/5
For those seeking additional information, we've prepared an in-depth comparison between Flagsmith and LaunchDarkly. You'll find a complete overview of features and pricing for both platforms available here.
When it comes to price, LaunchDarkly is actually cheaper than Flagsmith, and the difference increases as your team and usage grows:
- Price for 5 seats: $500/yr
- Price for 10 seats: $2 000/yr
Got to LaunchDarkly pricing page
#4 Split
Another great alternative to Flagsmith is Split, including all features you would expected from a feature flag service, such as progressive rollout, unlimited feature-flags, kill-switches, MFA, unlimited environments and A/B testing.
Note that some features are only available in higher plans. This includes features such as unlimited projects, flag scheduling, custom roles or remote config that start at $7 200 a year and audit log that start at $3 960 a year. You will need to talk to a Split sales representative to get a quote for some more advanced features like reviews.
Here is the video where we enable a flag for 20% of users in France using Split:
Here is what people who are using Split think about the product (the higher the better):
- Setup time: 3.9/5
- Ease of use: 3.5/5
If you want to delve deeper into the details, we've crafted an in-depth comparison between Flagsmith and Split. You'll discover a comprehensive list of features and pricing for both services on this page.
When it comes to price, Split is actually more expensive than Flagsmith, and the difference increases as your team and usage grows:
- Price for 5 seats: $3 960/yr
- Price for 10 seats: $3 960/yr
Conclusion
Flagsmith is often criticised for its price point and not so easy to use UI, but as you can see there are many options to choose from. And even tho in this test we ranked Tggl.io the highest, other alternatives also have a comparable feature set.