All articles

The Best 5 feature-flag tools for Rust developers

When it comes to managing feature rollouts in Rust applications, feature flags are indispensable. They allow developers to experiment and deploy with confidence. However, the variety of available feature-flag solutions can make it tough to choose the right one. In this article, we’ll compare the top 5 feature-flag solutions for Rust developers, considering pricing, ease of use, and the most valuable features each service offers.

#1 Tggl.io
#2 Unleash
#3 Flagsmith
#4 LaunchDarkly
#5 Split
Conclusion

Tggl logoOur top pick#1 Tggl.io

First on our list is Tggl, an excellent overall choice thanks to its simplicity and quick integration with Rust, requiring just a single API call.

Features

Tggl's entry-level plan covers all the fundamental features you need to get started with feature flagging, making it ideal for small projects or teams on a budget. It provides the core functionalities like toggling features on and off, conducting A/B tests, and scheduling feature rollouts. Ensuring you have everything necessary to manage feature rollouts efficiently.

When your project scales or demands more sophisticated capabilities, Tggl’s premium plans introduce advanced features for collaborating like reviews, technical debt management, and server-side flags evaluation, giving you the flexibility to grow with the service.

Ease of use

The main reason Tggl leads our list is its simplicity in use. The platform is easy to navigate, and getting started requires minimal effort. To showcase this, we’ve recorded a video where we enable a feature flag for 20% of French users. We did the same for every tool on this list, offering a side-by-side look at how each one performs in terms of ease of use.

Tggl Demo

The video clearly shows how straightforward Tggl is to use. To provide additional insights, we also gathered user ratings for ease of use and setup time. These ratings reflect the experiences of developers who have used Tggl and offer a valuable perspective on how the service performs in real-world scenarios.

Pricing

In summary, Tggl offers the most affordable solution from our list, with a starting price of 180/yr for five seats. Smaller teams are billed according to their number of seats and the volume of requests they make. Larger organizations can opt for a plan with unlimited seats and pay solely based on their request volume, providing a cost-effective and scalable option for growing teams.

Got to Tggl pricing page

Unleash logo#2 Unleash

Unleash is the next service we're examining in our comparison. Tailored for Rust developers, Unleash provides a robust set of tools for effective feature management. We'll review its features and pricing in detail to see how it stacks up against other options.

Features

Unleash is equipped with all the fundamental tools necessary for effective feature flag management, making it a strong contender for Rust developers. The basic plan includes essential features such as feature toggling, offering a solid foundation for most projects.

However, if you’re looking for more advanced features, you’ll need to consider one of the more expensive plans.

Some other features of Unleash are only available on the highest plan and will require a call with a sales representative (eg. unlimited projects, reviews, custom roles, unlimited environments, unlimited seats and flag scheduling).

Ease of use

We have recorded a video demonstration to show how to release a feature for 20% of French users using Unleash. This will help you compare the ease of use across different platforms, giving you a better idea of how Unleash and the others handle feature rollouts in practical scenarios.

Unleash's UI should be good enough for anyone to use without too much trouble.

Unleash Demo

We've gathered user feedback on two key aspects of Unleash: ease of use and setup time. The higher the rating, the more favorable the experience, giving us a clear indication of how smoothly the platform works in practice. Next, we’ll review how Unleash performed in these areas based on user input.

Here is what people who are using Unleash think about the product (the higher the better):

Pricing

In terms of pricing, Unleash tends to be on the higher end, with costs rising quickly as your team size grows. While it offers a range of powerful features, the price may be a limiting factor for smaller teams or projects. To give a clearer picture, we’ve listed a few pricing examples based on various team sizes to illustrate how expenses can scale with growth.

Unleash is not the cheapest option from this list, especially for larger teams, the price increase can be steep. Here are some prices to give you an idea:

Got to Unleash pricing page

Flagsmith logo#3 Flagsmith

Flagsmith is the next feature flagging tool we'll explore. Designed with Rust developers in mind, Flagsmith offers a range of functionalities that make it a compelling choice. In the upcoming sections, we'll delve into its features and pricing to better understand its value.

Features

Flagsmith provides a comprehensive set of basic features that make it a solid choice for managing feature flags in Rust projects. With its core offerings, you can easily toggle features on and off. These essential tools are available even on the lower-tier plans, making Flagsmith accessible to teams that need robust feature flagging capabilities without breaking the bank.

However, for those seeking more advanced functionalities, you'll need to opt for one of the more expensive plans. Such as flag scheduling or MFA that start at $540 a year and reviews, custom roles or audit log that start at $2 400 a year.

Ease of use

We’re creating a video for each feature flagging tool in this article showcasing how to release a feature for 20% of French users. These demonstrations will allow you to easily compare the usability of Flagsmith and other platforms to see which one aligns best with your needs.

Here is the recording of the Flagsmith's dashboard where we go through the process of updating the flag.

Flagsmith Demo

To provide more insight into Flagsmith's usability, we collected user ratings in two areas: ease of use and setup time. A higher rating indicates a smoother experience, helping gauge how quickly teams can adopt the platform and how intuitive it is. Let’s take a closer look at these ratings to see how Flagsmith measures up.

Here is what people who are using Flagsmith think about the product (the higher the better):

Pricing

Pricing is one area where Flagsmith can become costly, particularly as team size increases. While it delivers a strong feature set, the pricing structure might be challenging for teams looking to stay within a tight budget. To help you better assess the cost, we’ve provided a few pricing examples based on different team sizes to show how quickly expenses can add up.

Flagsmith is not the cheapest option from this list, especially for larger teams, the price increase can be steep. Here are some prices to give you an idea:

Got to Flagsmith pricing page

LaunchDarkly logo#4 LaunchDarkly

Next, we have LaunchDarkly, which is a strong option for managing feature flags in Rust applications. We'll take a closer look at what LaunchDarkly brings to the table in terms of features and pricing, helping you determine if it fits your project needs.

Features

LaunchDarkly offers all the essential features you’d expect from a feature flagging service, making it a reliable choice for most Rust projects. Its lower-tier plans include key functionalities like feature toggling, ensuring that even teams on a budget can effectively manage their feature deployments.

For those who need more advanced capabilities, however, some features are reserved for the higher-tier plans. Options like duplicate flags, unlimited projects or reviews start at $1 000 a year.

Some other features of LaunchDarkly are only available on the highest plan and will require a call with a sales representative (eg. custom roles and flag scheduling).

Ease of use

To showcase LaunchDarkly's UI, we’ve prepared a short video demonstration. In the video, we’ll walk you through the process of releasing a feature for 20% of French users. LaunchDarkly may not the most user-friendly tool from this list, but at least it gets the job done fairly quickly.

LaunchDarkly Demo

To give a better sense of how LaunchDarkly performs in real-world use, we’ve gathered user ratings for two key areas: ease of use and setup time. These ratings, with higher scores indicating better performance, provide insights into how quickly teams can get started with the platform and how intuitive it is to use in day-to-day operations. Let’s take a look at how LaunchDarkly fared in these categories.

Here is what people who are using LaunchDarkly think about the product (the higher the better):

Pricing

When it comes to pricing, LaunchDarkly is not the most affordable option on the list. The cost can rise quickly as your team size grows. While it offers robust capabilities, the pricing may become a concern for smaller teams or those with limited budgets. To give you a better sense of what to expect, we’ve included a few example price points based on team size to help you gauge how costs might scale as your needs evolve.

LaunchDarkly is not the cheapest option from this list, especially for larger teams, the price increase can be steep. Here are some prices to give you an idea:

Got to LaunchDarkly pricing page

Split logo#5 Split

Split is the next service we're examining in our comparison. Tailored for Rust developers, Split provides a robust set of tools for effective feature management. We'll review its features and pricing in detail to see how it stacks up against other options.

Features

Split is equipped with all the fundamental tools necessary for effective feature flag management, making it a strong contender for Rust developers. The basic plan includes essential features such as feature toggling, offering a solid foundation for most projects.

However, if you’re looking for more advanced features, you’ll need to consider one of the more expensive plans. Those feature include unlimited projects, flag scheduling, custom roles or remote config which starts at $7 200 a year and audit log which starts at $3 960 a year.

Some other features of Split are only available on the highest plan and will require a call with a sales representative (eg. reviews).

Ease of use

To help you compare the ease of use between the tools, we’re recording a video for each one showing how to roll out a feature for 20% of French users. These videos will give you a hands-on look at how Split and the other platforms operate, making it easier to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses.

Unlike what you might have heard, it is actually not that hard to setup a flag in Split.

Split Demo

To help evaluate Split's performance, we collected user ratings for both ease of use and setup time. These ratings, where higher numbers reflect better experiences, give a clear picture of how simple it is to get up and running with the platform and how user-friendly it is. Let’s dive into the results to see how Split stacks up.

Here is what people who are using Split think about the product (the higher the better):

Pricing

Split isn’t the most budget-friendly tool, and the price can climb significantly as the size of your team increases. To give you a sense of how costs can escalate, we’ve included some example pricing based on team size to help you evaluate whether Split fits your financial requirements.

Split is not the cheapest option from this list, especially for larger teams, the price increase can be steep. Here are some prices to give you an idea:

Got to Split pricing page

Conclusion

In conclusion, we’ve explored how 5 different feature flag tools stack up in terms of features, ease of use, and pricing. The videos included in this article served to highlight how each tool performs in practice, offering a clearer perspective on their usability. Your choice will ultimately hinge on what you value most—be it cost-effectiveness, advanced functionalities, or user-friendly design.