LaunchDarkly vs. Unleash
LaunchDarkly offers a unified platform for feature management, experimentation, and release governance. Unleash is an open-source tool tailored for self-hosted flagging, but lacks advanced automation, scale guarantees, and enterprise-ready targeting workflows.
Key differences
Unified platform for flagging, testing, and governance
Core flagging platform; experimentation offered as an add-on, not fully integrated
42T+ daily flag evals, sub‑200 ms latency, global edge delivery
Built for smaller-scale delivery; SDKs poll every 15 s and no public edge SLA is documented
Automated rollbacks from metric or observability signals
No built-in integration for observability-based rollbacks; toggles are manual.
Multi‑context targeting (e.g. device, team, env, account)
Supports context constraints but no documented multi-context or chained targeting.
35+ SDKs across mobile, edge, and server
Broad SDK and Edge support
Audit logs, approval policies, and environment diffing
Enterprise includes RBAC, audit logs, and change requests; OSS version lacks full governance features
Unified platform for flagging, testing, and governance
42T+ daily flag evals, sub‑200 ms latency, global edge delivery
Automated rollbacks from metric or observability signals
Multi‑context targeting (e.g. device, team, env, account)
35+ SDKs across mobile, edge, and server
Audit logs, approval policies, and environment diffing
Core flagging platform; experimentation offered as an add-on, not fully integrated
Built for smaller-scale delivery; SDKs poll every 15 s and no public edge SLA is documented
No built-in integration for observability-based rollbacks; toggles are manual.
Supports context constraints but no documented multi-context or chained targeting.
Broad SDK and Edge support
Enterprise includes RBAC, audit logs, and change requests; OSS version lacks full governance features
Built for product velocity.
Trusted by data-driven teams.
LaunchDarkly empowers teams to ship, test, and iterate at enterprise scale — with the safety, speed, and targeting control open‑source tools can’t match.
Unified flags + experiments
VS Unleash
A/B variants only via flags but lacks fully integrated experimentation
35+ SDKs, typed + mobile ready
VS Unleash
Broad SDKs, but lacks typed flag support and edge-native features
Enterprise-grade governance
VS Unleash
RBAC and audit logs enterprise-only; OSS lacks approvals and policies
Auto rollback from observability
VS Unleash
No true auto rollback, manual toggles only; beta webhook setup required
Real-time, edge-speed delivery
VS Unleash
Polling-based (15s intervals); no public edge or latency SLA
Target by any dimension
VS Unleash
Single-dimension only; no multi-context support
Context‑aware targeting with full release control
LaunchDarkly empowers teams with runtime control across environments, contexts, and platforms — something Unleash cannot match in its core architecture.
Target users by any context: user, device, team, env, or account
VS Unleash
Targets via single-context constraints and basic one-level flag dependencies; no multi-context support.
Supports automatic rollbacks from metric or observability triggers
VS Unleash
No true automated rollback; toggles must be changed manually.
Chain flags and manage dependencies safely
VS Unleash
Supports single-parent flag dependencies; no multi-level chaining.
Experimentation + feature delivery all in one
VS Unleash
Supports flag-based experiments but lacks a full integrated experimentation module.
Role-based access, approval flows, and audit logs
VS Unleash
RBAC, audit logs, and approval flows are Enterprise-only; OSS lacks governance workflows.
Why choose LaunchDarkly over Unleash?
Enterprise scale + performance
Sub-200ms global flag delivery. Zero cold starts. 42T+ daily evaluations.
Automated guardrails
Trigger rollbacks from observability tools. Auto-pause features on metric drops. No manual intervention required.
True multi-dimensional targeting
Target by any attribute. Chain flags via prerequisites. Context-aware delivery flows.
Full lifecycle governance
Audit logs, approval workflows, access policies. Built-in change tracking and environment diffing.
Experimentation without separate tooling
Run A/B tests from the same platform. No DIY experiment setup required. Results and rollouts unified.
Security + compliance you can trust
SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR controls, FedRAMP. Global support + dedicated compliance resources.
* This comparison data is based on research conducted in November 2025.
Trusted by the world's most innovative teams
Join thousands of teams, including 25% of the Fortune 500, who use LaunchDarkly to de-risk delivery, run experiments at scale, and delight users faster.
Join innovative companies like these
"LaunchDarkly helped to democratize the experimentation practice and bring together data, product, and engineering teams working together around the same project."
David Tieba
Head of Product Analytics
"LaunchDarkly has given us much more flexibility than our previous tools for feature flagging and A/B testing. We’re able to experiment more effectively and make better data-driven decisions.”
Rema Morgan-Aluko
SVP Technology
"The ability to target experiments and analyze results efficiently has been a game-changer for us. It’s enabled us to run more tests and gain actionable insights much faster. ”
Riley Duncan
Sr. Data Analytst
"By connecting to Snowflake, we can move more quickly when new models are released, which means we can say yes to more ideas. We can take real risks on these things.”
Jon Noronha
Co-founder and Chief Product Officer
"LaunchDarkly helps us safely roll out and experiment with AI and product features without requiring engineering deploys for every variation.”
Vincent L.
Data Scientist, Information Technology and Services Company
"We can test new features with specific users, run A/B tests, and turn off features instantly if something breaks. This means fewer production issues, faster feedback, and more control over our releases.”
Jwalit Shah
Software Engineer
Build with confidence, experiment with ease.
