Comparison
What changes when you move to Switzerland.
Most app platforms are good. The difference is rarely the feature list. It is whose law governs your data, which currency you pay in, and how you get out again.
The differences that matter
US platformSelf-hostedklickops
Whose law applies US platformUS law, EU region or not. The CLOUD Act follows the company, not the server. Self-hostedYours, if you rent the server in Switzerland. klickopsSwiss law. Operated by Natron Tech AG, no US parent.
Who runs it at night US platformThe platform. That is their real advantage. Self-hostedYou. At three in the morning that stops being a bargain. klickopsWe do. Support from the people who built it.
Currency and billing US platformDollars, usually against an open credit card. Self-hostedA fixed server bill whether it runs or not. klickopsFrancs, by the hour. Only what you paid in first can be charged.
Database and backups US platformManaged, often as a separate product. Self-hostedSet it up, back it up and restore it yourself. klickopsPostgreSQL with HA and a nightly backup, included.
How you get out US platformProprietary shapes. Moving means rebuilding. Self-hostedAll yours, and all your work. klickopsExport as ordinary Kubernetes YAML, with no klickops-specific formats. Databases need the same open-source operator on the cluster you move to.
When you should not switch
A comparison page that only lists reasons to switch is an advert. These are real.
You need a global edge network If your users span four continents, an edge platform beats servers in Switzerland. Physics beats marketing.
You are deep in one ecosystem Serverless functions, edge middleware and a platform's own image format all have to be rebuilt on the way out. Worth it only if jurisdiction or cost genuinely hurts.
Object storage is your main cost Our storage is triple-replicated and therefore dearer than the cheapest S3 provider. At many terabytes of images that does not add up.
You do not want a platform If you enjoy operating things yourself, a plain server is honestly cheaper.
And when the move is worth it
When your customers start asking where their data lives. When the dollar bill swings uncomfortably. Or when you no longer want to be the on-call yourself.
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