The Showdown

ResearchGatevsacademics-on-mastodon

Why pay monthly fees for ResearchGate when you can self-host academics-on-mastodon for free? Let's look at the facts.

ResearchGate

The Expensive Option

  • Closed Source (Black box)
  • Expensive monthly fees per user
  • Data stored on their servers
WINNER

academics-on-mastodon

The Freedom Choice

  • 100% Open Source Code
  • Free forever (Self-hosted)
  • You own your data completely
Interactive Calculator

Calculate Your "SaaS Tax"

SaaS pricing is designed to scale with your success. See how much wealth transfers from your bank account to ResearchGate's shareholders.

10 people
150100200+
$

*Estimated standard pricing for ResearchGate. Adjust if needed.

Estimated Annual Waste
$1,440
Monthly Burn Rate$120
5-Year Projection$7,200
Cost with Self-Hosted$0
Start Saving Today

Calculations based on 10 users at $12/mo.

Detailed Breakdown

0
Proprietary/Platform-owned
Decentralized/User-owned
1
Algorithmic suggestions
Community-curated lists
2
Walled garden login
Publicly accessible Markdown