Is it the right time for you to switch from SaaS?

Is your image processing bill about to skyrocket? One of the biggest SaaS-based image processing services changed its pricing model some time ago, and many users still find it a tough pill to swallow. Previously, cached images weren’t charged separately—but now, pricing is based on unique transformations per month no matter if they were cached or not. For sites with a high volume of images, this could mean a huge jump in costs. So the real question is: does SaaS still work for you, or is it time to switch?

A lot of our clients walked away from this path, heading towards self-hosted solutions. But why? Just moments ago, SaaS provided everything a startup wanted, from ease of use and automatic scaling to no need to deal much with infrastructure management. But now, many projects are revealing that a product’s growth comes with a price: a price for image optimization that started to scale too unpleasantly. Along with some other problems that have come to the top like the lack of control over infrastructure and limitations on customization.

This situation incentivized many of them to look for other alternatives, and they discovered that self-hosting was not that scary. Moreover, it can boast some advantages.

Predictable costs

In contrast to SaaS services, with a self-hosted solution, you pay for infrastructure and the software license if you're using a paid software, allowing costs to remain stable even as demand increases.

Full control

You own the infrastructure, the security, and all the optimizations. You decide how to scale and tweak performance based on your specific needs rather than relying on a third-party roadmap (so, no vendor lock-in as well).

Performance optimization

With direct control over your image processing pipeline, you can configure it exactly as needed. Want better caching? More aggressive CDN rules? Custom transformations? With a self-hosted solution, you can treat yourself to everything.

How Playbook did it

A good example of this shift is Playbook, a visual cloud storage platform for creative people. It now serves over 1.7 million users, including designers, photographers, and videographers — and more than 335 million of their assets.

Like many startups, Playbook initially relied on Imgix to process them: the SaaS tool was fast to integrate, required no maintenance, and didn’t show any disadvantages.

Until the moment when they faced tens of thousands of dollars in monthly bills. As the platform scaled, this price was no longer affordable. On top of that, the platform, due to the high pace of assets’ growth, required more control over optimizations and caching strategies—the SaaS tool couldn’t offer them. It also lacks some critical features — Playbook wanted to be able to sign image URLs so that users could not copy URLs directly from the app and reshare them.

Playbook’s strategy to switch

Playbook opted to migrate with a self-hosted setup using imgproxy on Google Cloud Run with Cloudflare CDN.

• They gradually migrated their image processing pipeline, ensuring that their user experience remained smooth throughout the transition.

• They optimized request handling, reducing redundant image transformations and leveraging more aggressive caching strategies.

• Finally, they switched to the pricing model where they only pay for their infrastructure instead of per-transformation pricing.

Today, Playbook processes millions of images per day at a fraction of the cost they were previously paying. And, of course, they could now use some performance, caching, and other additional features like making GIFs into MP4s. “Signed URLs” they wanted, which is no surprise, became the imgproxy feature they use the most.

But the main thing the Playbook team acknowledges is that they enjoy having control, which is impossible in the case of an external service. A nice feeling to have, right?

Choosing the right tool

Thinking about moving from SaaS-based image processing to self-hosted? Choosing the right tool is crucial. The right choice will save you time and money, while the wrong choice will cost you both. Here are some key factors to consider when selecting a self-hosted image processing solution:

Features you need. Different solutions offer different feature sets. Ensure your chosen tool covers both your current and potential future needs. imgproxy is packed with features, all developed to address real-world use cases. We’re also always open to feature requests.

Performance. Image processing can be resource-intensive. Your tool should be fast and efficient. imgproxy is built with performance in mind, using advanced image processing techniques to deliver best-in-class speed and efficiency.

Deployment and scaling. Your solution should be easy to deploy and scale with your needs. imgproxy is distributed as Docker images and Linux packages, making it ready to run on virtually any hosting service or local machine. It is also designed for horizontal scalability.

Observability. Unlike SaaS solutions, self-hosted tools shouldn’t feel like a black box. Good observability is essential for maintenance and troubleshooting. imgproxy supports all popular monitoring and error-tracking solutions, making it easy to understand what’s happening under the hood.

Considering leaving SaaS behind? Talk to the imgproxy team — we'll show you how easy and beneficial your transition can be.