freealberta/mkdocs/docs/phil/cost-comparison.md

# Cost Comparison: Corporation vs. Community

## The True Cost of Corporate Dependency

When movements choose corporate software, they're not just paying subscription fees—they're paying with their power, their privacy, and their future. Let's break down the real costs.

## Monthly Cost Analysis

### Small Campaign (50 supporters, 5,000 emails/month)

| Service Category | Corporate Solution | Monthly Cost | Changemaker Lite | Monthly Cost |
|------------------|-------------------|--------------|------------------|--------------|
| **Email Marketing** | Mailchimp | $59/month | Listmonk | $0* |
| **Database & CRM** | Airtable Pro | $240/month | NocoDB | $0* |
| **Website Hosting** | Squarespace | $40/month | Static Server | $0* |
| **Documentation** | Notion Team | $96/month | MkDocs | $0* |
| **Development** | GitHub Codespaces | $87/month | Code Server | $0* |
| **Automation** | Zapier Professional | $73/month | n8n | $0* |
| **File Storage** | Google Workspace | $72/month | PostgreSQL + Storage | $0* |
| **Analytics** | Corporate tracking | Privacy cost† | Self-hosted | $0* |
| **TOTAL** | | **$667/month** | | **$50/month** |

*\*Included in base Changemaker Lite hosting cost*
*†Privacy costs are incalculable but include surveillance, data sales, and community manipulation*

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### Medium Campaign (500 supporters, 50,000 emails/month)

| Service Category | Corporate Solution | Monthly Cost | Changemaker Lite | Monthly Cost |
|------------------|-------------------|--------------|------------------|--------------|
| **Email Marketing** | Mailchimp | $299/month | Listmonk | $0* |
| **Database & CRM** | Airtable Pro | $600/month | NocoDB | $0* |
| **Website Hosting** | Squarespace | $65/month | Static Server | $0* |
| **Documentation** | Notion Team | $240/month | MkDocs | $0* |
| **Development** | GitHub Codespaces | $174/month | Code Server | $0* |
| **Automation** | Zapier Professional | $146/month | n8n | $0* |
| **File Storage** | Google Workspace | $144/month | PostgreSQL + Storage | $0* |
| **Analytics** | Corporate tracking | Privacy cost† | Self-hosted | $0* |
| **TOTAL** | | **$1,668/month** | | **$75/month** |

---

### Large Campaign (5,000 supporters, 500,000 emails/month)

| Service Category | Corporate Solution | Monthly Cost | Changemaker Lite | Monthly Cost |
|------------------|-------------------|--------------|------------------|--------------|
| **Email Marketing** | Mailchimp | $1,499/month | Listmonk | $0* |
| **Database & CRM** | Airtable Pro | $1,200/month | NocoDB | $0* |
| **Website Hosting** | Squarespace + CDN | $120/month | Static Server | $0* |
| **Documentation** | Notion Team | $480/month | MkDocs | $0* |
| **Development** | GitHub Codespaces | $348/month | Code Server | $0* |
| **Automation** | Zapier Professional | $292/month | n8n | $0* |
| **File Storage** | Google Workspace | $288/month | PostgreSQL + Storage | $0* |
| **Analytics** | Corporate tracking | Privacy cost† | Self-hosted | $0* |
| **TOTAL** | | **$4,227/month** | | **$150/month** |

## Annual Savings Breakdown

### 3-Year Cost Comparison

| Campaign Size | Corporate Total | Changemaker Total | **Savings** |
|---------------|----------------|-------------------|-------------|
| **Small** | $24,012 | $1,800 | **$22,212** |
| **Medium** | $60,048 | $2,700 | **$57,348** |
| **Large** | $152,172 | $5,400 | **$146,772** |

## Hidden Costs of Corporate Software

### What You Can't Put a Price On

#### Privacy Violations
- **Data Harvesting**: Every interaction monitored and stored
- **Behavioral Profiling**: Your community mapped and analyzed  
- **Third-Party Sales**: Your data sold to unknown entities
- **Government Access**: Warrantless surveillance through corporate partnerships

#### Political Manipulation
- **Algorithmic Suppression**: Your content reach artificially limited
- **Narrative Control**: Corporate interests shape what your community sees
- **Shadow Banning**: Activists systematically de-platformed
- **Counter-Intelligence**: Your strategies monitored by opposition

#### Movement Disruption
- **Dependency Creation**: Critical infrastructure controlled by adversaries
- **Community Fragmentation**: Platforms designed to extract attention, not build power
- **Organizing Interference**: Corporate algorithms prioritize engagement over solidarity
- **Cultural Assimilation**: Movement culture shaped by corporate values

## The Changemaker Advantage

### What You Get for $50-150/month

#### Complete Infrastructure
- **Email System**: Unlimited contacts, unlimited sends
- **Database Power**: Unlimited records, unlimited complexity
- **Web Presence**: Unlimited sites, unlimited traffic
- **Development Environment**: Full coding environment with AI assistance
- **Documentation Platform**: Beautiful, searchable knowledge base
- **Automation Engine**: Connect everything, automate everything
- **File Storage**: Unlimited files, unlimited backups

#### True Ownership
- **Your Domain**: No corporate branding or limitations
- **Your Data**: Complete export capability, no lock-in
- **Your Rules**: No terms of service to violate
- **Your Community**: No algorithmic manipulation

#### Community Support
- **Open Documentation**: Complete guides and tutorials available
- **Community-Driven Development**: Built by and for liberation movements
- **Technical Support**: Professional assistance from BNKops cooperative
- **Political Alignment**: Technology designed with movement values

## The Compound Effect

### Year Over Year Savings

Corporate software costs grow exponentially:
- **Year 1**: "Starter" pricing to hook you
- **Year 2**: Feature limits force tier upgrades  
- **Year 3**: Usage growth triggers premium pricing
- **Year 4**: Platform changes force expensive migrations
- **Year 5**: Lock-in enables arbitrary price increases

Changemaker Lite costs grow linearly with actual infrastructure needs:
- **Year 1**: Base infrastructure costs
- **Year 2**: Modest increases for storage/bandwidth only
- **Year 3**: Scale only with actual technical requirements  
- **Year 4**: Community-driven improvements at no extra cost
- **Year 5**: Established infrastructure with declining per-user costs

### 10-Year Projection

| Year | Corporate (Medium Campaign) | Changemaker Lite | Annual Savings |
|------|---------------------------|------------------|----------------|
| 1 | $20,016 | $900 | $19,116 |
| 2 | $22,017 | $900 | $21,117 |
| 3 | $24,219 | $1,080 | $23,139 |
| 4 | $26,641 | $1,080 | $25,561 |
| 5 | $29,305 | $1,260 | $28,045 |
| 6 | $32,235 | $1,260 | $30,975 |
| 7 | $35,459 | $1,440 | $34,019 |
| 8 | $39,005 | $1,440 | $37,565 |
| 9 | $42,905 | $1,620 | $41,285 |
| 10 | $47,196 | $1,620 | $45,576 |
| **TOTAL** | **$318,998** | **$12,600** | **$306,398** |

## Calculate Your Own Savings

### Current Corporate Costs Worksheet

**Email Marketing**: $____/month  
**Database/CRM**: $____/month  
**Website Hosting**: $____/month  
**Documentation**: $____/month  
**Development Tools**: $____/month  
**Automation**: $____/month  
**File Storage**: $____/month  
**Other SaaS**: $____/month  

**Monthly Total**: $____  
**Annual Total**: $____  

**Changemaker Alternative**: $50-150/month  
**Your Annual Savings**: $____

## Beyond the Numbers

### What Movements Do With Their Savings

The money saved by choosing community-controlled technology doesn't disappear—it goes directly back into movement building:

- **Hire organizers** instead of paying corporate executives
- **Fund direct actions** instead of funding surveillance infrastructure  
- **Support community members** instead of enriching shareholders
- **Build lasting power** instead of temporary platform dependency

## Making the Switch

### Transition Strategy

You don't have to switch everything at once:

1. **Start with documentation** - Move your knowledge base to MkDocs
2. **Add email infrastructure** - Set up Listmonk for newsletters
3. **Build your database** - Move contact management to NocoDB
4. **Automate connections** - Use n8n to integrate everything
5. **Phase out corporate tools** - Cancel subscriptions as you replicate functionality

### Investment Timeline

- **Month 1**: Initial setup and learning ($150 including setup time)
- **Month 2-3**: Data migration and team training ($100/month)
- **Month 4+**: Full operation at optimal cost ($50-150/month based on scale)

### ROI Calculation

Most campaigns recover their entire first-year investment in **60-90 days** through subscription savings alone.

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*Ready to stop feeding your budget to corporate surveillance? [Get started with Changemaker Lite today](../build/index.md) and take control of your digital infrastructure.*