Question 1

How do I know if I'm locked in to my hosting provider?

Accepted Answer

Ask yourself: Could you switch providers in 2 weeks without major disruption? If the answer is 'no' or 'I don't know,' you're locked in. Common lock-in signs: using proprietary services (AWS Lambda, Azure Functions), no infrastructure documentation, custom integrations that don't port elsewhere, long-term contracts with penalties. Most founders don't realize they're locked in until they try to leave or get hit with massive price increases.

Question 2

Is vendor lock-in always bad?

Accepted Answer

No—it's a tradeoff. Proprietary services are often better and easier to use than portable alternatives. AWS Lambda is simpler than managing your own containers. The question is: are you getting enough value to justify the lock-in risk? If proprietary services save you €2,000/month in development time, and switching would cost €20,000, you're break-even after 10 months. Lock-in becomes bad when: provider raises prices significantly, service quality declines, you need features they don't offer, or you're stuck paying premium prices for commodity hosting.

Question 3

How much does it actually cost to switch providers?

Accepted Answer

Typical ranges: Simple site with standard hosting: €2,000-€5,000 (1-2 weeks). Complex app with managed databases: €10,000-€25,000 (1-2 months). Heavy use of proprietary services: €30,000-€100,000+ (3-6 months). Costs include: infrastructure rebuild, data migration, testing, downtime/risk mitigation, documentation, team retraining. The more proprietary services you use, the higher the cost. This is why some companies are effectively trapped—migration costs more than years of higher prices.

Question 4

Should I avoid cloud providers to prevent lock-in?

Accepted Answer

No—that's premature optimization. Use cloud services that make sense for your stage. But be strategic: Use open-source technologies where possible (PostgreSQL instead of DynamoDB, Docker instead of proprietary containers). Document everything so migration is possible. Avoid proprietary services for core infrastructure—they're okay for nice-to-haves. The goal isn't zero lock-in (impossible), it's manageable lock-in. You should be able to switch providers for €10,000-€20,000 and 4-8 weeks, not €100,000 and 6 months.

Question 5

What if I'm already deeply locked in?

Accepted Answer

You have options: 1) Do nothing if current provider meets your needs and pricing is fair—lock-in only matters when you need to leave. 2) Negotiate better pricing—providers know you're locked in, but they also want to keep you happy. Use lock-in as leverage ('we're committed long-term, give us a discount'). 3) Gradual de-locking: new services use portable technologies, slowly migrate old ones. 4) Accept sunk cost and migrate if current situation is untenable. Most founders in deep lock-in choose option 1 or 2—migration is last resort.

Vendor Lock-In Risk Calculator

Vendor Lock-In Risk Assessment

Vendor Lock-In Risk Report

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