Your reusable code is scattered across GitHub Gists (no tags, no folders, no real search), a pinned Slack channel and a giant notes file. Cacher fixes that for $6/month, forever. Snipvault fixes it for $49 once: full-content search, collections and tags, share links, raw and embed endpoints, and a Gist importer — all in one SQLite file you own.
This is the full pricing breakdown: what Cacher actually costs over one, two and three years, what Snipvault gives you for $49 paid once, and the honest cases where the subscription is still the right call.
What Cacher actually costs you
At $6/mo, one Cacher subscription adds up to $72 every year — $216 over a three-year window, for software you stop owning the day you cancel. Snipvault is $49 the day you buy it, and the meter never runs again.
| Snipvault | Cacher | |
|---|---|---|
| Sticker price | $49 once | $6/mo |
| Cost after 1 year | $49 | $72 |
| Cost after 2 years | $49 | $144 |
| Cost after 3 years | $49 | $216 |
Three years in, the gap is $167 — and every year after that adds another $72 to the subscription side of the ledger.
Snipvault vs Cacher, feature by feature
Price is only half the story — here's how the two line up on the things that decide day-to-day use:
| Snipvault | Cacher | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $49 once | $6/mo ($72/yr, forever) |
| Runs on your own domain/VPS | Yes | No |
| Full-content search | Yes (SQLite FTS5) | Yes |
| Raw + embed endpoints | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop app | Yes (Electron) | Yes |
| Your data if the vendor shuts down | Always yours — one SQLite file | Gone |
| Cost over 3 years | $49 | $216 |
What you get for $49, once
Self-hosted snippet manager — FTS5 search, share links, raw/embed endpoints, Gist import. The highlights:
- 📄 Multi-file snippets — Title, description, and one or more files per snippet, with language auto-detected from the filename.
- 🌈 Highlighting for 100+ languages — highlight.js — server-side rendered on public pages, lazy-loaded in the editor.
- 🗂️ Collections & tags — Organize snippets into folders and filter by tag chips.
- 🔍 Fuzzy + full-content search — Instant client-side fuzzy match over titles/filenames/tags, merged with server-side SQLite FTS5 across file content — content matches clearly labeled.
Pays for itself in a little over 8 months versus Cacher — the 3-year saving is $167.
Switching is 3 steps
- Buy once on Whop. One-time $49 for the packaged Windows desktop app plus guided VPS deploy, lifetime updates.
- Run it your way. Desktop app in one click, or docker compose up on any $5 VPS when you want share links on your own domain.
- Import your Gists, start searching. The idempotent Gist importer pulls your existing snippets across; FTS5 makes all of it — including file contents — instantly searchable.
When paying Cacher is still the right call
Being straight about it: the subscription earns its keep in three situations. If your team is large enough that Cacher's collaboration features, permissions and admin controls are genuinely load-bearing; if your workflow is built on its integrations and leaving means rebuilding that plumbing; or if you have enterprise requirements — SSO, audit logs, SLAs, a vendor to call — that a pay-once app doesn't come with. Everyone else is paying $6/mo for a job that runs fine on hardware they already own.
If that's you, Snipvault is $49, once. For the deeper dive, read the Snipvault vs Cacher head-to-head.
Frequently asked questions
Is it really free on GitHub?
Yes — the full source is MIT at github.com/bensblueprints/snipvault-mvp, always. $49 buys the packaged installer and lifetime updates for people who'd rather click an installer than run docker compose.
Why not just keep using GitHub Gists?
Gists are free and great for quick shares — but they give you no tags, no collections, and only limited search. Snipvault imports them all (idempotently) and adds the organization layer, full-content search and secret/public visibility control.
How good is the search really?
Two engines merged: instant client-side fuzzy matching over titles, descriptions, filenames and tags, plus server-side SQLite FTS5 over actual file content — with content-only matches clearly labeled so you know why a result appeared.
Can my team use it?
It's single-admin today — one password, one API token. Cacher's team features (shared libraries, member roles) are genuinely better for multi-user setups. For a solo dev or a shared internal box, Snipvault covers it.
Can I use it from the command line?
Yes. Every /api/* route accepts a static bearer token — create snippets from a JSON file, search with a query string, and pipe any public or secret snippet straight into bash via the raw endpoint.
More on Cacher pricing
Snipvault — product page, demo & full feature list · All OneTimeSuite pricing breakdowns
Try Snipvault — $49, once
Self-hosted snippet manager — FTS5 search, share links, raw/embed endpoints, Gist import.