FounderizerA VPS and some scripts will get you most of the way. This is the part that never finishes.
What it is, fairly
If you can set up a VPS, sign a Claude session in on it, and write the scripts that give an agent work, you can build the first eighty per cent of this in a weekend. Plenty of competent people have. It is a good way to learn exactly what you want, and it costs you nothing but the server.
The dividing line
The dividing line is the week after. Claude, Codex and Apple move every week, and a provider session on a machine lasts weeks, not years. The build is a weekend; the upkeep is a standing obligation. That is what the fee pays for.
| A VPS, cron and your own scripts | Founderizer |
|---|---|
| You write the glue | A hub, a manager and agents with roles, already built |
| You find out a provider changed when it stops working | We publish a release, and our own fleet has already run it |
| An update is you, ssh and a held breath | Your hub takes a release when it is idle, checks itself, and returns to its pinned version if a check fails |
| You read logs to find out what happened | What needs you reaches your phone |
| You re-sign a provider session when something breaks | The app opens the provider’s page and types the code back on the right machine |
| Free, apart from the server and your evenings | The server, your Claude plan, and this subscription |
Which one is yours
A VPS, cron and your own scripts is better when
- You enjoy this, and the evenings are not a cost to you.
- Your need is narrow enough that one script will do, and will keep doing.
- You want to understand the shape before you buy anything. This is the right way to.
- You would rather own every line than take an update from anybody.
Founderizer is better when
- You have built it already and are tired of the week after.
- You want the Mac and iPhone apps, and a phone that tells you when a machine has gone quiet or a provider is signed out.
- You want an update that checks itself and rolls back, rather than one you supervise.
- Your evenings are worth more than the fee.
Roll your own when the upkeep is a hobby rather than a cost. The moment it becomes a cost, that is the thing being sold here, and nothing else is.
Questions
What exactly does the fee pay for?
The updates, which never stop because Claude, Codex and Apple move every week; the Mac and iPhone apps and the notifications to your phone; the install path the app walks you through and the documentation behind it; and a hand when you want a new agent or a new duty.
Can I see the code?
The Founderizer code is on the download page, with a SHA-256 beside each file. Your server clones it.
What do I still have to do myself?
The machine and its cost, your own provider subscription used within that provider’s terms, every decision about what an agent may reach, and your backups. The terms list exactly this.
How this was written
These pages describe the product as its own code and terms describe it. Where a page compares Founderizer with another way of working, it compares the way of working, not a named product’s current plan. A page that quotes another company’s price goes out of date the week that company changes it, and a one-person shop cannot keep a shelf of them true. So the comparisons here are about who carries what — the machine, the keys, the hours, the upkeep — which does not change when somebody edits a pricing page.
The other comparisons
A hosted agent platform
The dividing line is where the work runs and who holds the keys. On a hosted platform your work runs on their machines, which means your credentials have to be reachable from their machines. Here the work runs on a machine you own, your keys sit in a vault on it, and we hold an email address, a payment and an entitlement.
Claude Code on your laptop
The dividing line is attendance. A session you drive needs you present, and ends when you close the lid. This is the same model, on a machine that is never shut, holding work it keeps without being asked, and reaching your phone when the next step is yours.
Hiring an engineer
The dividing line is what the work needs. An engineer is for work that needs judgement and ownership. A fleet is for work that needs doing at a volume or an hour a person cannot cover, inside limits you drew in advance.
What it costs, what the agents actually do, and what you carry before you pay. Disagree with a line here? support@founderizer.com.