Apps, APIs, and databases all claim to solve clearance. They solve different parts. Pick the wrong layer and you pay for the wrong thing. - Apps are for humans asking questions: "can I ship this," in seconds, on your phone. Best for triage. The answer lives in the app, not your systems. - APIs are for machines making decisions: structured verdicts your code can act on. Best when model approval is a pipeline. Overkill for one product on one model. - Databases are for truth: the reference everything else should cite. Best for diligence and audits. A stale database is worse than none, because it gives you confidence you should not have. - Audit SaaS usually bundles all three. Worth it when compliance is a recurring workflow; a waste when you need one answer about one model. I run the database layer with 200 models in plain language, and PrivateLLM deploy sets up the licensed model on your own AWS for $50 plus usage.