For an accurate comparison, you need to look carefully at each itinerary and what is, and isn’t included. To start with, our trips do not include your accommodation in Anchorage before or after the trip. Stay wherever you like, a reasonably priced hostel, a nice B&B or an over priced chain hotel.
Then look at the day by day itinerary. Particularly transportation and accommodation. Our trips include less time on the road and more time camping than many others. If you want spend a lot of time trying to see everything from the seat of a van, ferry, plane or train you should go with someone else. All that transportation adds up for the operator, and you pay for it. Same for accommodation, it costs a lot in Alaska. And if you’re staying in a hotel, it’s difficult for your Guide to cook you up a delicious healthy dinner. You should look carefully at whether or not that is included. (A burger and a beer will cost you about $12 in AK.)
Also look carefully at what is not included on other trips. Some are quite cheap, but then everything you want to do costs extra.
We’ve also gotten smart and experienced, we’ve been doing this since 1999. Most of the activities and camping on our trips are run by our own staff, not sub-contracted out to other operators. Also, we are not a local operator for another big outfitter company that wants a big cut for putting people on our trips. This allows us more freedom to do what we want, and very importantly, limit our group size.
We spend less time driving around in the van burning fuel. And since we thought it wasteful to pay the bank thousands of dollars a year in merchant account fees, your final payment for your trip is due by check.  It all adds up.