We present detailed benchmark ground-state calculations of the one- and two-dimensional Hubbard model utilizing the cluster extensions of the rotationally invariant slave-boson mean-field theory and the density matrix embedding theory. Our analysis shows that the overall accuracy and the performance of these two methods are very similar. Furthermore, we propose a unified computational framework that allows us to implement both of these techniques on the same footing. This provides us with a different line of interpretation and paves the ways for developing systematically distinct generalizations of these complementary approaches.