Software Build vs Buy Calculator

Build vs Buy Calculator

Should your company pay $500/mo for an Enterprise SaaS, or pay a developer to build an in-house version? Compare the 3-year Total Cost of Ownership.

The "Buy" Scenario (SaaS)

The "Build" Scenario (In-House)

3-Year Total Financial Impact

Buying the SaaS
Zero upfront cost. Immediate deployment.
Building In-House
High upfront cost. Permanent maintenance debt.

The Fallacy of Free Custom Software

Every Engineering team in the world at some point complains about a $500/month Enterprise SaaS bill and tells their CEO: "We can build an exact clone of that software in a weekend for free!" The Build vs Buy Calculator proves them wrong by accounting for the brutal reality of the 3-Year Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).

The Iceberg of Technical Debt

Your team might successfully code the initial logic in 100 hours. However, custom software is never "finished." The moment you launch an internal tool, you take on perpetual technical debt. You must now pay developers to patch security vulnerabilities, upgrade server OS versions, fix browser compatibility issues, and integrate new APIs. This maintenance costs hundreds of dollars a month in invisible wasted wages.

Opportunity Cost is Massive

If your developers are spending 10 hours a month fixing bugs in an internal CRM clone, they are NOT spending those 10 hours building your actual core product that generates revenue for the company. You are crippling your own roadmap to save a few dollars on a third-party subscription.

Frequently Asked Questions

When should I actually "Build" custom software?
Why base the TCO on a 3-Year timeline?
What if our Developers are Salaried?