Build It Once or Rent It Forever?
Compare cumulative per-seat SaaS cost against a one-time custom build with ongoing maintenance. See exactly when custom wins.
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Your SaaS spend vs custom build
Compare cumulative per-seat SaaS cost against a one-time custom build with ongoing maintenance.
Include everyone who needs a license
The actual cost per seat after any negotiated discount
SaaS pricing rarely stays flat — 8–15% per year is typical
Advanced: custom build + maintenance
Our Custom Web Applications start at $25,000
Typical: 10–20% per year for bug fixes + small features
How it works
How the Math Works
SaaS total
Users × per-user monthly × 12 × years, compounded by annual price increase. SaaS pricing rarely stays flat — 8-15% per year is typical.
Custom build total
One-time build cost + annual maintenance × years. Maintenance is typically 10-20% of build cost per year for bug fixes + small features.
Breakeven point
When cumulative SaaS spend equals the custom build cost. Past this point, you're paying for software you could have owned outright.
Net savings
SaaS total − custom total over your chosen horizon. Larger user counts + longer horizons swing this hard toward custom.
Real scenarios
Real Comparisons We've Run
Internal ops tool (Airtable replacement)
25 users × $40/mo + 10% escalation → $36K over 3 yrs. Custom $25K + 15%/yr maintenance → $36K. Roughly breakeven; custom wins past year 3.
Customer portal (replacing per-seat SaaS)
100 users × $25/mo + 12% escalation → $103K over 3 yrs. Custom $40K + 12%/yr → $54K. Net savings: $49K. Breakeven: month 19.
Niche tool, small team
5 users × $30/mo flat → $5.4K over 3 yrs. Custom $20K + 15%/yr → $29K. SaaS wins by a mile. Stay with SaaS.
Math Says Build?
Schedule a 30-minute discovery call. We'll review what you'd want to build + send a written scoping recommendation within a week.