Cost check for software purchases: Subscription vs. custom-built solutions

Software doesn’t just come with a price tag – it comes with a long-term commitment. At the same time, it’s often the backbone of modern business processes. But which is the better investment: a software subscription or a custom-built solution?

We crunched the numbers, read the fine print, and uncovered the real costs – across the entire lifecycle of your software.

Building software in-house has a reputation: complex, expensive, time-consuming. A SaaS subscription, by contrast, seems blissfully easy – a few clicks, a few bucks a month, and you’re off to the races. But beware: the choice isn’t always as simple as a Netflix subscription.

What do total costs look like after five or ten years? How much effort is required to integrate it into your existing setup? Will you need a dedicated team just to adapt the software to your needs? Spoiler: The whitepaper has all the answers – but here’s a quick summary.

In many situations, a subscription is more than sufficient – and makes perfect sense. If your requirements aren’t especially exotic, there’s no need to go through the hassle of custom development. Need a tool to plan social media posts? Subscription. Want to send marketing emails? Subscription. Standard workflows for project management? Subscription.

If your IT needs are fairly standard, you’ll save time, stress, and money with the right SaaS tool.

That said, there are cases where custom software pays off – especially in the long run. For instance, when …

• There’s no off-the-shelf solution that fits your specific use case.
• Integrating the subscription tool would require massive effort anyway.
• You plan to use the software for 5+ years.
• You have a large user base and subscription fees spiral out of control.
• Privacy requirements and on-premise hosting matter (looking at you, Confluence).

In these scenarios, a true cost comparison is worth the effort. That’s why we created a whitepaper – complete with formulas, real-world examples, and accounting considerations.

The whitepaper offers:

• A structured guide for calculating total cost of ownership (TCO) – for both build and buy scenarios
• Three cost phases: initial costs, ongoing operations, and scaling
• Cost estimation formulas – factoring in price increases and user numbers
• A real-world example where custom development proved not only cheaper but more strategic
• Accounting insights – how Build vs. Buy shows up in your financial statements
  

Bottom line: If you’re facing a software decision, you’ll want to read this..

Don’t worry – we won’t flood your inbox just because you download the whitepaper and share your email address. But we might reach out to ask if you'd like a hand with your decision-making. Fair enough? We think so too.