What hidden costs does SaaS have?

Implementation and migration, training, per-seat pricing that scales with headcount, API limits, data export fees, premium support tiers, and the inability to customise beyond vendor constraints.

What hidden costs does custom software have?

Post-launch maintenance (typically 15–20% of build cost per year), bug fixes, security patches, infrastructure scaling, keeping up with dependencies, and the opportunity cost of developer time.

What is the typical break-even point for custom software?

Custom software typically breaks even vs SaaS at 3–5 years for teams of 20–50 users, or earlier for large teams where per-seat SaaS costs compound quickly.

Is open-source free software worth including in the analysis?

Open-source (like Genius CRM or Genius HRM from Xgenious) eliminates licensing costs but you still pay for hosting, implementation, and any customization. Total cost is often 60–80% lower than equivalent SaaS over 3 years.

Is cost the only factor in the build vs buy decision?

No. Cost is central, but speed to value, control, customization depth, security requirements, vendor lock-in risk, and whether the capability is genuinely strategic all factor in. Use the numbers to inform the decision, not to make it alone.

Is my data sent to a server?

No. The build vs buy comparison runs entirely in your browser with JavaScript. No cost figures are uploaded, logged, or stored anywhere.

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Free Build vs Buy Calculator — Custom Software vs SaaS Cost Comparison

The build vs buy decision compares the total cost of commissioning custom software against paying for a SaaS subscription over multiple years. Build costs include initial development, hosting, maintenance, updates, and team overhead. Buy costs include subscription fees, implementation, customization, and user licences. This calculator shows the 5-year total and break-even year.

Free — No SignupRuns in BrowserData Never Uploaded

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Compare the 5-year cost of building custom software vs buying a SaaS subscription.

5-year total cost of ownership for both build and buy paths
Development, hosting, and annual maintenance modelled separately
Per-seat SaaS pricing with configurable annual seat growth
Break-even year detection — pinpoints the year building becomes cheaper
Year-by-year cumulative cost table and visual comparison chart
Client-side only — no cost figures are uploaded or stored

Features

Everything you need in one Build vs Buy Calculator

True 5-year total cost

Goes beyond the sticker price — build includes hosting and maintenance every year, buy includes implementation and per-seat growth — for an honest side-by-side comparison.

Break-even year

Pinpoints the exact year cumulative build cost drops below cumulative SaaS cost — the moment a custom build starts paying back.

Seat-growth modelling

SaaS gets more expensive as you add users. The tool grows seats each year at your specified rate so the buy line reflects a scaling team.

Visual cost chart

Plots both cumulative cost curves so the crossover point — and which option wins at year 5 — is obvious at a glance.

How It Works

How to use Build vs Buy Calculator

Enter build costs

Input development cost, estimated monthly hosting/maintenance, and annual update budget.

Enter SaaS costs

Input monthly subscription, per-seat pricing, implementation fee, and expected user count.

See 5-year comparison

The calculator shows cumulative cost per year for both options and the year build becomes cheaper.

Format Comparison

Build vs buy — what each side carries

Factor	Build (custom)	Buy (SaaS)
Upfront cost	High — full development	Low — setup fee only
Ongoing cost	Hosting + maintenance	Per-seat subscription, grows with team
Time to value	Months of development	Days to weeks
Customization	Unlimited — built to fit	Limited to vendor's roadmap
Control & data	Full ownership	Vendor-hosted, lock-in risk
Best when	Core to your advantage, large user base	Common need, mature SaaS exists

Troubleshooting

How to fix common syntax errors

Most “invalid JSON” failures come from a small set of mistakes. Paste the failing JSON above, click Validate, and the tool points you at the exact line and column.

No maintenance budget for custom builddevCost = $120,000, maintenance = $0/yr

Add 15–20% of dev cost per year for maintenance. A $120K build typically costs $18–24K/yr in patches, dependencies, and minor features.

Flat user count for SaaSusers = 80, seatGrowth = 0%

If your team grows, SaaS cost compounds. Set realistic annual headcount growth (10–20%) to see the true 5-year SaaS spend.

Omitting implementation feeimplementation = $0

SaaS vendors charge $2,000–$20,000 to onboard, migrate data, and train staff. Include this in year-1 buy cost.

Missing hosting for custom buildhosting = $0/month

Custom software needs servers, CDN, database, and backups. Budget at least $200–$1,000/month depending on scale and redundancy requirements.

Using advertised seat price instead of invoiced priceseatPrice = $15 for enterprise plan

Enterprise SaaS tiers, API add-ons, and premium support often 2–3× the advertised per-seat price. Use the actual invoiced cost per seat from your quote.

Treating build cost as year 1 onlyYear 2+ cost = $0 for build path

Build has annual hosting and maintenance every year — year 2+ is not free. Model the full recurring cost or the break-even calculation will be wrong.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Build when: (1) the software is core to your competitive advantage, (2) no SaaS solution fits your workflow, (3) you have a large user count that makes per-seat SaaS expensive, or (4) data sovereignty requires on-premise control.

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References

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