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Subscription software (SaaS) has one huge advantage: you sign up in the morning and you are working by the afternoon. But over the years, many small and mid-sized businesses end up with a stack of overlapping tools, a bill that rises with every new hire and data scattered everywhere. The question then becomes: at what point does a custom business app become cheaper?
This guide does not give you a ready-made answer. It gives you a method to run the numbers with your own figures.
What a stack of subscriptions really costs
The advertised price per user per month is only the visible part. The real cost also includes:
- add-on modules (advanced reporting, automations, API), often reserved for higher tiers;
- licenses for occasional users, billed like everyone else;
- connectors between tools, sometimes paid, and the time spent maintaining them;
- re-entering data when two tools do not talk to each other;
- price increases, which you have to accept with no room to negotiate.
Per-user billing has a perverse effect: every new hire automatically increases your software bill. And your data stays with the vendor, in its format.
What a custom business app costs
The model is the reverse: an upfront investment, then low recurring costs.
- Initial development: for a focused business app (CRM, inventory, scheduling, invoicing), expect generally $6,800 to $22,500 (€6,000–€20,000)excl. VAT depending on scope.
- Hosting: from a few tens to a few hundred euros a year depending on usage.
- Maintenance and improvements: an annual budget to plan for, as a fixed package or by the hour.
In return, the number of users no longer affects the price, the tool follows your processes exactly, and both the code and the data belong to you.
The calculation method
Compare the two options over three to five years, the normal lifespan of a business tool.
- Add up your current subscriptions over one year: every tool, every user, every module.
- Add the hidden cost: time spent re-entering data or juggling between tools, valued at your hourly cost.
- Project over the period, taking into account planned hires and a reasonable price increase.
- On the custom side, add up development, hosting and maintenance over the same period.
- Compare, then look at what you gain on top: a tool that fits and data that belongs to you.
An example to make it concrete
Take a fictional 15-person company that uses a CRM, an inventory management tool and a scheduling tool, for a total of €70 per user per month. The amounts below are illustrative assumptions: replace them with your own.
| Item | SaaS subscriptions | Custom app |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | €0 | €18,000 (assumption) |
| Annual cost | €12,600 (15 × €70 × 12) | €2,500 (hosting and maintenance, assumption) |
| Total over 3 years | €37,800 | €25,500 |
| Total over 5 years | €63,000 | €30,500 |
In this example, the custom option becomes cheaper during the second year. With fewer users or cheaper subscriptions, the break-even point moves further out; with a growing team, it comes sooner.
When to stick with SaaS
Custom is not always the right answer. Stick with off-the-shelf tools if:
- your processes are standard and an existing tool covers 90% of them;
- your team is very small and will not grow;
- you need a tool within the week;
- you have not yet settled on how you work.
My advice: start by listing your subscriptions and the tasks you re-enter by hand. If the total surprises you, it is the right time to run the numbers together.