Is building a custom system cheaper than per-seat SaaS fees over five years?
For most teams of ten or more, yes: typically within 12 to 24 months. The key shift is paying once for a build (usually shared across a founding cohort) plus a flat annual running fee, rather than a bill that multiplies with every new hire and rises every year. As Forbes notes: if your tool is "a simple database, a form and a dashboard," you are almost certainly overpaying rent.
Side-by-side comparison
| Per-seat SaaS | Your own system | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost model | Per user, per month: compounds with headcount and annual price increases | One-off build cost (shared across a founding cohort) + flat annual running fee |
| Build cost | €0 | ~€7,000 (your share of a ~€35,000 build, split across ~5 co-founders) |
| Annual cost: 20 users at €10/seat/mo | ~€2,400/yr, and rising each year | ~€2,500/yr flat: add unlimited users |
| Year 3: 30 users, 10% annual rise | ~€4,400/yr | €2,500/yr, no change |
| 5-year cumulative | ~€22,000+ (and accelerating) | ~€19,500 (build share + 5 × €2,500 running) |
| If the team doubles | Cost roughly doubles | No change: flat fee, unlimited users |
| When you stop paying | Access gone, your data is held by the vendor | Perpetual, escrow-backed licence: you keep access and your data |
Related questions
For teams of 10 or more using a mid-tier SaaS (€5–15/user/month), payback usually falls between 12 and 24 months after launch. For higher-cost tools like field-service or scheduling SaaS (€30–80/user/month), payback can be under a year. Use the savings calculator on the home page for your specific numbers.
Sources
- Forbes: "Why small businesses are increasingly replacing SaaS with custom software" (2024)
- Retool 2026 State of Internal Tools: ~35% of organisations have already replaced a SaaS with custom software; ~78% plan to replace more
- Rollout IT build and running-cost estimates
See what your SaaS spend looks like with a flat annual fee.
Enter your seat count and current monthly price. The calculator uses real build-cost estimates and shows you the five-year crossover.