SaaS vs Custom Software Calculator

It projects your current monthly software spend forward over the years you choose, growing it each year for seat growth and price increases, and adds it up. Then it compares that running total against a one-time custom build plus small monthly hosting. Where the custom line drops below the subscription line is your break-even point.

Use the total monthly cost of only the tools a single custom system could realistically replace (count every seat), a realistic yearly growth for that spend (seat growth plus price creep, often 10 to 15 percent), and an estimated one-time build cost. If you are unsure of the build cost, start with a low-five-figure estimate and adjust.

No, and this calculator will show you when it does not. With one or two users or a small, flat subscription bill, renting is usually the cheaper, lower-risk choice. Owning tends to win once your replaceable per-seat spend is a few hundred dollars a month and climbing, and the longer your time horizon, the sooner it pays off.

It is an honest estimate, not a quote. Real build costs depend on scope and real subscription costs depend on your exact tools and growth. Use it to see the shape of the decision and roughly where break-even lands, then get a real build estimate before committing.