Comparison
Custom software or SaaS: the threshold where the answer flips
A subscription looks cheap until you multiply seats by months — then it becomes a perpetual instalment on an asset you will never own.
Do one multiplication before reading any proposal: 25 users × €40/month × 60 months is €60,000 paid into a SaaS over 5 years — squarely inside the indicative range of a custom system of medium complexity (€15,000–60,000+). That does not make SaaS a bad call: you start today rather than months from now, industry best practice comes baked into the product, and you hire nobody for maintenance. The real price sits elsewhere: your company's processes bend to what the tool permits rather than the other way around, your data lives on someone else's servers, and the bill grows automatically with every person joining the team. Custom software turns the equation around — built on your workflows, a cost that stays flat however many users you add, an asset the company owns — but the first version takes months, and upkeep is on you, indicatively 15–20% per year of the build cost. The decision threshold we give clients even when it costs us the sale: for standard processes, take SaaS without hesitating; build custom only where the process is what sets you apart from competitors.
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Key takeaways
Where SaaS wins
Same-day start, an indicative €10–100/user/month, updates and security included, and industry best practices already implemented in the product. Zero risk of a failed build.
Where custom software wins
It moulds to your processes instead of changing them, the cost is fixed regardless of headcount, your data stays with you, and the software becomes a balance-sheet asset of the company, with the source code assigned to you.
The long-term difference
With SaaS you pay open-ended rent and depend on the vendor's roadmap and pricing, which can rise at any time. With your own build, the investment concentrates upfront; afterwards you pay only maintenance — indicatively 15–20% a year — and you decide the product's direction.
Where the balance tips: standard processes vs the process that differentiates you
The rule we apply to ourselves: accounting, email, invoicing, basic HR, e-signature — all standard processes, identical across thousands of companies, and for those SaaS wins every time. Nobody in their right mind commissions a bespoke accounting system when mature products exist for a few dozen euros a month. If someone sells you custom development for a standard process, walk away — including from us. The balance tips at the key process: the specific way you quote, produce, allocate resources or serve clients — whatever makes you different from competitors. There, a generic SaaS pulls you back toward the market average, because it imposes its own flow on you.
A concrete worked example: a distribution company with 30 field agents pays €35/user/month for an order-management SaaS — €12,600 a year, roughly €63,000 over 5 years, with processes adapted to the software rather than to the field. A bespoke system built on their real quoting-and-delivery flow comes out at around €40,000 plus €6,000–8,000 a year in maintenance — comparable money, an operational advantage, and no extra cost when agents 31–50 come aboard. Below roughly 10 users, or while processes are still unsettled, the same maths flips: stay on SaaS and do not start a build.
Frequently asked questions
At what user count does custom become cheaper than SaaS?
Do the multiplication over your real horizon: users × monthly fee × 60 months, against a concrete build quote plus 15–20% a year in maintenance. Indicatively, at 20–30 users on €30–50/month plans, break-even arrives in years 3–5; below 10 users, SaaS stays cheaper almost without exception.
What happens to my data if I leave a SaaS?
It depends on the vendor, and that is the risk: some export everything cleanly to CSV or through an API, others hand you only partial reports, and activity history is frequently lost in migration. Check the export policy before you sign, not when you want out — it is one of the clauses that keeps companies trapped in expensive subscriptions for years.
Can I combine a SaaS with custom software?
Yes — and it is the architecture we recommend most often: keep SaaS for the standard functions (invoicing, email, accounting) and build custom only the module that differentiates you, connected to the rest through APIs. You pay for development on 20% of the system, not all of it, and project risk shrinks in proportion.
How long until custom software is actually usable?
Indicatively, a first usable version of an internal system of medium complexity ships in 3–5 months from signed specifications, with further modules delivered iteratively. If the business needs a solution next week, the conversation is over: take a SaaS now and reassess once the pressure passes.
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Let’s talk about your project
Message us on WhatsApp or send an email — you talk directly to a developer.
office@northdan.com · +40 752 070 247