Buy ready-made software when your process is standard and the price per seat fits your margins. Build custom software when the tool has to follow a process that sets you apart, or when seats times users times years cost more than building the part you need and keeping it running. In practice the answer is often both: buy the standard parts, build the gap and connect the two.
This guide puts numbers on that choice: three options instead of two, seat prices over three years, the costs people forget on each side, what it costs to leave, and when each side wins. For a full method to compare build and buy, see our guide to software total cost of ownership.
The question is rarely “buy or build” for the whole system. On our custom software development projects we look at existing software first, then compare three ways to cover each part of the process:
Option 2 is easy to overlook, and it can cost less than either of the others.
Ready-made software is priced per user per month, and the bill grows with your team. Here is what two well-known sales tools cost at their October 2026 list prices. Salesforce lists Sales Cloud Pro Suite at $100 per user per month and Core at $195, both billed annually (Salesforce pricing). HubSpot lists Sales Hub Professional at $90 per seat per month on an annual commitment, plus a required one-time onboarding fee of $1,500 (HubSpot pricing).
| Plan | 10 users | 25 users | 50 users |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salesforce Sales Cloud Pro Suite ($100) | $36,000 | $90,000 | $180,000 |
| Salesforce Sales Cloud Core ($195) | $70,200 | $175,500 | $351,000 |
| HubSpot Sales Hub Professional ($90 + $1,500) | $33,900 | $82,500 | $163,500 |
Now the custom side. As a reference point, here is an example run of our estimate’s math with sample inputs for a web app with teams, roles and subscription billing: a build of $6,600-13,600 over 5 weeks. Every input in that run is an assumption. Add upkeep: if the tool then needs, say, 20 hours a month of fixes and changes at $39-55 an hour, that’s $780-1,100 a month, or $28,080-39,600 over three years. Hosting comes on top.
Read the comparison carefully. A five-week custom tool doesn’t replace a full sales suite. It replaces the part of the suite your team actually uses. If your people use three screens of a big product, the custom number may win. If they use most of it, rebuilding it would cost far more than the seats.
| Ready-made software | Custom software |
|---|---|
| Seats grow with every hire | Upkeep: fixes, small changes and updates for new platform rules |
| Required onboarding fees and paid add-ons | Hosting and outside services |
| A plan upgrade to get one missing feature | Someone who knows the code, now and in two years |
| Limits on API calls and integrations | Security fixes in the libraries you use |
| Your process bends to the tool, and people work around it | Your people’s time to define the rules and test the result |
| Exporting your data when you leave | Documentation, so the next team can take over |
The left column grows with headcount. The right column grows with how much you change the tool. Which one is cheaper depends on which of the two your business does more of.
Exit terms matter more than they look in year one. In the EU, the Data Act has applied since 12 September 2025, and it sets a framework for customers to switch between providers of data processing services, such as cloud services (European Commission, Data Act). From 12 January 2027, those providers must remove switching charges entirely, including charges for data egress; until then they may still charge their costs for switching (Data Act explained).
Outside the EU, read the terms yourself. For any ready-made tool, ask in what format you can export your data, how much notice you have to give, and what it costs. For custom software, put the ownership of the code, the data and the accounts in the contract. Our checklist of contract pitfalls covers what to ask for.
Custom wins when the process is yours. At Hays, more than 200 recruiters spent up to 2 hours formatting each CV. Our tool cut that to 2 minutes, takes candidate profiles from LinkedIn and HeadHunter, and later grew into a mini-ERP linked to recruiters’ KPIs and bonuses. The CV format and the bonus rules were Hays’ own, so that’s where custom code earned its place.
Ready-made wins when the process is standard. Our own published rule: if a ready-made tool does the job at a price per seat that fits your margins, buy it instead of building. And if you only want to test demand for something that is mostly forms and lists, a no-code tool can be enough for that test.
Estimate only the part you’d build, not the whole suite.
You can see what the custom part costs to build in about four minutes.
Sometimes. Ready-made software costs less to start, but seat prices grow with every user and every year. Custom software costs more up front plus upkeep. Compare both over three years at your expected team size, and only for the part of the process you need.
When the process is standard in your industry and a ready-made tool does the job at a price per seat that fits your margins. Build only the part that sets you apart, or that no tool covers.
Seats that grow with headcount, required onboarding fees and add-ons, plan upgrades for one missing feature, limits on API calls and integrations, and the cost of exporting your data when you leave. Your team’s workarounds cost time too.
Yes. Buy the standard parts, connect the tools you already have, and build custom code only for the steps that make your business different. A pilot on one workflow is a cheap way to check the custom part first.
Buy off-the-shelf software when your process is standard; build when the tool has to follow a process that sets you apart. Hays is an example of the second case: an internal tool that cut CV formatting from up to 2 hours to 2 minutes. Explore software development services and the Hays case study.
Check whether your process needs custom software
Start with an AI-assisted project brief covering scope, budget, market assumptions and risks. Review its hypotheses before making a commitment.
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