Free tool
Build it yourself or buy SaaS?
AI made building cheap. But is it really worth it? A three-step framework to decide, and a calculator to run your own numbers.
Free. No sign-up. Runs in your browser.The framework in 47 seconds
Three steps, in this order.
- Three blocking filters. Is the need differentiating? Does the SaaS rely on pooled data? Can you maintain the code? If any answer differs, buy.
- Four rated criteria. Hidden complexity, SaaS fit, criticality and vendor risk tip the call toward build, hybrid or buy.
- The math. Compare cumulative costs and find the month when building breaks even.
The calculator
Run your own numbers.
Nothing you enter is stored or sent anywhere. The default values are an illustrative example.
Step 1 / 3
Blocking filters
A single unfavourable answer points to buying, whatever the calculation says.
Is the need specific or differentiating for your business?A need is differentiating if it touches what sets you apart from competitors, or if it is too specific for a standard tool. Example: a triage engine built on your own SAP support know-how is differentiating; a standard ticket queue is not.
Does the SaaS's value rely on data pooled across many customers?Some SaaS products are good because they learn from thousands of customers' data, an advantage you can't reproduce in-house. Example: automatic ticket classification or anomaly detection trained across a vendor's whole customer base.
Can you read, debug and secure AI-generated code?AI-generated code must be understood to be fixed, updated and secured. Without that skill, every outage or vulnerability becomes blocking. Example: your custom ticketing tool stops sending notifications after a library update, and nobody can tell why.
Step 2 / 3
Rated criteria
Rate each criterion from 1 to 5. These ratings feed the score, not the financial calculation.
Hidden complexityEverything a demo doesn't show but production needs: authentication, permissions, GDPR, backups, audit trail, scaling. Example: a ticket form for your own team is simple; a customer portal with SSO, per-client data isolation and audit logs is not.
Authentication, payments, GDPR, permissions, backups.
Complexity level3 / 5
LowHigh
SaaS fitShare of your need the SaaS covers as is, without workarounds. Example: if the tool can't handle your contractual SLA rules and you track breaches in a spreadsheet, the fit is poor.
How well the SaaS covers the need3 / 5
Covers everythingCovers poorly
CriticalityImpact of an outage on your business. The more critical the process, the more a vendor with a service-level agreement (SLA) and a support team is worth. Example: the tool used to manage major incidents is critical; an internal ticket-statistics dashboard is not.
Process criticality3 / 5
MinorCritical
Vendor riskDependency on the vendor: price increases, changed terms, end of service, difficulty exporting your data. Example: years of ticket history and knowledge articles that can't be fully exported if you leave the tool.
Lock-in exposure3 / 5
LowHigh
Step 3 / 3
Financial data
Total cost of ownership, pricing at scale and time to go-live.