{"head":{"title":"Build vs Buy Software Calculator | OceanLab","description":"Compare paying for SaaS seats with building your own software over 1 to 10 years. See the break-even year, total cost of ownership and a checklist.","canonical":"https://oceanlab.in/tools/build-vs-buy"},"tool":{"slug":"build-vs-buy","path":"/tools/build-vs-buy","name":"Build vs buy","h1":"Build vs buy software calculator","lede":"Compare SaaS seats with a custom build year by year, find the break-even point, and check the reasons that are not about cost.","category":"decisions","categoryTitle":"Plan and decide","method":["Buy, per year: seats × price per seat × 12, with seats growing and the price rising each year, plus any one-off setup or migration cost in year one.","Build, per year: the build cost in year one, plus yearly maintenance as a share of the build cost, plus hosting.","The break-even year is the first year the build's running total drops below the buy total.","The six questions below the numbers lean the decision towards build or buy for reasons a spreadsheet misses, such as whether the workflow sets you apart."],"sources":[],"faq":[{"question":"Why is maintenance included?","answer":"Software keeps costing money after launch: fixes, dependency and security updates and small changes. The yearly share is an editable assumption."},{"question":"When is buying the better choice?","answer":"When the workflow is not what makes you different and an off-the-shelf tool fits it. The questions also lean to buy when nobody can own the software after launch."},{"question":"Does it include migration costs?","answer":"Add one-off setup, migration or integration costs for the SaaS option in the buy inputs."},{"question":"Is anything I enter sent anywhere?","answer":"No. The tool runs in your browser and there is no sign-up. Nothing leaves the page unless you choose to email your result to OceanLab."}],"updatedAt":"2026-10-25"},"related":[{"href":"/tools/software-development-cost","label":"Software development cost","detail":"Pick the features and platform, check the rates, and get a cost and timeline range you can take to any vendor."},{"href":"/tools/software-maintenance-cost","label":"Software maintenance cost","detail":"See what a product costs to keep running each year after launch, and which line grows fastest."},{"href":"/tools/ai-automation-roi","label":"AI automation ROI","detail":"Put in one task your team does by hand and see the monthly saving, the payback period and the net result over three years."}],"studies":[{"meta":{"slug":"kleidi","industry":"internal","projectType":"SaaS admin dashboard","country":"gr","tags":["saas","enterprise"],"compliances":["GDPR","SOC 2","ISO/IEC 27001"],"cover":{"src":"/case-studies/kleidi/01-home.png","width":1440,"height":1000}},"text":{"en":{"title":"Kleidi - SaaS Admin Console with Consented Support Access and a Full Audit Trail","description":"Designed and built a clickable internal admin console for an Athens SaaS company that sells housekeeping software to EU hotels: find any tenant and see everything about it on one page, enter a customer's workspace only with their consent, work GDPR data requests on the clock, and give staff elevated rights only for a limited window with someone else's approval.","category":"Internal Tools / SaaS Admin Console","client":"Myrtaki Software"}}},{"meta":{"slug":"qafila","industry":"ecom","projectType":"Order management system","country":"jo","tags":["enterprise"],"compliances":["Jordan PDPL","Saudi PDPL","UAE PDPL","JoFotara e-invoicing","Jordan sales tax and GCC VAT","JFDA and SFDA cosmetics clearance"],"cover":{"src":"/case-studies/qafila/01-home.png","width":1440,"height":1000}},"text":{"en":{"title":"Qafila - Order Management System for Omnichannel Beauty Retail","description":"Designed and built a clickable order management system for an Amman beauty retailer selling through 60 stores, two distribution centres, its own website and app, and Amazon, Noon and a fashion marketplace across Jordan and the GCC: every order in one place, sourcing that explains itself, and one dashboard for every stuck order.","category":"E-commerce & D2C / Order Management","client":"Dar Zanbaq Beauty"}}},{"meta":{"slug":"acequia","industry":"hr","projectType":"Multi-country payroll","country":"es","tags":["enterprise"],"compliances":["GDPR","Law 09-08 (Morocco)","EU Pay Transparency Directive","SEPA Credit Transfer (ISO 20022)","Sistema RED and modelo 111 (Spain)","Segurança Social and DMR (Portugal)","F24, UniEmens and LUL (Italy)","CNSS and IR (Morocco)"],"cover":{"src":"/case-studies/acequia/01-home.png","width":1440,"height":1000}},"text":{"en":{"title":"Acequia - Multi-country Payroll Console Over Four Local Engines","description":"Designed and built a clickable payroll orchestration console for a Madrid engineering group paying about 1,550 people in Spain, Portugal, Italy and Morocco: one tracker for every country's run from input cut-off to paid and filed, validation and variance review before approval, and payment batches that only a second person can release.","category":"HR & Payroll / Multi-country Payroll","client":"Carrasca Ingeniería"}}},{"meta":{"slug":"setback","industry":"govtech","projectType":"Permits & licences","country":"us","tags":["enterprise"],"compliances":["IBC and IRC","IFC","IECC","NEC (NFPA 70)","ADA Title II","WCAG 2.1 AA","Section 508","Title VI language access","PCI DSS"],"cover":{"src":"/case-studies/setback/01-home.png","width":1440,"height":1000}},"text":{"en":{"title":"Setback - Permitting and Licensing Platform with Parallel Plan Review","description":"Designed and built a clickable permitting and licensing platform for a US city's development services department: completeness checks before the review clock starts, building, zoning, fire and public works reviews running in parallel against city targets, an inspection board that checks certifications, and one record for every permit with its parcel, parties, holds, fees and inspections.","category":"GovTech / Permits & Licences","client":"City of Wrenfield Falls Development Services Department"}}}],"more":[{"href":"/case-studies/industry/internal","label":"Internal tools & ops case studies","detail":"Every OceanLab product build in Internal tools & ops."},{"href":"/case-studies","label":"All case studies","detail":"Every OceanLab product build."},{"href":"/ai-automation","label":"AI automation","detail":"AI built into real business workflows, with people in charge."}],"today":"2026-10-25"}