In this guide · 8 sections
- 01What you are really comparing
- 02Three-year cost of a typical SaaS stack
- 03Three-year cost of a custom business app
- 04How team size and growth change the answer
- 05Costs people forget on both sides
- 06Ownership and exit: the part that matters in year four
- 07Do it yourself or get help?
- 08Frequently asked questions
Short answer
Over three years, SaaS usually wins for small teams and standard processes, because there is no build cost. A custom app starts to win when many people use several connected tools daily and per-seat fees keep growing, or when no SaaS fits how you work. Compare total 3-year cost, not the monthly fee.
What you are really comparing
The usual comparison, 'S$200 a month versus S$10,000 up front', misses most of the cost on both sides.
Several SaaS subscriptions
- No build cost; start this week
- Monthly per-seat fees for each tool, rising with headcount
- Vendor handles hosting, security and updates
- Data split across tools, joined by automations
- Price rises and plan changes are the vendor's choice
Best for: Small teams with standard processes.
One custom business app
- Build cost up front, from a written scope
- Hosting and care cost roughly flat as you add users
- One database for quotes, jobs, stock or orders
- Built around how you work, not the reverse
- You need a supplier or person to maintain it
Best for: Teams where many people use several linked processes daily.
Most businesses don't replace everything. Accounting (Xero, QuickBooks), payments (Stripe, HitPay) and email usually stay as SaaS, and the custom app replaces the CRM, job tracker, spreadsheets and the glue between them.
Three-year cost of a typical SaaS stack
Here is the middle layer a custom app would usually replace, priced for eight users on public list prices.
| Subscription | List price (Oct 2026) | 8 users, per month | 3 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zoho CRM Professional | S$28/user/month, annual | S$224 | S$8,064 |
| Airtable Team (job tracking) | US$20/editor/month, annual | US$160 | US$5,760 |
| Automations between tools | Varies by tasks used | Varies | Varies |
Sources: Zoho CRM pricing and Airtable pricing. Add whatever else your team pays for per seat, such as scheduling, forms or a field-service app. Our guide to auditing Shopify app costs shows how quickly small monthly fees add up in a store.
Three-year cost of a custom business app
A custom app has three cost lines: the build, hosting, and care (updates, security patches, small fixes).
- Build: IT Sorted Custom Business AppFixed quote after a free written scope; real cost depends on modulesFrom S$4,900
- Hosting: a 2 GiB cloud server in SingaporeDigitalOcean list price; about US$432 over 3 yearsAbout US$12/month
- Care: Server Protection CareMonthly updates, restore test and report; S$5,364 over 3 yearsS$149/month
- Changes and new featuresBudget for some each yearQuoted as needed
3-year total at the starting priceabout S$10,264 + US$432
Illustrative, using IT Sorted's catalogue prices and a DigitalOcean list price as of October 2026, excluding GST. A larger scope raises the build cost.
At the starting price, the custom app's three-year total (about S$10,264 plus US$432) is below the two subscriptions' S$8,064 plus US$5,760 for eight users. With a S$15,000 build, the custom total rises to about S$20,364 plus US$432 and SaaS stays cheaper at eight users; at fifteen users, the SaaS figures nearly double while the app's hosting and care barely change. Our VPS hosting cost guide and custom software cost guide give more detail on each line.
How team size and growth change the answer
Seat count is the biggest swing factor. Running the same two subscriptions at different team sizes shows why.
| Users | Zoho CRM Professional, 3 years | Airtable Team, 3 years | Custom app running cost, 3 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | S$4,032 | US$2,880 | About S$5,364 + US$432, plus build |
| 8 | S$8,064 | US$5,760 | About S$5,364 + US$432, plus build |
| 15 | S$15,120 | US$10,800 | About S$5,364 + US$432, plus build |
| 25 | S$25,200 | US$18,000 | Same, unless the server needs upgrading |
Costs people forget on both sides
The headline prices rarely tell the whole story.
Hidden SaaS costs
- Plan upgrades to unlock one needed feature
- Automation tasks that grow with volume
- Staff time copying data between tools
- Price rises at renewal
- Exporting and cleaning data if you switch
Hidden custom app costs
- Scoping time from you and your team
- Changes after launch, quoted separately
- Security updates and backups, every month
- Dependence on one supplier if the code is poorly documented
- Staff training on a new system
Ownership and exit: the part that matters in year four
Whatever you choose, plan how you would leave.
Exit and ownership check
If you are still at the spreadsheet stage, our guide on signs you've outgrown spreadsheets covers the cheaper steps first.
Do it yourself or get help?
You can do the comparison yourself: list every subscription and its seats, multiply out three years at your expected headcount, and set that against a written quote. The quote is the part that needs a developer, because the build cost depends entirely on scope.
Our Custom Business App (from S$4,900) starts with a free written scope and fixed quote, then builds several modules on one database, such as quotes, orders, stock, invoices and approvals, with logins and roles, connections to Xero, QuickBooks, Zoho Books, Shopify, Stripe or HitPay, and delivery in stages. It is hosted in your own account, the source code and data are yours, and it includes an admin guide and 30 days of bug fixes after launch. Hosting and app fees are paid by you.
Frequently asked questions
Sometimes, over several years. For small teams with standard processes, SaaS is usually cheaper because there is no build cost. A custom app becomes cheaper when many people use several connected tools every day and per-seat fees keep rising. Compare the total three-year cost at your expected team size, not the monthly price.
For SaaS, multiply each subscription's per-user price by your expected users and by 36 months, and add automation and add-on costs. For a custom app, add the build quote, hosting and monthly care for 36 months, plus a budget for changes. Use list prices with a date, and your year-three headcount.
It depends on the vendor's terms, so check before you commit. Most let you export data while your account is active, and some delete it after a period once you stop paying. Make a full export part of any plan to switch tools, and test that the export contains what you need.
That should be in the contract. With IT Sorted's Custom Business App, the app is hosted in your own account and the source code and data are yours. Whoever builds your app, insist on the code in a repository you own and hosting, domain and app accounts in your company's name.
Usually not. Accounting software such as Xero or QuickBooks handles tax, bank feeds and filings that are expensive to rebuild. Most businesses keep accounting and payments in SaaS and use a custom app for quotes, jobs, stock or customer portals, syncing invoices to the accounting software.