Build vs. buy calculator
What does your software actually cost – today and over 5 years?
Enter your current situation and the planned scope of the custom solution with Beyond Prompt. The calculator shows the total cost of both paths over 5 years side by side – as a range, not a flattering single number. Important: the development cost shown applies to a build with Beyond Prompt, not to any arbitrary custom software vendor.
The build vs. buy calculator compares the total cost of your current solution (SaaS standard software or fully manual processes) with a custom software solution, built with Beyond Prompt's own AI-assisted development process, over 5 years – including development cost, maintenance, and the actual break-even point.
Your starting point
Your result
Range: conservative to realistic. Never the most flattering case.
Total cost over 5 years
Why this number is realistic
The development cost applies specifically to a build with Beyond Prompt: a standardized development process that uses AI assistance throughout – not to a classic system-integrator engagement where several developers work on the build over weeks or months. That's exactly what makes the difference: based on our own project experience, roughly 50–70% cheaper than classic custom software development.
Cost structure: CapEx vs. OpEx
| CapEx (one-off) | OpEx (per year) | |
|---|---|---|
| Current solution | – | €4,500–€4,900 |
| Custom solution with Beyond Prompt | €5,000–€10,000 | €1,000–€2,500 |
Switching to the custom solution shifts cost from ongoing OpEx (license fee or manual work) to a one-off CapEx investment with a much smaller OpEx tail (maintenance) – relevant for budget planning and accounting.
Savings over 5 years
€0–€14,300/ 5 years
Break-even
16–60 months
Cost curve over 5 years
Honestly: switching doesn't clearly pay off yet
With these figures, a custom solution doesn't clearly pay for itself within 5 years. That's a good sign – an honest calculator tells you so instead of inventing a nice number. Often a smaller automation of individual processes pays off first, before a full replacement.
Want to know what a custom solution with Beyond Prompt could look like for you?
How this tool calculates
- Development cost: applies specifically to a build with Beyond Prompt's standardized, AI-assisted development process – not to a classic system-integrator engagement with several developers. A rough order of magnitude from the scope of the planned solution (our own project experience), unless you enter your own value.
- CapEx/OpEx classification: development cost counts as CapEx (one-off investment); license fees or manual work today, as well as maintenance cost for the custom solution, count as OpEx (ongoing cost per year).
- Maintenance: 15–25% of development cost per year – a widely cited industry benchmark for software maintenance, confirmed independently by multiple sources.
- Compromise cost for SaaS solutions: a surcharge of 10–60% on the license cost depending on fit, for workarounds and duplicate work outside the software.
- What's not included: additional savings potential from AI-assisted sub-processes (e.g. quote preparation, reporting) within the custom solution – the Automation ROI calculator estimates that separately.
This calculator provides an estimate as a basis for a decision, not a quote. The actual figures depend on details of your project that we clarify in a conversation.
Frequently asked questions about the calculator
Does this development cost apply to any custom software build?
No. The development cost in this calculator applies specifically to a build with Beyond Prompt – our standardized, AI-assisted development process. A classic system-integrator engagement, where several developers work on the build over weeks or months, would be considerably more expensive and slower based on our experience. So this calculator isn't a general market comparison – it shows specifically what a custom solution would cost with Beyond Prompt.
Why is AI-assisted development so much cheaper than it used to be?
Because Beyond Prompt uses a standardized development process that applies AI assistance throughout – instead of a classic system-integrator project with a multi-person developer team working over weeks or months. That noticeably lowers the effort: based on our own project experience, by roughly 50–70% compared to classic custom software development. This calculator directly shows the resulting, already-reduced cost for a build with Beyond Prompt – not the full classic comparison value.
Why does the SaaS path include a compromise-cost surcharge?
Because the license fee alone is rarely the whole truth. If a standard solution doesn't fit your processes 100%, workarounds, duplicate work, and spreadsheet side-solutions creep in – time the license fee alone doesn't show. Ignoring that surcharge would make the SaaS cost look artificially low.
Why a 5-year view instead of 1 year?
Because software decisions are rarely short-term – the license fee keeps running, while a one-off development investment only pays off over time. A 1-year view would systematically disadvantage the custom solution; a 5-year view shows the actual break-even point.
What do I do with the result?
If the calculator shows a clear saving with a manageable break-even, Custom Applications is the right next step: we clarify together what a custom solution could look like for your specific case. If it shows little, it saves you a bad investment – often a smaller automation pays off first instead.