F*ck the subscriptions Custom software or SaaS subscription: the three-year count
Take the subscription invoice, multiply it by three years and add the colleagues who will join. Then put it next to software built for your team and paid once. The count usually works out when the tool costs more than €15,000 a year; under €10,000, keep the subscription. The calculator below runs it with your numbers.
A SaaS built for one trade is worth it while the fee is small and the work it takes off your hands is large. When the yearly spend rises, having the software built once is the better deal: over three years it costs less, and it stays with the company, code and data included. With Yempik a production system starts at €12,000 at a fixed price; each year you still pay hosting, AI models and, if you want it, support. Below €10,000 a year, the subscription usually stays the right choice.
In how many years software you own costs less than the subscription
Enter what you pay today and what the project would cost. The calculation compares the fee with the project plus support and running costs, year by year.
- project + support
- subscription
- Subscription over 5 years
- 100,000 €
- Project, support and running costs over 5 years
- 52,500 €
- Difference
- 47,500 €
Over 5 years of subscription you spend €100,000. The project pays for itself in about 1.7 years; from then on you pay only support and running costs, and the software is yours. Worth a conversation.
Assumptions
- Cumulative fee = yearly fee, increased each year by the growth you set.
- Cumulative project cost = project price + (support + running costs) × years.
- No data migration cost and no internal time: they weigh on both options, and we estimate them in the proposal.
- A surface-level count, to see whether it is worth talking about. The real number comes from the written quote.
Your browser does the math: no number reaches us.
The count in words.
Three numbers, no formula.
- 01
Three years of fees
What you pay today, plus price increases and the colleagues who join. The SaaS charges for each one.
- 02
The project, once
A fixed price, written in the proposal. Then hosting, AI models and, if you want it, support, every year. They go into the count, not into a footnote.
- 03
The break-even
Take the yearly costs that remain off the fee. If that difference covers the project within three years, it is worth it. If it takes five, it depends. If it never does, keep the subscription.
What stays with you when you stop paying.
With a subscription, access ends on the day you cancel and you get your data back if the contract says so. With custom software that day never comes.
- The code, delivered and assigned to the company by contract
- The data, wherever you and your IT team decide
- The documentation for whoever runs it next, in house or outside
- New features, decided by you and not by the vendor’s price list
A subscription funds the features the vendor picks for all its customers. A project pays for the ones your team needs.
- The same fee every yearfive years, five times
- The system stays with the vendorbeyond the edge
- The system grows, and it is yours
- The decisionto build
- The same fee every yearfive years, five times
- The system stays with the vendorbeyond the edge
- The system grows, and it is yours
- The decisionto build
Subscription or custom software, criterion by criterion.
Words, not ticks. Every row can be checked in the contract.
| Criterion | SaaS subscription | Custom software |
|---|---|---|
| Who owns the software | The vendor. You hold a licence to use it. | You. Code and documentation delivered. |
| Where the data lives | Wherever the vendor decides, in its contract. | Wherever you decide with your IT team: your cloud or your server. |
| What happens when you cancel | Access ends. Data can be exported if the contract allows it. | Nothing. The software keeps running; you can change who supports it. |
| Who decides the features | The vendor, for all its customers. | You, for your team. |
| How you pay | A yearly fee, often per user. | A fixed price once. Support on a fee only if you want it. |
| How long it takes | Days. | An MVP in 2-4 weeks, production in 4-8. |
When you should stay on the subscription.
- If the fee is under €10,000 a year.
- If the tool fits the way you work without forcing it.
- If nobody, in house or outside, wants to run it after delivery.
- If you need it next week.
In those cases we tell you. We do not send a quote that is not worth it.
The questions we get before the count.
The SaaS improves every month. Does custom software stand still?
No. The SaaS improves for all its customers, in the directions the vendor picks. Your software changes when your work changes, through support on a fee or your own IT team. You decide the features.
Who runs it after delivery?
You decide in the project: your IT department, Yempik with support at a fixed fee, or a software house you trust. We deliver the code and the documentation precisely so anyone can carry on.
What if Yempik is gone tomorrow?
The software, the code and the documentation belong to the company from day one. It keeps running and another software house can take it over. With a SaaS, if the vendor closes, so does the tool.
How much do cloud and AI models cost afterwards?
You pay them and we estimate them in the proposal. In current offers they sit between €60 and €100 a month; the calculator has a field for them, so they show up in the count.
How long does it take?
An MVP in 2-4 weeks, production in 4-8. If you need the tool next week, the subscription is the right choice.
What if it does not work out?
Start with a fixed-price MVP on your data. If it does not convince you, stop there: you keep the demo and the code, and there is no fee to cancel. The call and the quote cost nothing.
Which tool do we start from?
Tell us what fee you pay today and for what work. Within 24 hours we reply with a few questions and a first idea of the project. If it is not worth it, we tell you anyway.