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App Corp
Full-service software engineering
Engineering your experience…
App Corp
Full-service software engineering
Engineering your experience…
Make the Right Decision
Should you build a custom AI solution or use an existing service? This calculator compares costs, timelines, and trade-offs to help you make the right decision for your specific requirements.
Buy when: the capability is commoditized (auth, email, payments), time-to-market is critical, or the problem is well-understood. Build when: the capability is your core differentiator, existing solutions don't fit your requirements, or you need control over costs at scale.
Configure your requirements below to get a personalized estimate.
What AI capability are you evaluating?
Customization needs, scale, and integration requirements.
See build vs buy costs, timelines, and trade-offs.
Receive a data-driven recommendation with rationale.
If the component IS your product, build it. If it's plumbing, buy it.
Buy to launch faster; build if you have time and it's strategic
At high volume, building may be cheaper than paying per-seat/per-call fees
Building means ongoing maintenance; buying means vendor dependency
If you need deep customization, building gives more control
User auth, sessions, and RBAC
Dev Cost
$2K–$5K/yr
Timeline
1–2 weeks
Monthly
$50–$200
Subscription billing and invoicing
Dev Cost
$2K–$10K/yr
Timeline
2–4 weeks
Monthly
$100–$500
Transactional and marketing emails
Dev Cost
$1K–$5K/yr
Timeline
1–2 weeks
Monthly
$50–$300
Intelligent model selection and fallbacks
Dev Cost
$30K–$80K
Timeline
8–16 weeks
Monthly
$200–$1,000
Total cost of ownership over 3 years.
| Cost Item | Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Buy (Year 1) | $2K–$50K | License fees, setup, integration |
| Buy (Year 2–3) | $5K–$150K | Ongoing license + integration maintenance |
| Build (Year 1) | $20K–$100K | Development, testing, deployment |
| Build (Year 2–3) | $10K–$50K | Maintenance, updates, infrastructure |
This calculator provides a starting point. For a detailed analysis of your build vs buy options, talk to an App Corp engineer.