Blog · Published · Updated
Custom AI App or SaaS: Which Should You Buy?
Short answer
Off-the-shelf SaaS costs less at the start and lets you run a pilot within days. A custom AI app wins over a longer period, when the process is stable, many people use it and the product's price grows with every licence and feature. In a 36-month scenario the app costs €42,720 and SaaS €49,056, and the costs level after 25 months.
How we workDetails ↓
- 01Call30 minutes with an engineer, free
- 02PrototypeA working system on your process and data, free
- 03ImplementationTarget and fixed price in the contract; 50% at signing
- 04Acceptance50% once the agreed target is met
- net per application, fixed price before contract
- from €3,000
- from signing the contract to acceptance
- 4–10 weeks
- free prototype on your documents
- €0
We belong to the OpenAI and Anthropic partner programmes and learn through their official courses. What this means ↓
Author: Syntalith · 3 min read
Statistics
Software and AI in companies: statistics 2026
25 mo.
is when the cost of your own app levels with SaaS. Over 36 months the app costs €42,720 and SaaS €49,056. Scenario.
50%
According to the European Commission (2026), half of EU SMEs and mid-caps name high investment costs as a barrier to AI.
Source: European Commission, Flash Eurobarometer 578 (2026) ↗
40%
According to Gartner (2025), over 40% of AI agent projects will be cancelled by the end of 2027 because of costs, unclear value or weak risk control.
55.0%
According to Eurostat (2025), 55.0% of large EU enterprises with 250 or more employees used AI.
20.0%
According to Eurostat (2025), 20.0% of EU enterprises with at least 10 employees used AI.
Figures checked: 22 October 2026
How to choose between SaaS and a custom app
| Axis | Off-the-shelf SaaS | Custom AI app |
|---|---|---|
| Start | Days or weeks of configuration | Usually 4–10 weeks of building |
| Initial cost | Subscription and rollout | From €3,000 net at Syntalith |
| Fit | The process adapts to the product | The product is built around the process |
| Integrations | Connections the vendor provides | APIs and data chosen for the system |
| Ownership | A licence to use | Code and documentation with the client |
| Running cost | Subscription, usage, add-ons | Hosting, models, monitoring, maintenance |
The cost of an app and SaaS over 36 months
- SaaS
- €2,400 start + 36 × €1,296 = €49,056
- App
- €16,800 build + 36 × €720 = €42,720
- Difference
- €6,336, or 12.9%
The costs level after (€16,800 − €2,400) / (€1,296 − €720)
25 months
The amounts are the scenario's assumptions. The app's monthly cost covers hosting, models, support and maintenance. A change of scope or of how often fixes are needed means counting again.
The process owner approves the test results on the same cases before the costs are compared. Anthropic's method for evaluating agents helps set the acceptance criteria.
When off-the-shelf SaaS is enough
- The problem is standard: transcription, document signing, a basic FAQ
- The product covers the roles and the flow with no repair spreadsheet next to it
- The team accepts the data model and the interface
- The ready integrations are enough
- The data export and the exit terms are acceptable
SaaS gives a fast pilot: within a few days you see whether the team uses it and what the right plan costs. With a small team and a standard process, that is usually the best first step. If it meets these conditions, building a copy of the product would waste the budget.
When your own app becomes sensible
Several systems
one view
The user joins data from several places, and the export loses context.
Your own rules
roles and approvals
The answer depends on the user's access and on how current the source is.
Volume
a growing plan
The vendor's price grows faster than the cost of your own solution.
An example is company memory with permissions: the answer depends on the specific user's access, and its origin has to be checkable. Plain search across all documents does not meet such requirements. When counting SaaS, add the time on workarounds: 20 people at €72 a month for 36 months come to €51,840, and 15 hours of workarounds a month at €34.90 add €18,846, together €70,686.
Ownership and an exit plan
At Syntalith the code and the documentation stay with the client, but you still pay for the model, hosting, the database and other APIs. A custom AI app costs from €3,000 net and takes 4 to 10 weeks to build, and maintenance is priced individually. Before buying SaaS, check the export, the change history, the API and account deletion. Before a build, check the run documentation, access to the repository, backups and the ability to change the model. When a vendor raises its price, the article a SaaS price increase helps, and the cost of a first version is described in the guide to the MVP price.
