Custom Software vs SaaS: Which Costs Less Over Five Years?

A subscription looks cheap in month one. Then your team grows, so you add seats. Later your data grows, so you cross a record cap. Eventually a feature you use moves up a tier.

None of that is unusual. Airtable changed what its plans included in 2023, and paying customers absorbed it. Knack raised prices twice in about a year. Vendors are allowed to do this, because it is their software.

Take your current monthly bill. Multiply by sixty. Then add the seats you expect to add, plus the tier jump waiting at your next record cap.

That figure is your five year rent. Compare it against a fixed build cost plus modest upkeep. Sometimes rent still wins, and we will say so.

Speed to start, obviously. Also templates, mobile apps, and a support team you did not have to hire.

If your needs are simple and your team is small, stay put. A free tier beats a build every time at that size. The case for owning gets strong once you hit occasional users, big record counts, or client portals.

Vendors change hands. Podio moved from Citrix to Progress. In August 2026 Bending Spoons agreed to acquire Airtable, and that deal has not closed yet.

Nothing has changed for Airtable customers so far. Still, the point stands: your roadmap belongs to someone else. Owning your code removes that variable entirely.