Build vs buy SaaS software
Should you build your own solution or subscribe to an existing one? We help you make the right strategic decision.
The Strategic Buy
Do not build what you can buy as a utility. Focus your engineering budget on the core features that differentiate your product in the market.
What to Buy
Buy commodities: payments (Stripe), email (SendGrid), auth (Clerk), analytics (PostHog), hosting (Vercel).
What to Build
Build differentiators: your core business logic, unique workflows, proprietary algorithms, custom data models.
Build Cost Analysis
Building payments takes 3-6 months. Maintaining payments takes ongoing effort. Stripe handles PCI compliance and fraud detection.
Buy Cost Analysis
API fees are predictable. Integration takes days not months. But per-transaction costs add up at scale.
Hybrid Strategy
Buy for non-core functions. Build for core differentiators. Evaluate buy vs build every quarter.
Lock-In Concerns
Choose vendors with exportable data. Avoid deep integration with proprietary services.
Sapterc Editorial Team
Expert insights on SaaS architecture, product management, and engineering.