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SaaS prices rise 8% a year on average. Over 5 years, a $2,000/mo stack costs $140,000+ after inflation. A custom build replaces those tools once, then costs 5%/yr to maintain. This calculator shows where your break-even is and which tools to consolidate first.
Quick-fill a common stack
5-year savings (custom vs SaaS at 8% inflation)
-$17,040
Current monthly SaaS
$228/mo
Annual SaaS cost
$2,736
Estimated build cost
$15,000–$40,000
5-year NPV
-$19,076
Payback timeline (months)
| SaaS (8% inflation) | Custom build | |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 cost | $2,955 | $28,875 |
| Year 3 cost | $3,447 | $1,375 |
| Year 5 cost | $4,020 | $1,375 |
| 5-year total | $17,335 | $34,375 |
Highest monthly spend — consolidating this one tool alone saves $1,440/yr
Second-highest spend — frequently replaceable with a unified data layer
Third-highest spend — good candidate for consolidation in the same sprint
SaaS inflation: We compound your monthly total at 8%/year (Gartner SaaS Pricing Report 2024-2025) over 5 years. Year 1 cost = current annual x 1.08, Year 2 x 1.0816, etc.
Build cost estimate: Tiered by number of tools replaced: 1-2 tools = $8,000-$15,000 (Quick Build, 4-6 weeks); 3-4 tools = $15,000-$40,000 (Launch); 5+ tools = $40,000-$80,000 (Platform). Source: Scouq internal project log, 2025-2026.
Annual maintenance: 5% of build cost midpoint per year. Industry standard range is 5-15%; we use the floor for conservative estimates.
5-year NPV: Discount future monthly savings at 8% annual (0.67%/mo). NPV = -build_cost + sum(m=1..60) [monthly_savings_m / (1 + 0.0067)^m]. Positive NPV = good investment.
Payback period: build_cost_mid / total_monthly_saas_spend (months to break even, not discounted).
We scope which tools are worth replacing, in what order, and give you a fixed-price proposal. No hourly surprise billing. We build once, you own it.
Related: AI Receptionist Break-Even · Lead Response ROI
SaaS inflation at 8%/yr
Gartner's 2024-2025 SaaS pricing report documents average annual price increases of 8% across enterprise and SMB software. We compound your current stack cost forward five years at that rate, not flat.
Build cost tiers from real projects
Scouq Quick Build ($8,000-$15,000) replaces 1-2 tools in 4-6 weeks. Launch tier ($15,000-$40,000) handles 3-4 tools with integrations. Platform tier ($40,000-$80,000) covers 5+ tools with multi-user routing. These come from Scouq's 2025-2026 project log.
Maintenance at 5% of build cost
Industry standard annual maintenance runs 5-15% of build cost. We use the lower bound so results stay conservative. At a $20,000 build, that is $1,000/yr vs. the thousands in SaaS fees you were paying.
5-year NPV at 8% discount rate
We discount future savings at 8% annual (a conservative small-business hurdle rate) to give you a net present value. Positive NPV means the custom build creates real financial value even accounting for time value of money.
