Most comparison pages exist to make the seller win. This one lists the situations where hiring us is the wrong answer, because you will work that out eventually and it is cheaper for both of us if it happens now.
Sage, Xero, a vertical package for your industry. Cheapest and fastest when it fits, and it fits more often than software people like to admit.
CHOOSE THIS WHEN
Your process is fairly standard for your industry, and the package covers most of it without heavy configuration.
WATCH FOR
Per-seat costs that grow with headcount, and the workarounds people quietly invent where it does not quite fit.
One developer, hourly or per project. The cheapest way to get custom software built, and often entirely reasonable.
CHOOSE THIS WHEN
The scope is small and well understood, and someone on your side can judge whether the work is any good.
WATCH FOR
The bus problem. If they move on and nothing was documented, you own a system nobody understands.
A larger firm with account managers, designers and a bench of developers. Real capacity, and real overhead.
CHOOSE THIS WHEN
The project is large, needs several people in parallel, or you need a supplier who can absorb someone leaving.
WATCH FOR
Who actually writes the code. The senior people in the pitch are not always the people on the project.
Your own developer or team. The best long-term answer when software is genuinely core to what you sell.
CHOOSE THIS WHEN
There is continuous work for years, not a project, and you can manage and retain technical staff.
WATCH FOR
Hiring takes months, costs are committed before you know the demand is permanent, and a single developer with nobody to review them is a risk.
Senior architecture and delivery, staffed per project, without agency overhead or a permanent hire.
CHOOSE THIS WHEN
The problem needs judgement as much as hands, you want to own what is built, and you need someone who will tell you when not to build.
DO NOT CHOOSE THIS WHEN
You need a team of twenty on Monday, 24/7 incident cover, a native mobile app, or the lowest possible price. We cannot be those things and will say so on the first call.
Is how you do this actually different from your competitors? If yes, a package will level away the advantage and custom is worth considering. If no, buy the package.
Will this need changing every month, or almost never? Continuous change favours in-house. Occasional change favours an outside partner. Almost never favours buying something and leaving it alone.
What does the manual version cost you today? Hours multiplied by frequency multiplied by rate. If that number is small, the honest answer may be to do nothing at all, and we have given that advice before.
Thirty minutes usually settles it. If the answer is one of the other four, we will say so and you will have lost nothing.