How much cheaper is custom software vs Salesforce / HubSpot / NetSuite?

Typical mid-market SaaS contract: $50K–$300K/year. Custom build for the 10 features you actually use: $5K–$30K one-time, then $0/year. Math is brutal once you compare.

Won't custom software break or be hard to maintain?

Modern custom builds (Claude / n8n / Supabase / lightweight Python) are easier to maintain than enterprise SaaS configuration. You own the code. No vendor lock-in.

What kinds of workflows are best for custom builds?

CRM with your specific fields, ATS for your hiring flow, internal dashboards, billing/invoicing, document automation, AI workflows, customer portals. Anything where you currently pay for 100 features and use 10.

📊 SAN DIEGO · ANTI-BLOAT SOFTWARE

Affordable Software vs Enterprise SaaS — San Diego

Bloated SaaS sells you 100 features. You use 10. SideGuy builds the 10 you actually need at 10% the cost.

Built by PJ Zonis SideGuy Solutions · Encinitas · 858-461-8054

TL;DR: Most North County San Diego businesses don't need Salesforce, HubSpot, NetSuite, or Workday. They need 10 specific workflows the bloat-vendors sell wrapped in 90 features they'll never touch. SideGuy builds custom for your specific shape using Claude + n8n + AWS at $100/hr — $5K-30K one-time replaces $50K-300K/year contracts. You own the code. No lock-in. No surprise renewal hike.

The actual cost comparison

What	Enterprise SaaS	SideGuy custom build
CRM (10-50 person team)	Salesforce $24K-180K/yr	$8K one-time, $0/yr
ATS / hiring flow	Greenhouse / Lever $15K-40K/yr	$5K one-time, $0/yr
Internal dashboards	Looker / Tableau $30K-120K/yr	$10K one-time, $0/yr
Billing / invoicing	NetSuite $30K-120K/yr	$8K one-time, $0/yr
Customer portal	Custom Salesforce dev $50K-200K	$15K one-time
Marketing automation	HubSpot $40K-150K/yr	$6K one-time, $0/yr

Math: replace one bloat vendor → fund SideGuy build for 5 years.

What we actually use

Claude / GPT-5 — for AI workflows, content generation, classification, decision routing
n8n — for orchestration (the "if X then Y" glue between systems)
Supabase / Postgres — for data + auth (replaces vendor databases)
AWS S3 + CloudFront — for hosting (replaces Heroku / Vercel marketing fluff)
Stripe / Square direct — for payments (no Salesforce-Commerce middleman)

When custom IS the wrong call

You have 500+ employees + complex compliance (HIPAA / SOX / GDPR at scale) — bloat vendors absorb that overhead for you
You have a dedicated IT team that loves enterprise contracts
You need certifications (SOC 2 / FedRAMP) — vendors carry these
You don't have ops-savvy leadership willing to own the workflow

For 95% of small + mid-size North County businesses, none of these apply.

What "ownership" actually means

Your code, in your repo. Walkable, forkable, hire-the-next-dev-able
Your data, in your database. Not held hostage by a vendor's export limits
Your workflows, in plain English. Not buried in a vendor's drag-drop UI you have to re-learn after every product update
Your renewals, $0/year. No 30% annual price hike "due to platform improvements"

Want to know if you're overpaying?

Text PJ your current SaaS stack + monthly cost. One reply tells you what's worth replacing.

📲 Text PJ · 858-461-8054