Bespoke software or a low-code platform?
A low-code or no-code platform, such as Microsoft Power Apps, lets you assemble an application from ready-made parts with little programming. Bespoke software is written for you, and which is the better choice depends on how complicated the rules are, how many people will use it and how long it has to last.
| Aspect | A low-code or no-code platform | A software company |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to build | Usually low. A simple application can be assembled in days by a capable member of staff or a consultant. | Higher at the start, because the application is designed, written and tested for you. The price is fixed against a written scope. |
| Running cost | Most platforms charge a licence for each user each month, sometimes with extra charges for premium features, storage or volume. The cost rises with every user added and can change when the vendor revises its prices. | There is no per-user licence for the application itself. You pay for hosting and maintenance, which do not rise in step with the number of users. |
| Speed to a first version | Fast. Forms, lists and simple approvals can be working within days. | Slower. A bespoke system takes weeks or months, depending on its size. |
| Platform limits | The platform decides what is possible. Complicated rules, large volumes of data and unusual screens tend to meet its limits, and the workarounds become hard to maintain. | Built to do what the process requires, including the awkward parts. The constraint is the budget and not the tool. |
| Lock-in | The application runs only on the vendor's platform. Your data can usually be exported, but the screens, rules and automations cannot be moved elsewhere and would have to be built again. | You own the source code and can host it where you choose or hand it to another team. You still depend on having someone able to maintain it. |
| Who maintains what was built | The vendor maintains the platform. Your application is often looked after by the member of staff who built it, alongside their main job, and by nobody if they move on. | The supplier maintains the application under a support plan, with documentation another team could follow. |
| Making changes safely | Changes are quick, and are often made directly in the live application. Most platforms offer ways to test and track changes, though applications built by non-specialists often do not use them. | Changes are recorded in version control and tested before release, which is slower and safer. |
| Fit with what you already have | Strong where the business already uses the vendor's other products. Power Apps, for example, works closely with Microsoft 365, and some Microsoft 365 licences include limited rights to use it. | Connects to your existing systems through integrations written for the purpose. They cost more to build and are not limited to the connectors a platform offers. |
A low-code or no-code platform is the better choice when
- The process is simple: forms, lists, approvals and notifications, without complicated rules.
- A small number of people will use it, so the licences stay modest.
- Your organisation already pays for the platform and has someone who knows it.
- You want to try out a process before deciding whether it deserves a full system.
- The need is temporary, or likely to change beyond recognition within a year or two.
A software company is the better choice when
- The rules are complicated: pricing, scheduling, stock control or anything with many exceptions.
- Many people will use it, including customers or suppliers outside the organisation, so per-user charges would mount up.
- The system holds a large amount of data or must respond quickly under heavy use.
- It is central to how the business operates and will be in use for many years.
- You want to own the code and be free to change supplier or hosting.
What usually decides it
How complicated the rules are. Low-code platforms are at their best with forms, lists, approvals and notifications. A process with many exceptions, such as pricing that depends on the customer, the quantity and the date, can usually be built on a platform, but the result becomes hard to follow and harder to change. Conventional code handles that kind of logic well.
How many people will use it. Per-user licensing makes a platform cheap for ten users and costly for several hundred, particularly where the application needs the vendor’s premium tier. A bespoke system costs more to build, and its running cost barely moves as users are added. Work out both totals over the years you expect to use the system, from the vendor’s current price list.
How long it has to last. An application on a platform depends on the vendor continuing the product at a price you can accept, and vendors change both from time to time. Bespoke code depends on having someone to maintain it, which is a different risk and one that stays in your hands.
Where low-code applications run into difficulty
The trouble seldom comes at the start. The first version is quick to build and does its job. The difficulty tends to come two or three years on, when the application has grown well past its first purpose, the person who built it has changed role and nobody else knows how it works. Microsoft Access went the same way in many businesses a generation earlier, as our page on replacing an Access database describes.
This is a question of ownership more than of technology. A low-code application with a named owner and a written description of how it works can serve for years.
A middle route
Prototype on a platform, then decide. Build the first version in a low-code tool and use it for a few months. You learn what the process really needs for little money. If it outgrows the platform, the working application is a better specification for bespoke software than any document.
Split the work. Keep the simple internal parts on the platform and build the complicated core as a bespoke system, with both working from the same data. This suits an organisation that already holds the platform licences.
For the bespoke side of the comparison, our cost calculator gives a price range to set against the licence total.
Questions we are asked
Is low-code cheaper than bespoke software?
To build, usually yes. Over several years it depends on the number of users, because most platforms charge for each user each month and a bespoke system carries no per-user licence. Work out both totals over the period you expect to use the system, using the vendor's current price list.
Can a low-code application be converted into bespoke software later?
It is replaced, not converted. The data can usually be exported, and the working application serves as a detailed specification, which makes the new system easier to scope. The screens and rules are written again.
Who maintains a low-code application?
The vendor keeps the platform running and secure. Your application, its rules and its data remain your responsibility. Decide who holds that responsibility before the person who built it changes role, and ask them to write down how it works.
Our low-code application has outgrown the platform. What now?
List what it does, who uses it and where it falls short. Often the data and a few central rules need a proper system, while the simpler parts can stay where they are. Once the requirements are written down, a replacement can be priced at a fixed price.
Not sure which suits you?
Tell us about the system and what you need done. If one of the alternatives is the better fit, we will say so.