The build-vs-buy question gets answered wrong in both directions. Scrappy teams build things they should have bought, wasting six months reinventing Stripe. Enterprise teams buy things they should have built, ending up with a duct-taped stack of ten SaaS products that cost more than a full-stack engineer.
The real answer depends on five questions most decision frameworks don't ask. This guide is a practical walkthrough for anyone trying to figure out the right call for their own business.
The Myth That Distorts Every Build-vs-Buy Conversation
"Buying is cheaper."
This is the default assumption, and it's wrong often enough to be dangerous. Buying looks cheaper because the cost is monthly instead of upfront -- a psychological trick, not an economic one.
