In short
- Off-the-shelf software is enough when your way of working is similar to that of other companies in your industry.
- No-code and AI generators are quick for testing an idea. Before entrusting your business to them, ask who will maintain the tool and how to get your data back.
- Custom software is justified for a process that is your own, several programs to connect or sensitive data. Always compare over three years.
Four options and their public prices noted in 2026
- Off-the-shelf software, often called SaaS (“Software as a Service”, software sold as a service): ready to use, used online, paid by subscription.
- No-code: you build an application by assembling blocks on screen, without writing code.
- The AI application generator: you describe the application in sentences, the AI writes the code.
- Custom software: a team designs and builds the tool for you alone.
Prices noted on 12 and 13 October 2026 on vendors' and agencies' pages. Bubble, Glide, Bolt.new and Lovable show their prices in dollars. Most pages do not say whether VAT is included.
| Option | Example | Price shown |
|---|---|---|
| Off-the-shelf software | Odoo, Standard plan | €24.90 per user per month on annual billing, €31.10 monthly. For 12 months, discount for the users of the first order: €19.90 and €24.90 |
| No-code | Bubble | $59, $209 or $549 per month, annual billing |
| No-code | Glide | $25, $50 or $125 per month |
| AI generator | Bolt.new | $25 per month (Pro), $30 per member per month (Teams) |
| AI generator | Lovable | $25 per month (Pro) or $50 per month (Business), for 100 credits per month |
| Custom, full business application | Estimate published by the agency Lonestone | €40,000 to €150,000, then 15 to 25% of that cost per year for maintenance |
| Custom, targeted tool, agency that develops with AI | HIC, ZeroCorvee | €3,000 to €15,000; at HIC, hosting and maintenance from €149 per month |
| Custom with Kendu Intelligence | You propose your budget | On quote |
At Lovable, a “credit” is a unit of consumption: each request made to the AI uses some, more so when the request is heavy. Beyond the plan, you buy more (the Pro plan sells 50 credits for $15).
When off-the-shelf software is enough
If you invoice, sell or manage your stock like most of your competitors, off-the-shelf software does the job very well. It is ready at once and the vendor handles the technical side: at Odoo, the subscription includes support, hosting and maintenance.
Before signing, look at two points:
- The price per user. It climbs with your team.
- What is not included. Odoo states it: the implementation service and the maintenance of custom code cost extra.
Since 12 September 2025, the EU Data Act requires online software providers to let you export your data in a common, machine-readable format. Until 11 January 2027, when you change provider, they can still charge you fees, limited to the costs directly linked to the switch. From 12 January 2027, they will no longer be able to charge any.
If you have to adapt the software a lot to your way of working, you pay for the subscription and for development. That is the time to compare with custom software.
No-code and AI generators: quick for a prototype, to be watched afterwards
To test an idea, these tools are quick. You show a first screen to your team without launching a full project, for $25 per month at Bolt.new or Lovable. Before running your business on them, ask three questions.
- Who maintains the tool? A generator writes the code, but someone has to understand it to fix it when an error appears or connected software changes. If that person leaves, that knowledge leaves with them.
- Can you get your code back? It depends on the tool. Bolt.new lets you download the project and sync it with GitHub, an online service that stores code. Lovable offers export to GitHub on all its plans. Bubble, on the contrary, explains that a Bubble application runs on its platform, with no conventional code to export: you get your data back as spreadsheet files (CSV) and the application's logic in a technical file (JSON), and then you have to rebuild elsewhere.
- What happens to the tool if the platform shuts down? A platform can disappear or change its terms. Some platforms make a written commitment: Bubble states in its FAQ that it would then publish its source code under an open licence, so that you could run your own server. Ask what yours provides.
When custom software is justified: your own process, software to connect, sensitive data
Custom software costs more at the start. It is justified in three cases:
- A process that is your own. Your way of pricing a quote or scheduling jobs is what sets you apart. Off-the-shelf software would force you to change it.
- Several programs to connect. Your accounting, your CRM (customer tracking software) and your schedule do not talk to each other, and your team re-enters the same information.
- Sensitive data. Health data, customer files, trade secrets: you want to choose where they are stored and who has access.
A point of caution: some of the rules of the EU Data Act do not apply to an online service designed as custom for one customer and not offered at scale (Bundesnetzagentur, in English). Your right to leave with everything, reversibility, must therefore be written into the contract. The Commission has also proposed amending this regulation (“Digital Omnibus”): review the position with your adviser before signing.
At Kendu Intelligence, what you are handed at delivery (source code, documentation, hosting access) is set out in your quote. Where the tool will run is decided with you, for example your cloud account or your servers. Our own servers are hosted at OVH, in the European Union. You approve in writing what the tool will do before the first line of code. During the build, demonstrations, at a pace agreed with you, show where it stands.
On price, you propose your budget. We show you what it lets us build, then the price is set in a quote signed before any work. If your budget is not enough for a useful tool, we tell you, and we can point you to an existing tool or to no-code.
The three-year cost: subscription on one side, development and maintenance on the other
The first quote does not show everything. Over three years, add up:
- Off-the-shelf software: price per user × users × 36 months, plus the set-up.
- No-code or generator: subscription × 36 months, plus the time of the person who builds and fixes the tool, which appears on no invoice.
- Custom: the development, plus each year's maintenance (hosting, security, updates, fixes).
Typical scenario: an SME with 30 employees, 15 of whom use the tool. Illustrative calculation based on the public prices above, excluding discounts:
| Option | Calculation | Total over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Odoo Standard, annual billing | 15 × 24,90 € × 36 | €13,446, excluding set-up |
| The same, with 30 users | 30 × 24,90 € × 36 | €26,892, excluding set-up |
| Lovable Pro | 25 $ × 36 | $900, excluding extra credits bought and time spent in-house |
| Targeted tool, agency that develops with AI | €3,000 to €15,000 + €149 × 36 (HIC's entry rate) | €8,364 to €20,364 at the minimum |
| Full business application (low end of Lonestone's range) | €40,000 + 15% per year for three years | €58,000 at the minimum |
| Kendu Intelligence | your budget + chosen maintenance | On quote |
These lines do not compare the same thing: a full management software on one side, a targeted tool or a business application on the other. The calculation also counts maintenance over 36 months, although in practice it starts at delivery. These figures show where the money goes. The subscription follows the number of users. Custom software is paid mostly at the start, with no per-user licence.
Decision grid in six questions
| Question | If yes | If no |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Does your process resemble that of your industry? | Off-the-shelf software | Custom software comes into play |
| 2. Do several programs that do not talk to each other need to be connected? | Custom, at least for the connections | Off-the-shelf software may be enough |
| 3. Does the tool handle sensitive data? | Choose where it is stored | All options remain open |
| 4. Do you want to test an idea first? | No-code or AI generator | Go to question 5 |
| 5. Will someone be able to maintain the tool in two years? | No-code or generator possible | Off-the-shelf software, or custom with maintenance |
| 6. Will you be able to leave with your data and your code? | You stay free | Negotiate the exit before signing |
A “no” to question 1, or a “yes” to question 2 or 3: custom software deserves a quote. Otherwise, start with off-the-shelf software, or with no-code if you want to test an idea first.
Going further
- Custom software: how you propose your budget.
- Data and security: where your tools run, how to get your data back.
- Our method: from the approved description to delivery.