Estimate the five-year total cost of three paths to a CRM: building a custom one, buying off-the-shelf, or going AI-native. Set your team size and how you would build, and see the gap. The figures are illustrative ranges to frame the decision, not a quote.
The build figure uses a typical first-version cost for your chosen approach (freelancer, agency, or in-house), plus maintenance at about eighteen percent of the build cost per year for five years. The off-the-shelf figure uses a representative fifty dollars per seat per month across your team. The AI-native figure uses a representative flat monthly price, because tools in that category do not charge purely per seat and often start on a free tier.
These are deliberately simple. Real numbers vary with scope, integrations, and the specific tools you pick. The point is not a precise quote. It is the shape of the decision, which is almost always the same: building costs several times what buying does, for a tool that does less. For the detailed assumptions, see how much it costs to build a custom CRM, and for the bigger decision, should you build a custom CRM.
It estimates the five-year total cost of three paths. Building uses a typical first-version cost for your chosen approach plus maintenance at about eighteen percent per year. Off-the-shelf uses a representative per-seat monthly price times your team size. AI-native uses a representative flat monthly price. The figures are illustrative ranges, not a quote.
Because the build cost is only the start. Maintenance, integrations, security, and staff time continue for as long as you use the tool, while a subscription spreads those costs across thousands of customers. Over five years a build commonly costs several times what buying does, for a tool with no automation unless you paid to build that too.
A CRM built around an AI agent that finds prospects and runs outreach for you, rather than a passive record. It is modeled at a flat monthly price because it does not charge purely per seat, and it often starts on a free tier. Billy is one current example of the category.