Book a scoping call
Home / Comparisons / Managed vs built and handed over
Straight comparison

Should we run it, or hand it to you?

Both are real options and we quote both. The honest test is not the monthly fee, it is who you expect to answer when something breaks at an inconvenient hour.

[ 01 / SIDE BY SIDE ]

The comparison, without the marketing

Every row is something we have actually been asked in a scoping call.

Built and handed overBetr Agency
Up-frontThe build price, onceThe same build price, once
Ongoing to usNothingFrom $390 a month, more as the estate grows
Platform usageBilled to your account at costBilled to your account at cost, identical
Who monitors itYou, if you remember toUs. Every flow has a heartbeat and a missing one pages someone.
Who fixes a breakYour developer, or us at an hourly rateUs, inside the agreed response time
Changes to wording or rulesYou edit itIncluded; you send a message and it changes
Compliance upkeepYours to trackOurs to track, with the evidence captured
Warranty30 days of fixes at our cost, then it is yoursContinuous
What you ownEverything: accounts, data, repositoryEverything: accounts, data, repository. Identical.
[ 02 / THE HONEST BIT ]

When the other option is the right one

A comparison page that never recommends the alternative is an advertisement, not a comparison.

[ CHOOSE THEM ]

Built and handed over wins when

  • You have a developer or a genuinely technical person on staff
  • The automation is simple and stable, and a day of downtime costs you nothing
  • You would rather absorb the risk than the fee, which is a reasonable trade

If two of those are true of you, do that instead. We would rather tell you now than take a deposit for something that will not pay for itself.

[ CHOOSE US ]

We win when

  • The automation touches customers, money or a legal obligation
  • Nobody in the business would notice if it quietly stopped
  • You want changes to happen the day you ask, not the next time someone has a spare evening

If two of those are true, the build usually pays for itself inside a year. You can check that yourself on the instant scope page.

[ 03 / THE BUILDS ]

What this looks like as a build

Priced on the page, and you can add them to a scope without talking to anyone.

Know which way you are leaning?

Price the build yourself first. If the number does not work, you have saved us both a call.