Build vs. Rent, Month by Month
App Stack Payback
✓ The month building becomes cheaper than paying for apps
✓ The app fees you still pay while the build is in progress
✓ A cost chart and a month by month table
✓ What you save, or are still behind, at 12, 24 or 36 months
Your app stack today
Four numbers. Everything below updates as you type.
Add up the subscriptions for the functions you want built into the theme instead.
A rough figure for building the same functions natively. A real number comes from a discovery call.
Support and small fixes on code you own. Has to be below your app spend for a build to ever catch up.
Build timeline
Kickoff to launch. Your apps keep billing for every one of these months.
Time horizon
How far out to compare. The crossover does not move; only whether it lands inside the window.
Your payback
Breakeven in month —
Add your app spend
It never pays back
No breakeven inside — months
From month — on you are ahead, keeping — of every — you used to hand the apps. Launch is month —, and the apps keep billing until then.
Enter what you pay each month for the apps you would replace, and this shows the month a build stops being the more expensive option.
Upkeep of —/mo against —/mo in apps leaves nothing meaningful to recover the build with. Upkeep has to land below your app spend for a crossover to exist.
At —/mo saved after launch, — takes longer than — months to recover. Try a longer horizon, a smaller build, or lower upkeep.
Net savedbehind over — mo
—
— renting vs — building
Saved per month after launch
—
— in apps less — upkeep
Paid twice during the build
—
app fees still running across — monthmonths
Cumulative spend, month by month. The shaded band is the build window, where both the app fees and the build are being paid. The dashed line marks the crossover. On a narrow screen the chart scrolls sideways, or open the table below for the exact figures.
| Month | Renting apps | Building | Difference |
|---|
Breakeven is the build cost divided by what you save each month once it is live, pushed out by the — monthmonths of build time you are still paying app fees through, then rounded up to the first whole month you are actually ahead. It counts subscription dollars only. It does not price the app features you would lose, the risk of owning the code, or the app price rises you avoid.
How this is calculated
The tool compares two monthly costs. The first is what you pay if you keep paying for the apps. The second is what you pay if you build the same features into your theme. Breakeven is the month the build total drops below the app total. Every month after that, you save money.
Paying for apps
Your monthly app spend multiplied by the number of months.
Building
Three costs added together:
- The one time build cost
- The app fees you keep paying until the build goes live
- The monthly upkeep on your code after launch
The app fees during the build are easy to forget. Your apps keep charging you every month until the new code replaces them, so the tool asks for your build timeline.
Breakeven
After launch, you save your app spend minus your upkeep every month. Divide the build cost by that monthly saving, then add the months of build time:
The result is usually a partial month, so the tool rounds up to the first full month you're ahead.
If your upkeep is the same as or higher than your app spend, you never save anything after launch, so the build never pays for itself. The tool tells you that instead of showing a month.
The 12, 24 and 36 month options don't change the breakeven month. They only change how far out the chart and table go.
Example
These are the numbers the tool starts with: —/mo in apps, a — build that takes 3 months, —/mo upkeep after launch, over 24 months.
- Monthly saving after launch: — − — = —
- Months to recover the build: — ÷ — = —
- Add the 3 month build, when you still pay — in app fees: breakeven at month —, so month — is the first full month you're ahead
- At month 24: — on apps vs — on the build, a net — saved
Where the starting numbers come from
The starting numbers (—/mo in apps, a — build, —/mo upkeep, 3 months to build) come from Shero's Shopify build work, reviewed in August 2026. They're there to get you started, and they're not a quote. Replace all four with your own numbers. A real build cost and timeline come from a short discovery call where we go through your app list. The 1, 2, 3 and 6 month timeline options cover our usual project lengths, and your project can be longer or shorter.
What this doesn't include
- Only subscription costs. It doesn't put a value on app features you'd lose or new features the build would add.
- App prices stay the same for the whole period. In reality they go up, which makes breakeven come sooner.
- Upkeep stays the same too. A bigger update in year three or a Shopify platform change isn't included.
- When you own the code, maintenance, compatibility testing and support move from the app company to you and your developer.
- It assumes the build replaces every app you entered. If two of six subscriptions keep running, the savings are smaller.
When replacing apps with custom code pays off
Payback compares your monthly app spend with a one-off $6,500 custom build (3 months to build) plus $75 a month upkeep. Breakeven is the month your savings pass the build cost; the last column is the net saving after 24 months.
| Monthly app spend | Breakeven | Net saved at 24 months |
|---|---|---|
| $300 | None in 24 mo | -$1,775 |
| $420 | Month 22 | $745 |
| $500 | Month 19 | $2,425 |
| $750 | Month 13 | $7,675 |
| $1,000 | Month 11 | $12,925 |
Need more than a free tool ?
Most audits tell you what's wrong and stop there. Ours don't. We find the issues and fix them. Book a 30-minute call with Shero to get a specific scope, timeline, and recommendation. No generic proposals.