Custom Salesforce Development: When to Build vs Buy
Every Salesforce admin eventually faces this question: do we install something from AppExchange or build it ourselves?
The wrong answer is expensive both ways. Build when you should have bought = $50K of dev time wasted. Buy when you should have built = annual license fees forever for something that doesn't quite fit.
This guide gives you the framework.
Estimated read time: 7 minutes
The decision framework
Five questions in order:
- Does an AppExchange app solve 80%+ of the need? Yes → buy. No → continue.
- Is this a strategic differentiator? Yes → build. No → continue.
- Will needs evolve significantly over 2 years? Yes → build (or buy with API). No → continue.
- Is the per-seat licensing cost > $20K/year? Yes → consider build. No → buy.
- Do you have ongoing engineering capacity? Yes → build is sustainable. No → buy.
Default to buy unless you have a specific reason to build. Custom Salesforce code is technical debt the day you ship it.
When to buy (AppExchange)
Buy is the right answer when:
- The need is common across many companies (CPQ, eSignature, document generation)
- AppExchange has a mature solution with many reviews
- Implementation cost < 6 months of license cost
- The vendor has an API that lets you extend if needed
- Per-seat cost is reasonable for your volume
Examples where buy almost always wins:
- E-signature (DocuSign, Adobe Sign)
- Quote-to-cash / CPQ (Salesforce CPQ, DealHub, etc.)
- Marketing automation (Marketo, HubSpot, Pardot)
- Email tracking (Outreach, Salesloft)
- File management (Files Connect)
When to build
Build is the right answer when:
- Functionality is core to your competitive advantage
- No AppExchange app fits well (≤50% match)
- License cost > $20K/year and the build is < 12 months payback
- You need deep integration with internal systems an AppExchange app can't reach
- You have engineering capacity to maintain the code long-term
What "build" actually costs
Custom Apex/LWC development costs roughly:
- Senior Salesforce developer: $150-$250/hour
- Project total for a meaningful build: $25K-$150K
- Maintenance: 15-25% of build cost annually
- Architecture review: required for anything touching > 1M records or critical paths
The middle path: hybrid
Many of the best builds are hybrid. You buy the foundation and build the customization:
- Buy CPQ; build the pricing logic specific to your model
- Buy a marketing automation platform; build the lead scoring custom to your funnel
- Buy file management; build the approval workflow that fits your governance
This pattern minimizes both kinds of risk: you avoid rebuilding commodity functionality, but you control the differentiating layer.
When custom development at RevKit makes sense
If you've decided to build (or hybrid-build) and need senior delivery:
- Custom Lite: $2,500+ for small custom features
- Custom Standard: $5K-$10K for moderate features (custom Apex triggers, LWC components, simple integrations)
- Custom Premier: $10K-$20K for complex projects (multi-object orchestration, custom algorithms, multi-system integrations)
All fixed-price. Senior architect review on every build. Defined timeline before you pay.
Describe your custom project →