Build instead of renting, and the savings calculator

The "Build instead of renting" page lists tools a small business pays for every month and the app an intern could build to replace each. Open it from "For US businesses", then "Build instead of renting", or go to /build-instead.

Every number on the page is an assumption. It is an estimate, not a quote and not a promise of savings. Change the numbers to your own before you rely on them.

The app cards

Each card names a kind of tool you rent, grouped by department. It shows:

• "Today": what the rented tool does for you.
• "Your own app would": what your own app would do instead.
• "The human check": what a person keeps checking.
• "Still billed", when some cost stays even after you build the app.
• "Serves" and "Built with": the jobs it covers and the course tools an intern would use.

Under that are the figures: "Rented" (the price and how many seats, accounts or locations), "Hosting" (a year), and "Build" (about how many months). Each figure has a small tag: "assumed", or "your number" once you have changed it.

The calculator

1. Find "Your numbers" and "Change the numbers to yours".
2. Pick "The app" you want to work on, or press "Use your numbers" on a card to jump there with that app selected.
3. Change the price per seat, account or location a month, and how many you pay for.
4. Change "Hosting a year, for each app (USD)" if you know your own cost. It applies to every app.
5. Read the result on the card: "First year" and "Each year after".

"First year" is the subscription for the months after the app is built, minus hosting. "Each year after" is twelve months of the subscription, minus hosting. The build time is shown as assumed and cannot be changed.

If your numbers mean there is no saving, the card says so plainly, either for every year or for the first year while you still pay for the tool during the build.

"Back to the assumed numbers" undoes your changes. Nothing you type is stored: reloading the page also goes back to the assumed numbers.

What the page does not count

The completion fee we pay you for a completed internship with a review is a fee for your time. It is not counted in any saving on this page.

Start with one

Press "Build this app and start saving" on a card, or at the foot of the page for the app selected in the calculator. If you are not signed in, the project form opens with a description of that app already written for you to edit. If you are signed in as a business owner, the AI interview opens about that app. See Starting from an app idea or a workflow.