Should you build or buy Low-Code / No-Code?

When building makes sense

Building internal applications rather than buying a low-code platform makes compelling sense when the people doing the building are developers, when the app will be used by hundreds or thousands of users, and when the workflow is stable enough that a one-time build cost amortizes well. AI coding assistants have changed the math here substantially — build costs that once required weeks of developer time now compress to days, while per-seat licensing on platforms like Power Apps or OutSystems can run $20 per user per month at scale. For a 1,000-user internal app, that's $240K per year versus a one-time custom build that might cost $30–60K with AI-assisted development. The lock-in cost is the other side of this equation: apps built on low-code runtimes are hostage to vendor pricing changes, platform constraints, and roadmap decisions in ways that custom code isn't. Open-source alternatives like Budibase, ToolJet, and NocoBase have demonstrated that building a low-code builder for your own needs is achievable, though reaching general-purpose feature parity with Retool takes years of dedicated investment. The build case sharpens when the workflow is complex enough that platform constraints create constant friction.