Build vs buy calculator
Compare running your own observability stack against a service over three years.
How it works
Building costs the engineers who build and run it, plus infrastructure. Buying costs the subscription and a short setup.
build = (people × salary + infra × 12) × 3 + build months
buy = subscription × 36 + setupQuestions
What does building often miss?
Upgrades, scaling, on-call for the stack itself, and the features you would need later.
When is building right?
When you have unusual scale or rules, and a team that wants to own it long term.