The verdict in three sentences
A coach operator serving 12 towns across Ireland and selling 600 to 1,500 tickets a day can sell online in two ways: rent a SaaS ticketing platform charging 1 to 3 % commission per ticket, or commission a custom booking website for 30,000 to 80,000 EUR. Once online sales stabilise above roughly 500 tickets a day, the SaaS commission usually exceeds the cost of an owned platform within 18 to 24 months. The decision rests on three critical modules: seat selection, a QR ticket scanned at boarding and payments (cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay).
SaaS ticketing or custom website: the real comparison
In Dublin, intercity coach travel competes directly with rail and with large national operators that already offer slick apps. A regional operator running routes to Galway, Cork, Limerick or Sligo needs an equally smooth booking flow, or it loses passengers at the comparison stage. Selling online also secures revenue, cuts call-centre load and finally gives reliable load factors per route.
| Criterion | SaaS ticketing | Custom booking website |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | 0 to 2,500 EUR | 30,000 to 80,000 EUR |
| Recurring cost | 1 to 3 % of each ticket + subscription | Maintenance and hosting, 800 to 1,500 EUR per month |
| Time to launch | 2 to 4 weeks | 10 to 16 weeks |
| Payments | Whatever the vendor supports | Stripe or Adyen, cards, wallets, corporate invoicing |
| Customer data | Hosted by the vendor | Owned by the operator, GDPR controller |
| Customisation (fares, luggage, parcels) | Limited to settings | Full |
| Ticket desk sales in the same tool | Sometimes optional | Designed in from discovery |
SaaS remains sensible to test demand for 3 to 6 months. Once online volume is steady, the commission becomes a permanent tax on revenue.
What each module costs in 2026
The ranges below are 2026 estimates for a complete booking website built by a Dublin or EU agency. They let you read a quote line by line.
| Module | Estimated cost (EUR) | Indicative timing |
|---|---|---|
| Routes, timetables and fares for 12 towns | 4,000 to 9,000 | 2 weeks |
| Booking with seat selection on a coach map | 6,000 to 16,000 | 3 weeks |
| Payments: cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, SCA | 5,000 to 14,000 | 2 to 3 weeks |
| QR ticket and boarding scanner app | 4,000 to 12,000 | 2 weeks |
| Back office for ticket desks and agents | 6,000 to 16,000 | 3 weeks |
| Email and SMS confirmations, departure reminders | 2,000 to 5,000 | 1 week |
| Dashboard of load factors and revenue per route | 3,000 to 8,000 | 1 to 2 weeks |
Total: 30,000 to 80,000 EUR. Rates in Dublin typically run 650 to 900 EUR per developer day, which explains why the same scope costs more than in Central or Eastern Europe.
What the SaaS commission costs at your volume
With an estimated average ticket of 18 EUR, here is the monthly amount paid to a SaaS vendor if 100 % of tickets were sold online.
| Tickets per day | Monthly revenue | 1 % commission | 2 % commission | 3 % commission |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 300 | 162,000 EUR | 1,620 | 3,240 | 4,860 |
| 600 | 324,000 EUR | 3,240 | 6,480 | 9,720 |
| 1,000 | 540,000 EUR | 5,400 | 10,800 | 16,200 |
| 1,500 | 810,000 EUR | 8,100 | 16,200 | 24,300 |
| 2,000 | 1,080,000 EUR | 10,800 | 21,600 | 32,400 |
In both cases you also pay payment processing fees, around 1.5 % + 0.25 EUR for standard EEA cards. Those fees remain with a custom build; only the vendor commission disappears.
Mini case study
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Siobhán runs a Dublin-based coach operator serving 12 towns and selling 800 tickets a day at an average of 18 EUR. Cautious assumption: in year one, 30 % of tickets are sold online, so 240 tickets a day and 129,600 EUR of monthly online revenue.
With a SaaS at 2 %, the commission reaches 2,592 EUR per month, or 31,104 EUR per year. With a custom website at 60,000 EUR, maintenance at 1,000 EUR per month and hosting at 300 EUR per month, year one costs 75,600 EUR and each following year 15,600 EUR. At 30 % online, break-even only arrives during year four, so a SaaS remains a defensible choice at that volume. If the online share rises to 60 %, the SaaS bill doubles to 62,208 EUR a year and the custom platform pays back in about 16 months.
FAQ
Which payment methods should an Irish coach website support?
Cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay cover most bookings, with strong customer authentication under PSD2. Corporate invoicing for schools and companies adds 1 to 2 weeks of development.
How do we handle passengers who still pay at the desk?
The ticket desk back office sells from the same seat inventory as the website, which prevents double booking. An unpaid online hold can be kept for 15 to 30 minutes and then released automatically.
Does the QR ticket work without signal at boarding?
Yes, if the scanner app downloads the passenger list before departure. Scanning works offline in under one second per ticket and syncs as soon as the connection returns.
Do we need a mobile app on top of the website?
Not at launch: a fast mobile website, under 1.5 MB per page, covers 90 % of use. An app is only justified with a loyalty scheme or more than 2,000 tickets a day.
How long until we are live?
Allow 10 to 16 weeks for a full custom website, including discovery and payment testing. A phased launch with the main routes first lets you sell from week seven.
Let's scope your project. Share your routes, ticket volume and payment needs, and we will price the scope, an indicative budget and a 10 to 16 week timeline. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
