Custom HR Software vs Vendor (2026)

The verdict in three sentences

For most SMEs, a vendor SaaS HRIS is the right call: leave, expenses, reviews and employee records covered for 6 to 15 EUR per employee per month. Custom is justified when HR processes are atypical, when integrations with your business tools are critical, or past a headcount where the subscription exceeds the amortised cost of your own solution. Payroll, however, stays outsourced — too regulated and volatile for in-house development.

Vendor HRIS vs custom

SaaS HR deploys fast and tracks basic statutory updates. Custom fits your processes and makes you the owner.

Over 5 years, a SaaS HRIS at 10 EUR/employee costs ~90,000 EUR for 150 staff. Custom at 55,000 EUR + maintenance reaches ~105,000 EUR: close, but with ownership and full tailoring on top. Custom wins mainly past 200-250 staff.

What an HRIS covers and what it saves

The gain isn't only financial: it's administrative and HR. Every digitised process frees time for managers and HR.

At a 45 EUR loaded hourly cost for HR/managers, 540 hours saved is worth about 24,300 EUR of recovered capacity per year, before the reduction in expense errors and mistracked leave.

Mini case study

Karim, HR director of a 180-employee industrial SME in Lille, hesitates between renewing his SaaS HRIS (11 EUR/employee/month, i.e. 23,760 EUR per year) and going custom. His leave and expense processes are atypical (shift teams, multiple bonuses) and the vendor doesn't handle them cleanly. He invests 68,000 EUR in a custom HRIS wired to his ERP, keeping payroll outsourced. Subscription saving over 5 years: ~119,000 EUR, minus maintenance. Added to the ~24,000 EUR of time saved per year, the tool pays off in about 2 years, with a system perfectly aligned to his processes.

FAQ

Should you build your own payroll? No. Payroll is too regulated and changes too often: keep a specialist provider or vendor, and connect it to the HRIS. Custom handles pre-payroll (variables, absences), not the legal calculation.

At what headcount does custom pay off? Generally past 200-250 employees, or as soon as your HR processes are too specific for a vendor, forcing costly workarounds.

What does a standalone leave + expenses module cost? Budget 18,000 to 35,000 EUR for leave + absences + expenses with an approval workflow. It's an excellent starting point.

What timeline for a custom HRIS? 4 to 8 months for leave + expenses + reviews + vault. A single module ships in 8 to 14 weeks.

Is custom GDPR-compliant for HR data? Yes: EU hosting, encryption, configured retention periods and strict access rights. Since HR data is sensitive, in-house control is an asset.

Let's scope your project. Specify your headcount, atypical HR processes and integrations (ERP, payroll): we'll price a targeted module or a full custom HRIS. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.