What AI changes for your subscriptions
Over the past year, one idea has spread widely: with coding assistants, every company will build its own software and cancel its SaaS subscriptions. Some even call it the "SaaSpocalypse".
AI now makes it possible to replace some subscriptions with tools built in-house, especially small tools whose outage blocks no one and that need little maintenance. For software that handles money, sensitive data or legal obligations, a subscription generally remains the better choice.
This article helps you sort your subscriptions: those an AI-built tool can replace, those worth keeping, and those worth extending with custom development.
An instructive experiment: 100 hours to avoid $100 a month
Tyler Denk runs beehiiv, a newsletter platform. In "SaaSpocalypse", published on 1 September 2026, he describes building the booking and membership platform for MADRE, a wellness club he co-founded in Medellín, himself. Off-the-shelf software would have cost less than $100 a month and been ready in a few hours.
Tyler Denk's test for MADRE
Off-the-shelf booking software
- Monthly cost
- Under $100
- Setup
- A few hours
- Outages and changes
- Handled by the vendor
Platform built with AI
- Monthly cost
- About $300 in technical services
- Setup
- 80+ hours of development and 20+ hours of testing
- Outages and changes
- Handled by Tyler Denk in his spare time
He spent six weekends developing it, connected about ten services (text messages, email, a database, local payments, error tracking) and bought payment terminals to test in-person payments. The result: a working platform, about $300 a month in services, and a CEO who is still on call at weekends. His conclusion is clear: SaaS is not dead.
His example also shows that he picked the hardest case. With bookings, memberships and payments, an outage loses customers and money the same day. That kind of tool is best left with a specialised vendor. The experiment says nothing about smaller, less exposed tools, and that is where AI opens real possibilities.
What a subscription really pays for
Code is only part of the service. With a subscription, you also pay for a team that:
- hosts the software, monitors it and restores it when it fails;
- applies security fixes and follows new attacks;
- adapts the product when rules change, for example VAT or data protection;
- keeps connections to other software working as that software changes;
- answers your staff when something does not work.
When you build your own tool, this work still has to be done: it comes back to you. For a tool that handles payments, it quickly takes more time than the initial development. For a tracking board used by five people, it often stays light.
Three questions for each subscription
Go through your list of subscriptions and ask these three questions about each one.
- What happens if the tool stops for a day? If your customers can no longer pay or book, the stakes are high. If the team falls back on a spreadsheet for a day, they stay low.
- What must it guarantee over time? Payments, personal data, accounting obligations, high-volume email, connections to other software: each of these needs regular maintenance.
- Does your way of working differ from the standard? Off-the-shelf software covers common needs well. It becomes frustrating when your team works around it with files and copy-and-paste.
The first two questions measure what the tool must guarantee. The third measures how far you are from the standard. Together, they place each tool in one of these four situations.
What should you do with each subscription?
Place each tool according to what it must guarantee and how far your way of working differs from the standard.
Low stakes · specific process
Build it with AI
No off-the-shelf product really fits, and an outage blocks no one. An internal tool can follow exactly the way you work.
Examples: equipment loan tracking, service checklists, an internal dashboard
High stakes · specific process
Keep the engine, adapt the surface
Let proven software handle the sensitive part and have the interface your business needs built on its API. If your core activity is itself specific, move to custom development with a team.
Examples: a client portal connected to the CRM, a quoting tool connected to accounting
Low stakes · standard process
Compare cost and effort
An inexpensive subscription is often enough. Rebuilding the tool makes sense when per-user pricing adds up or you only use one feature.
Examples: forms, internal surveys, simple team scheduling
High stakes · standard process
Keep the SaaS
Specialists track the rules, security and outages for you. Reproducing that work costs more than the subscription.
Examples: payments, accounting and payroll, email delivery, electronic signatures
Small tools: where AI changes the equation
Only two or three years ago, having a small internal tool developed often cost more than years of subscription. With tools such as Claude Code, Cursor or Lovable, someone comfortable with technology can now build a first version in a few days, sometimes in a few hours.
Good candidates look alike: few users, data that is not very sensitive, no financial transactions, and a simple fallback if the tool fails. For example:
Five tools a small team can rebuild
- Internal request formReplaces a form tool billed per user.
- DashboardCombines exports from three pieces of software.
- Loan trackingEquipment or keys: who has what, and since when.
- Document generatorProduces your documents from your templates.
- Niche toolThe one where you only use a single feature.
The tool then follows exactly the way you work. Its cost does not rise with each new user, which matters as the team grows. You also decide where your data is stored.
The UK NCSC draws the same line: a low-risk internal tool can often be fully vibe-coded, while authentication or code that processes sensitive customer data needs much stricter oversight.
A few rules prevent unpleasant surprises. Name a person responsible for the tool and a backup. Protect access, back up the data and write down how to work without the tool if it stops. An internal tool is still subject to data protection law as soon as it holds information about people. Our article on the benefits and limits of vibe coding details the risks to watch.
Software to keep
At the other end is software that handles your money, your legal obligations or your customer relationships: payments, accounting and payroll, high-volume email, electronic signatures, messaging, and a CRM at the heart of sales.
What the subscription keeps track of for you
For each of these, the vendor follows every change full time.
- PaymentsCard security standards, fraud and refunds.
- Accounting and payrollRates, filings and changes in the law.
- High-volume emailDeliverability and sender reputation.
- Electronic signaturesLegal validity of signatures and evidence.
- MessagingAvailability, encryption and archiving.
- CRMCustomer history and connections to other tools.
For these tools, the subscription pays specialists who follow the rules, security and email deliverability full time. An in-house tool would have to reproduce that work indefinitely, with a much smaller team. Tyler Denk quotes his COO: we have been able to bake bread forever, and most people still buy it.
The middle ground: keep the engine, adapt the surface
Between the two, one option is often overlooked. You keep the proven software for the sensitive part and have the interface that fits your business built on its API.
A club can keep its booking and payment software, then add a dashboard tailored to its managers. An SME can keep its CRM and create a field form that records visits in it directly. The SaaS provides the guarantees; the custom tool makes daily work easier.
Two examples
Sports club
The SaaS keepsBookings and paymentsAPIYou have builtManagers' dashboardSME
The SaaS keepsCRM and customer historyAPIYou have builtField visit form
These connections require more rigour than a standalone tool: access rights, error handling, tracking API changes. This is often where a development team adds the most value. When the core of your business finds no answer on the market, full custom development may be justified. Our article on moving from Excel to a custom application helps you assess that case.
Before cancelling a subscription
A tool built in a few days can replace a subscription. Still, check these points before cancelling:
- 1.Export and checkExport all data from the old software and check that it imports correctly into the new tool.
- 2.Run bothUse both in parallel for a few weeks, on real cases.
- 3.Name ownersDecide who fixes the tool, who develops it further and who covers during holidays.
- 4.Count the timeAdd the time spent building and maintaining it to the subscription you save.
- 5.Plan aheadDecide in advance what you will do if the tool becomes important to the company.
That last case happens more often than you might think. A useful internal tool attracts new users and new requests. If it becomes critical, have its code and security reviewed. Our guide to taking over a vibe-coded app describes this step.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need to know how to code to build an internal tool with AI?
Not necessarily for a first version. You do need to describe the need precisely, test unusual cases and understand where the data is stored. As soon as the tool touches personal data or other software, a technical review becomes useful.
How much can you save?
It depends on the subscription price, the number of users and the time spent maintaining the tool. Compare over two or three years: the subscription on one side; build time, hosting and maintenance on the other. Tyler Denk's case shows that an in-house tool can cost more than the subscription it replaces.
What if the tool becomes critical?
Treat it as real software: code review, tested backups, error monitoring and a named owner. You can also return to off-the-shelf software if a vendor now covers the need.
Will AI make SaaS obsolete?
For small, low-exposure tools, it offers a real alternative. For critical software, the value of SaaS lies in the team that maintains it, and AI does not create that team in your company.
Sort through your subscriptions
List your subscriptions, their annual price and what would happen if each one stopped for a day. That table is often enough to spot two or three tools to rebuild and those to keep.
At Appik Studio in Lausanne, we can review this list with you and help you choose between keeping a subscription, building an internal tool or connecting custom development to your software. The first conversation and initial advice are free.
Excel
Swiss Made Software