SaaS platforms make it sound easy: get online fast, pay a monthly fee, and let someone else handle the technical details. For startups and small businesses just starting out, this makes perfect sense. Low upfront costs, quick setup, and no need to worry about hosting or updates.
But here's what the sales pitch doesn't mention. As the business grows, more products, more traffic, more transactions, those monthly fees grow with it. What started as $29 per month turns into $299, then $2,000, then more. Add transaction fees, premium features you actually need, extra user accounts, and suddenly that "affordable" subscription costs you tens of thousands annually.
For many businesses, there comes a point where the subscription model stops making financial sense. The platform that helped you launch becomes the same platform that prevents you from scaling efficiently. In this article, we'll break down why SaaS costs can get out of control and then what alternatives exist for companies planning their long-term growth.
First, let’s focus on the reasons a SaaS solution might turn into an expensive adventure.
Hidden costs of SaaS subscriptions
The monthly fee you see on the pricing page is just the starting point. Here's what actually drives up the cost:
Scaling fees
Most SaaS platforms charge more as you grow. More products in your catalog? Higher tier. More monthly orders? Upgrade required. More staff members need access? Pay per user. This sounds reasonable until you realize you're essentially being penalized for success. A store doing $50k monthly might pay $300, but scale to $500k and suddenly you're at $2,000 per month for the exact same platform.
Premium features you actually need
Basic plans look affordable until you discover that features you actually need for running a real business - advanced reporting, custom workflows, multi-currency support, API access - are locked behind premium tiers or sold as add-ons. These aren't nice-to-haves. They're requirements. And each one comes with its own price tag.
Transaction fees
Many SaaS platforms take a percentage of every sale on top of the subscription fee. Even if it's just 1-2%, that adds up fast. A business doing $1 million annually pays $10,000-$20,000 just in transaction fees, year after year, for the privilege of using payment processing on a platform they're already paying for.
Vendor lock-in and migration costs
Your data lives in their system, structured their way. If you ever want to leave, you're looking at expensive migration projects, potential data loss, and the risk of disrupting your business during the transition. Some platforms make it deliberately difficult to export your complete product catalog, customer data, or order history. This dependency isn't accidental - it keeps you paying.
Lack of flexibility drives costs higher
SaaS platforms are built for the average customer, which means they're not really built for anyone specifically. This one-size-fits-all approach creates real problems as your business develops its own processes and requirements.
Integration expenses
Need to connect your store with your ERP, warehouse management system, or accounting software? SaaS platforms offer integrations, but they're often limited to popular tools and may not cover your specific needs. Custom integrations require middleware services, iPaaS platforms, or developer time - all adding to your monthly burn rate. You're paying subscription fees to multiple services just to make your systems talk to each other.
Platform limitations and forced workarounds
Every business has specific workflows - maybe you need custom approval processes for B2B orders, specific tax calculations for multiple jurisdictions, or unique inventory management tied to your manufacturing. The SaaS platform doesn't support this natively, so you're stuck finding workarounds. Third-party apps that cost extra. Manual processes that waste staff time. Spreadsheets bridging gaps between systems. Each workaround is another monthly cost or another hour of labor you're paying for.
Worse is when you hit complex barriers that the platform simply can't break through. Maybe you need more complex pricing rules, custom checkout flows, or specific data structures. The platform says no. You either drop the requirement, invest in expensive customization if the platform even allows it, or settle for technology that constrains your strategy rather than supports it.
The irony is that you keep paying the same subscription fees while getting less value, because the platform increasingly doesn't fit what you actually need.
https://bitbag.io/blog/ecommerce-saas-platforms
Open-source or custom solutions
Open-source platforms flip the cost structure. Instead of paying forever, you invest upfront and own what you build.
Higher initial investment, no recurring fees
Yes, implementing an open-source platform costs more at the start. You're paying for development, configuration, and setup. But once it's live, there's no monthly subscription climbing higher every year. You pay for hosting (which you control and can optimize), maintenance, and new features when you actually need them. For many businesses, the break-even point comes within 2-3 years, and everything after that is pure savings compared to SaaS.
Complete control over everything
Code, data, and infrastructure decisions belong to the company. Changing how checkout works, restructuring product data, or integrating with legacy industry systems - everything is possible without asking permission or waiting for a platform vendor to maybe add it to their roadmap someday.
Scaling that matches your business
With open-source, scaling means adding server resources or optimizing code, not jumping to a higher pricing tier. Your costs grow with actual infrastructure needs, not arbitrary limits set by subscription plans. A business doing 100 orders daily and one doing 10,000 orders daily might run on the same license - the difference is just hosting and performance optimization.
Freedom to choose your partners
You're not locked into one vendor's ecosystem. Choose the development agency that fits your needs and budget. Switch to a different hosting provider if you find a better deal. Bring development in-house as your team grows. The platform doesn't care who maintains it - you have complete flexibility in how you manage and evolve your technology.
Sylius as an open-source alternative to SaaS
Sylius is a good example of what open-source eCommerce can deliver - flexibility built specifically for businesses that have outgrown cookie-cutter solutions or want to avoid getting trapped in subscription models.
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No monthly subscription fees
With Sylius, you pay once for implementation and customization based on your specific needs. After that? No recurring license fees. You own the platform completely. The costs are limited to hosting (which you control and can optimize) and development work when the store actually wants to add new features.
Modular architecture that adapts to any business model
Need a standard B2C store? Sylius handles it. Want to add B2B features with complex pricing and organizational accounts? Add the B2B Suite. Planning to build a marketplace? The architecture supports it. You're not locked into one business model - the platform grows and changes as your strategy evolves, without switching platforms or negotiating new contracts.
Complete ownership of your data and roadmap
Your data stays on infrastructure you control. Your development priorities drive what gets built, not a vendor's product roadmap. You decide what features matter and when to implement them, rather than waiting months or years for a SaaS provider to maybe add what you need. For regulated industries or businesses with specific compliance requirements, this control isn't optional.
Real savings from real migrations
Multiple growing brands have migrated from platforms like Shopify or BigCommerce to Sylius specifically because the math stopped making sense. When your monthly SaaS bill hits $3,000, $5,000, or higher, investing that money into owning your platform instead of renting it becomes the smarter financial decision. Those companies now invest in features that drive their business forward rather than paying for generic platform access.
Comparison: SaaS vs Open-source (Sylius)
Wrapping up
SaaS platforms serve a purpose. They get businesses online quickly with minimal upfront investment, and for many companies just starting out, that makes perfect sense. The problem appears later, as the business grows and those monthly fees keep climbing while flexibility keeps shrinking.
Open-source platforms like Sylius offer a different path - higher initial investment, but lower total cost of ownership over time, complete independence from vendor decisions, and the ability to build a platform that actually matches your business strategy instead of forcing your strategy to match platform limitations.
The math is straightforward: if you're planning to be in business for the long term and expect to grow, ownership becomes more economical than renting. You're investing in an asset you control, rather than paying indefinitely for access to someone else's system.
The right technology choice depends on where you're headed, not just where you are today. Think in terms of years, not quarters. Consider what your business will need at 10x your current size. Factor in not just monthly fees but the total cost of ownership, flexibility, and strategic control.
For businesses ready to scale seriously, that calculation increasingly points away from subscriptions and toward platforms they actually own.
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