three-year-tco-model.xlsx
Free tool
Is self-hosting cheaper than SaaS?A three-year cost calculator with the working shown
Put in your own numbers. See three years of SaaS, self-hosting and, if you have a quote, managed hosting. It can say stay on SaaS.
Nothing you type leaves this page. The sums run in your browser. No sign-up.
Or start from an example
Made-up round numbers, the same in all three except the team size. Not market data, not a benchmark, not anyone's price.
Self-hosting costs lessSaaS ₹15,54,917 · Self-hosting ₹10,04,905
Where the cost goes
36 months, today's money in each year, no discounting.
| Where the cost goes | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Three years | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The subscription | |||||
| Subscription | ₹4,32,000 | ₹5,13,216 | ₹6,09,701 | ₹15,54,917 | 100% |
| Three years | ₹4,32,000 | ₹5,13,216 | ₹6,09,701 | ₹15,54,917 | |
| Self-hosting | |||||
| Servers, tools, edition or support | ₹1,14,000 | ₹1,19,700 | ₹1,25,685 | ₹3,59,385 | 36% |
| Your time on upkeep | ₹1,28,000 | ₹1,34,400 | ₹1,41,120 | ₹4,03,520 | 40% |
| The move | ₹2,42,000 | ₹0 | ₹0 | ₹2,42,000 | 24% |
| Three years | ₹4,84,000 | ₹2,54,100 | ₹2,66,805 | ₹10,04,905 | |
The subscription
- Subscription
- ₹15,54,917 (100%)
- Three years
- ₹15,54,917
Self-hosting
- Servers, tools, edition or support
- ₹3,59,385 (36%)
- Your time on upkeep
- ₹4,03,520 (40%)
- The move
- ₹2,42,000 (24%)
- Three years
- ₹10,04,905
Counted as zero, or worth a look
- Over half of the self-hosting cost is your people's time. If nobody has those hours, ask a host for a written quote and enter it under A managed quote.
- Subscription
- Year 1: 12 × 30 users × ₹1,200 = ₹4,32,000Year 2: 12 × 33 users × ₹1,296 = ₹5,13,216Year 3: 12 × 36.3 users × ₹1,400 = ₹6,09,701
- Servers, tools, edition or support
- Year 1: 12 × (₹8,000 + ₹1,500 + ₹0) = ₹1,14,000Year 2: 12 × (₹8,000 + ₹1,500 + ₹0) × 1.05 = ₹1,19,700Year 3: 12 × (₹8,000 + ₹1,500 + ₹0) × 1.1 = ₹1,25,685
- Your time on upkeep
- Year 1: (12 × 8 h + 2 × 16 h) × ₹1,000 = ₹1,28,000Year 2: (12 × 8 h + 2 × 16 h) × ₹1,000 × 1.05 = ₹1,34,400Year 3: (12 × 8 h + 2 × 16 h) × ₹1,000 × 1.1 = ₹1,41,120
- The move
- Year 1: 120 h × ₹1,000 + ₹50,000 + 2 months × ₹36,000 = ₹2,42,000Year 2: ₹0Year 3: ₹0
How the three years add up
Six lines, one worked example. Pick a line to see how it is worked out and where it lands in the three years.
How it is worked out. Users times price per user times 12 months, each year, with your yearly additions and price rise.
Whose number: You: your invoice or quote
How it is worked out. Servers plus tools plus any paid edition, times 12 months, with the rise in what you pay.
Whose number: You, or a dated list price you pressed
How it is worked out. 12 times the monthly hours, plus upgrades times hours each, times the cost of an hour.
Whose number: You. We suggest no hours and no rate
How it is worked out. Year 1 only: hours times the cost of an hour, plus cash paid to others, plus months you pay for both times the monthly subscription.
Whose number: You
How it is worked out. The monthly fee times 12, plus the one-off fee, plus your server and tools if the quote leaves them out, plus your hours with a host.
Whose number: You, from a written quote. We give no figure
How it is worked out. Two totals within 10% of the lower one read as close.
Whose number: Ours. The inputs are rarely good to 10%
One worked example: a team of 30Made up · same code
The subscription ₹15,54,917
Subscription
Self-hosting ₹10,04,905
ServersUpkeepThe move
Servers ₹3,59,385Upkeep ₹4,03,520The move ₹2,42,000
A managed quote
You enter it. We give no figure.
10% line: two totals closer than this read as too close to call
- Year 1
- The subscription: ₹4,32,000
- Self-hosting: ₹4,84,000
- Year 2
- The subscription: ₹5,13,216
- Self-hosting: ₹2,54,100
- Year 3
- The subscription: ₹6,09,701
- Self-hosting: ₹2,66,805
Self-hosting costs less. The subscription costs ₹5,50,012 (55%) more over three years, if the hours you entered are right.
One worked example: a team of 30Made up · same code
The subscription ₹15,54,917
Subscription
Self-hosting ₹10,04,905
ServersUpkeepThe move
Servers ₹3,59,385Upkeep ₹4,03,520The move ₹2,42,000
A managed quote
You enter it. We give no figure.
10% line: two totals closer than this read as too close to call
- Year 1
- The subscription: ₹4,32,000
- Self-hosting: ₹4,84,000
- Year 2
- The subscription: ₹5,13,216
- Self-hosting: ₹2,54,100
- Year 3
- The subscription: ₹6,09,701
- Self-hosting: ₹2,66,805
Self-hosting costs less. The subscription costs ₹5,50,012 (55%) more over three years, if the hours you entered are right.
One worked example: a team of 30Made up · same code
The subscription ₹15,54,917
Subscription
Self-hosting ₹10,04,905
ServersUpkeepThe move
Servers ₹3,59,385Upkeep ₹4,03,520The move ₹2,42,000
A managed quote
You enter it. We give no figure.
10% line: two totals closer than this read as too close to call
- Year 1
- The subscription: ₹4,32,000
- Self-hosting: ₹4,84,000
- Year 2
- The subscription: ₹5,13,216
- Self-hosting: ₹2,54,100
- Year 3
- The subscription: ₹6,09,701
- Self-hosting: ₹2,66,805
Self-hosting costs less. The subscription costs ₹5,50,012 (55%) more over three years, if the hours you entered are right.
One worked example: a team of 30Made up · same code
The subscription ₹15,54,917
Subscription
Self-hosting ₹10,04,905
ServersUpkeepThe move
Servers ₹3,59,385Upkeep ₹4,03,520The move ₹2,42,000
A managed quote
You enter it. We give no figure.
10% line: two totals closer than this read as too close to call
- Year 1
- The subscription: ₹4,32,000
- Self-hosting: ₹4,84,000
- Year 2
- The subscription: ₹5,13,216
- Self-hosting: ₹2,54,100
- Year 3
- The subscription: ₹6,09,701
- Self-hosting: ₹2,66,805
Self-hosting costs less. The subscription costs ₹5,50,012 (55%) more over three years, if the hours you entered are right.
One worked example: a team of 30Made up · same code
The subscription ₹15,54,917
Subscription
Self-hosting ₹10,04,905
ServersUpkeepThe move
Servers ₹3,59,385Upkeep ₹4,03,520The move ₹2,42,000
A managed quote
You enter it. We give no figure.
10% line: two totals closer than this read as too close to call
- Year 1
- The subscription: ₹4,32,000
- Self-hosting: ₹4,84,000
- Year 2
- The subscription: ₹5,13,216
- Self-hosting: ₹2,54,100
- Year 3
- The subscription: ₹6,09,701
- Self-hosting: ₹2,66,805
Self-hosting costs less. The subscription costs ₹5,50,012 (55%) more over three years, if the hours you entered are right.
One worked example: a team of 30Made up · same code
The subscription ₹15,54,917
Subscription
Self-hosting ₹10,04,905
ServersUpkeepThe move
Servers ₹3,59,385Upkeep ₹4,03,520The move ₹2,42,000
A managed quote
You enter it. We give no figure.
10% line: two totals closer than this read as too close to call
- Year 1
- The subscription: ₹4,32,000
- Self-hosting: ₹4,84,000
- Year 2
- The subscription: ₹5,13,216
- Self-hosting: ₹2,54,100
- Year 3
- The subscription: ₹6,09,701
- Self-hosting: ₹2,66,805
Self-hosting costs less. The subscription costs ₹5,50,012 (55%) more over three years, if the hours you entered are right.
No discounting. Money is today's money in each year. Seats are not rounded. The same numbers as the first example above. Made up, and worked by the same code as the calculator.
Run the same model in Excel. The workbook has the same boxes, the same formulas and the same verdict. Type your numbers, or paste the column this page copies for you.
- Read me
- What it counts, what it leaves out, whose number is whose.
- Inputs
- The 23 boxes, in the page's order. Paste the copied column into C5. A column shows what is still needed.
- Model
- Every line, year by year. Named boxes, so a formula reads in words.
- Result
- Three totals, the verdict, where the answer flips, the notes. Checks that the lines add up.
- Examples
- The three examples as columns you can paste into Inputs.
- Public prices
- The dated list prices, with their sources. For looking up only.
- Sheets
- Read me, Inputs, Model, Result, Examples, Public prices
- Same as this page
- Checked on the three examples and on 2,500 other sets of numbers, 14 October 2026
- Needs
- Excel, Google Sheets or LibreOffice
A line on the Model sheet, in words
The verdict on the Result sheet
No sign-up. A plain file.
What this leaves out, and who made it
Six things the model does not price. Read them before you trust a total.
- RiskAn outage, a breach, a failed upgrade. They have a cost this model does not price.
- Missing featuresIf the open-source version lacks something you use, enter the paid part as a paid edition, or count it as a reason to stay.
- Where the data livesResidency and law can decide this before cost does. Ask your advisor. Our post on self-hosting and SaaS covers the questions.
- TaxEnter every amount the same way: all with GST or all without. The model does not know which you claim back.
- Three yearsThree years is a choice. One-off costs weigh less over five.
- Your guessesThe result is only as good as the boxes. The workbook lets you test one guess at a time.
Who made this
A team of 6Stay on SaaS: our own example
We sell managed hosting. If you stay on SaaS or run it yourself, nothing pays us for hosting. There is no MithTech price in this tool: a managed quote is a number you bring. In the examples above it says stay on SaaS for the team of 6.
Questions people ask
The one most people ask is answered first. Type to find the rest.
Most asked
Is self-hosting cheaper than SaaS?
Sometimes. It costs less when a per-user bill grows faster than the servers and the hours behind them. It costs more for a small team, where the hours outweigh the subscription. Put in your own numbers: this calculator can say stay on SaaS, and with the example figures it does for a team of 6.
The answer
When the two lowest totals are within 10% of each other. The inputs are rarely good to 10%, so naming a winner would claim more than the numbers know. The line is ours. Use the what would flip this lines to see which input matters, then decide on control, data location and who is on call.
Not by itself. If the open-source version needs a paid edition, add-on or support contract to match what you use, enter it under paid edition and it is counted every month. If it simply cannot do something you need, that is a reason to stay on SaaS that cost does not show.
Then self-hosting is not the answer, even when it is cheaper on paper. Ask a host for a written quote and enter it under A managed quote. The page adds a third column and shows the monthly fee a host must beat. We sell managed hosting; managed hosting says how we run it.
Your numbers
Time your last updates, your last backup restore and your last upgrade, then average over a year. We give no default, because any number we chose would tilt the answer. For a sense of how often fixes arrive: in the 91 days to 14 October 2026, ERPNext and the Frappe Framework published 95 security advisories, and ERPNext 36 stable releases (counted from GitHub).
We do not know what an hour of your people costs, and any figure we chose would tilt the result. A market rate is not your rate: it leaves out your overhead and what else those hours would earn. Enter your own. If you enter 0 hours of upkeep, no rate is needed, and the page says what that risks.
Each one shows the day we read it and links to the vendor's page. Prices move, and some products sell out: Hetzner showed a limited-availability notice when we read it. Treat them as a starting point and check the page before you plan on one. None is filled in for you.
Your data
No. The sums run in your browser, nothing is stored, and nothing goes in the address bar. Our analytics record the verdict, such as stay on SaaS, and never a figure. The only request is the one for the workbook file when you download it.