A custom build by Black Badger is the best way for a company of 50 or more employees to get custom software, because you describe how the work runs and own a system with no per-seat fee. Microsoft Power Apps is the best platform to build on yourself if you already run Microsoft 365 and have staff with time to build and maintain the apps.
The ranking, entry by entry
1 Custom build by Black Badger
Best for companies with a specific process and no wish to rent it
We publish this guide and we build custom software, so read this entry knowing that. On a site about custom software the custom build goes first, because every platform below still leaves you to do the building, inside limits set by the vendor. Black Badger does the building. We start with discovery and a written scope, our own team in the United States writes the system around your process, and you own the code and every account it runs on.
Watch for. A build is not available immediately. It begins with discovery and a written scope, and it suits companies of 50 or more employees with a process worth building around.
- How it charges
- One-time build scoped in writing, then running costs such as hosting
- Main limit
- Needs a scoping call first, and suits companies of 50 or more employees
What a custom build involves, and how to ask about one
2 Microsoft Power Apps
Best for microsoft 365 companies with staff who can build their own apps
Power Apps ranks second, and first among the platforms, because most companies of this size already run Microsoft 365 and the price is published. The Premium license is billed per user, yearly, and covers unlimited apps for that user. Staff can build forms and workflow apps on Microsoft data without a software project. It ranks below a custom build because every person who opens an app needs a license.
Watch for. Dataverse capacity is pooled across the tenant, and extra database capacity is billed per GB a month. Microsoft also states that the prices on its page are for marketing purposes only.
- How it charges
- Per user, billed yearly, or pay as you go
- Main limit
- Dataverse capacity is pooled, and extra capacity is charged per GB.
3 OutSystems
Best for companies with developers and a long list of apps to build
OutSystems ranks third. It is the platform for a company that has its own developers, many business apps on the list and a wish to govern them all in one place. It ranks below Power Apps on a general list because the price is not published. The vendor quotes it from the number of application objects, meaning screens, database tables and API methods, plus end users and add-ons, and the platform starts at 100 internal users.
Watch for. A larger app costs more under this model, so get the estimate for the apps you expect to have later as well as the first one. The higher uptime level is an add-on.
- How it charges
- Quoted by app size, end users and add-ons
- Main limit
- Price rises with app size, user count and add-ons, and is quoted.
4 Retool
Best for IT and operations teams with developers and existing databases
Retool ranks fourth. It is built for a team with developers who want to put screens on top of databases and APIs the company already has, and it does that quickly. Pricing separates builders from internal users on the Team plan billed yearly, so people who only use the tools cost less than people who make them. It sits fourth because it assumes developers are involved.
Watch for. Single sign-on, SCIM, Git source control and granular roles are listed only for Enterprise, which is custom priced. A company of 50 or more usually needs at least one of those.
- How it charges
- Per builder and per internal user, billed yearly or monthly
- Main limit
- SSO, SCIM, Git source control and granular roles are Enterprise only.
5 Airtable
Best for departments that want their own databases and simple apps
Airtable ranks fifth. It gives a department a flexible database and lets its own staff build apps on top, and only people with edit permission on a base are charged. That makes it a sound first step past spreadsheets. It ranks fifth on the main list because the plans carry ceilings, with the Team plan listing 50,000 records per base and 25,000 automation runs per workspace a month.
Watch for. Business raises the record ceiling to 125,000 per base. Beyond that you have to contact sales about Enterprise Scale, so check your largest table against those numbers first.
- How it charges
- Per seat with edit rights, billed yearly, top plan quoted
- Main limit
- Team caps a base at 50,000 records and 25,000 automation runs a month
6 Zoho Creator
Best for companies that want a per-user app platform at a low list price
Zoho Creator ranks sixth. It lets a company build apps with its own data model and workflows at published per-user prices that start on Standard, billed yearly. It ranks sixth because the entry plan allows one application, so a company with several systems in mind is pricing Professional or Enterprise. Someone on staff also has to build and maintain what gets made.
Watch for. Portal users for customers or vendors are a separate paid add-on, and Zoho does not show those prices on its pricing page. Ask for them before you plan anything customer-facing.
- How it charges
- Per user, plus a paid add-on for portal users
- Main limit
- Portal users are a paid add-on, and Standard allows one application
7 Lovable
Best for teams that want a fast first version to react to
Lovable ranks seventh. An AI app builder is the quickest way to get a working first version of an internal tool in front of people. Lovable prices by credits and not by seats, with unlimited members in a workspace. It ranks seventh for established companies because Lovable does not describe a built-in role system for the apps it generates, so your team has to define who can see what.
Watch for. Single sign-on and role-based access for the workspace start on the Business plan. Audit logs and SCIM are listed only for Enterprise, so read the plan table against your IT policy.
- How it charges
- By credits, not seats, in monthly tiers
- Main limit
- SSO is Business only. Audit logs and SCIM need Enterprise.
8 Creatio CRM
Best for companies whose custom needs center on sales and service workflows
Creatio ranks eighth. It is a low-code platform with CRM apps on top, so it fits best when the software you need is mostly customer-related process, such as sales, marketing and service workflows. It ranks last on a general list for that reason, and because new customers face a stated minimum yearly purchase on a standard three-year term.
Watch for. The CRM apps are priced per user on top of the platform plan. Check the Growth plan allowance of 50,000 executed process elements a month against your real volume.
- How it charges
- Per user for the platform, plus a per-user fee for each CRM app
- Main limit
- New customers have a minimum yearly purchase on a standard 3-year term.
How this list was ranked
This list ranks routes instead of brands. A company of 50 or more employees that needs software shaped to its own process can have it built, or can build it on a platform. We ranked each route by how closely the result can match a real process and who has to do the building. We also weighed the published price and the plan limits for a company with several teams.
How each product charges, its plan names and its limits were read from each vendor's own site on the date shown in each entry. Black Badger publishes this guide and builds custom software. The custom build is first on this list because fit to a specific process, ownership of the code and no per-seat price carry the most weight here. If those do not matter to you, Microsoft Power Apps is the better default. On most of our other lists a platform ranks first.
Questions buyers ask
At what company size does custom software make sense?
Custom software deserves serious consideration once a company passes about 50 employees and one of three things is true. A spreadsheet or an email chain has become the system people rely on, you pay per-seat fees for a product you work around, or a person reconciles two systems by hand. Below that size, configuring a product you already own is usually the better use of money.
What is the difference between a custom build and building on a platform?
The difference between a custom build and building on a platform is who builds the software and who owns it. On a platform your own staff build the app inside the vendor's limits and you pay the vendor for as long as it runs. With a custom build a software company writes the system for you, and with Black Badger you own the code and the accounts when it is done.
Why is a custom build ranked first on this list of custom software options?
The custom build is ranked first because fit to a specific process, ownership of the code and no per-seat price carry the most weight on the main list. If those do not matter to you, Microsoft Power Apps is the better default. For an established company with a specific process we believe a system you own is the strongest answer. Black Badger publishes this guide and does that work, which is why the entry says so. The lists for narrower situations put a platform first wherever a platform is the better fit.
How current are the vendor facts in this custom software ranking?
Each entry shows the date its facts were read from the vendor's own site. Plan names and limits change often, and the vendor's own site is right where the two differ.