The difference that really matters
The comparison is usually made on license price, and that's the least relevant criterion. What decides it is something else: is your process different because of a competitive advantage, or just out of habit?
A process that's different out of habit should be adapted to off-the-shelf software. A process that's different because that's where the company beats the competition shouldn't be squeezed into a generic system.
When an off-the-shelf CRM is the right choice
In most cases, and there's nothing wrong with that:
- The sales process is market-standard, even if it feels unique
- You need to get started in weeks, not months
- You don't want to take on software maintenance and evolution
- The integrations you need already exist off the shelf
When building is worth it
When the process is the competitive differentiator, when no market tool covers a critical stage, or when the per-user license cost stops making sense at the scale the company operates.
Go in with clear eyes: custom software doesn't end at delivery. It comes with maintenance, evolution and dependence on whoever maintains it — and that has to be part of the math from day one.
The middle path
In practice, the most common answer is neither one nor the other: an off-the-shelf base with a custom layer on top. You use a market system for what's standard and build only what's specific, through integrations and automations.
That's how Nexo works — CRPRO and SmartOrders are proprietary software, and even so, many projects involve integrating systems the client already has instead of replacing them.