Compare source code licensing and SaaS website building in one budget covering initial delivery, ongoing maintenance and eventual migration. A source code approach assigns deployment and maintenance to your team. SaaS delivers hosting through a service package. The choice depends on functionality, staffing and the site's planned lifetime. Use these formulas to check quotations.
Define the same website for both quotations
Use one brief: a corporate website in Chinese and English with a product catalog, downloads and inquiries. Specify product counts, page designs and content-entry responsibilities. For multiple brands, include site counts and domains. See the corporate website CMS guide and product catalog guide.
| Cost item | Self-hosted source code approach | SaaS approach |
|---|---|---|
| Use and updates | Source code license, update plan and agreed support | Subscription, renewals and service scope |
| Hosting and domains | Hosting, domains, backups, traffic and email | Check included services and extra domain, traffic or service charges |
| Design and launch | Theme, custom development, data preparation and content entry | Template, custom pages, setup and content entry |
| Extensions and translation | Plugins, translation, email or AI usage | Package extensions, translation and third-party usage |
| Maintenance and exit | Update testing, backup restoration, security maintenance and migration work | Content maintenance, capacity upgrades, export and migration work |
Record costs included in a package as zero, keeping evidence of the inclusion. Calculate labor as hours multiplied by an hourly rate. Use the relevant quotation for outsourced work to account for all required work and prevent double counting.
Calculate first-year and three-year costs
Source code cost(n years) = license + initial delivery + n × (hosting and domains + extensions and services + maintenance labor) + additional update/renewal purchases + migration
SaaS cost(n years) = initial delivery + n × (subscription + charges outside the package + maintenance labor) + migration
Initial delivery covers design, templates, development, import and launch configuration. Hosting includes backups and operations. Extensions include plugins, translation and usage-based services. Enter additional update purchases and renewals according to the actual plan. Count updates already included in the initial licence once, and enter migration costs at the expected exit point.
A hypothetical calculation
Every amount below is an assumption in Chinese yuan for the same website brief. Actual quotations depend on the supplier, deployment conditions and labor. Assume fixed requirements and prices for three years. Extension, translation, update renewal and migration costs are zero in this example; template and development work are included in initial delivery.
| Assumed item | Source code approach | SaaS approach |
|---|---|---|
| One-time license | 600 | 0 |
| Initial delivery | 3000 | 1500 |
| Annual hosting or subscription | 500 | 1800 |
| Annual domain | 100 | 100 |
| Annual maintenance labor | 1200 | 600 |
| First-year total | 5400 | 4000 |
| Three-year total | 9000 | 9000 |
Initial delivery and maintenance arrangements change the result. Replace every assumption with real figures, then calculate extra languages, more sites, changing traffic or a redesign.
How CatchCMS pricing fits into a budget
The current pricing and source code licensing page lists one year of updates at CNY 399 for your own sites and a lifetime-update option at CNY 599 for your own sites and client project delivery. Also budget for hosting, domains, themes, development, translation, launch and maintenance labor. Confirm update periods, technical support, site counts, domains, deployment and resale scope against the applicable terms.
Review multiple languages, multiple sites, dynamic fields and form management. When using AI-assisted theme development or MCP content maintenance, include model service usage, review and testing labor.
Complete three checks before signing
- Create a real product and its translation, submit a test inquiry, and check fields, notifications and editing steps. Inspect public pages in the product demo.
- Obtain first-, second- and third-year fee schedules covering capacity limits, extensions, support and client delivery conditions.
- Confirm exit deliverables: domain control, source code or data export, attachments, form records, migration labor and continuity of page addresses.
If your team wants hosting as a service and focuses mainly on content operations, compare SaaS delivery and exit terms closely. If your team wants self hosting and custom product content and has a maintainer, evaluate the source code approach. Send site counts, languages, product scale and a three-year usage plan through project consultation and confirm scope before finalizing the budget.