An SME with 30 employees spent €45,000 on a custom website in 2024. Six months later, the site was outdated, without maintenance, and with features that no longer served the business. A redesign would cost another €25,000. Meanwhile, a direct competitor was spending €990/month on a subscription model that included a website, automations, ongoing support and permanent updates. In 24 months, the competitor invested €23,760 — almost half — and always had the latest version of everything. This comparison is not hypothetical. It is the reality we see every day. And it is why an increasing number of companies are questioning the traditional project-based model for technology.
The Traditional Project Model: How It Works
In the project model, the company hires a supplier to deliver a specific outcome: a website, a system, an automation. The scope is defined, the price is agreed (fixed or variable), and there is a delivery date. After delivery, the project ends. Maintenance, if any, is a separate contract.
This model dominated the technology market for decades. The advantages are clear: known price upfront, tangible deliverable, and a sense of "ownership" — the company pays once and the result is theirs. For many managers, especially the more conservative ones, there is a psychological comfort in paying a fixed amount for something concrete.
However, the project model carries structural problems that become more evident as the pace of the market accelerates:
The fixed-scope problem. At the start of a project, the company defines what it wants. But needs change — often before the project is even completed. A feature that seemed essential in January may be irrelevant by April. The project model penalises these changes: scope alterations mean additional costs, renegotiations and delays. According to the Standish Group, 52% of software projects experience significant scope changes during execution.
The obsolescence problem. Technology evolves at a speed incompatible with project cycles of 3 to 6 months. A website delivered today with best practices will be partially outdated within a year — new framework versions, changes to Google algorithms, new user expectations. In the project model, these updates are not included.
The post-delivery problem. What happens when the project ends? In most cases, the relationship with the supplier cools down. If a bug surfaces three months later, you need to reopen contact, negotiate a price, wait for availability. Many companies end up captive to suppliers who have already moved on to other projects.
The Subscription Model: The Emerging Alternative
In the subscription model, the company pays a recurring monthly fee and receives, in return, a continuous service. It is not just access to a product — it is a permanent relationship that includes development, maintenance, support, updates and, often, strategic consulting.
The subscription is not a new concept — Netflix, Spotify and Microsoft 365 have already accustomed consumers to paying for access rather than ownership. What is relatively new is its application to enterprise technology services: web development, automation, artificial intelligence and systems management.
The advantages of the subscription model include:
• Predictable cost. Instead of a one-off investment of €20,000 to €50,000, the company pays €500 to €2,000 per month. This allows precise cash flow planning and avoids the investment spikes that can be difficult for an SME to absorb.
• Continuous updates. The product or service never becomes outdated. New features, security patches, performance optimisations — all of this is part of the monthly service.
• Flexibility. Needs change? The service adapts. No scope renegotiations, no surprise extra costs. This month's priority can be completely different from last month's, and the model accommodates that naturally.
• Aligned incentives. In the project model, the supplier is incentivised to deliver quickly and move on to the next client. In the subscription model, the supplier only earns if the client stays. This creates a natural alignment: the supplier's success depends on the client's success.
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View Subscription Plans →Total Cost Analysis: The Numbers Do Not Lie
Let us compare both models with concrete figures, using a typical scenario for an SME that needs a full digital presence with automations.
Scenario: Project Model
• Professional website: €8,000 to €15,000
• Process automation system: €5,000 to €12,000
• Integrations (CRM, invoicing, email): €3,000 to €6,000
• Total upfront: €16,000 to €33,000
• Annual maintenance (if contracted): €2,400 to €4,800/year
• Redesign every 2–3 years: €8,000 to €15,000
• Total cost over 3 years: €26,800 to €52,800
Scenario: Subscription Model
• Monthly fee including website, automations, integrations, support and updates: €800 to €1,500/month
• Initial setup (smaller, as development is distributed): €1,000 to €3,000
• Total cost over 3 years: €29,800 to €57,000
At first glance, the total costs appear similar. But there are critical differences that the raw numbers do not capture:
Cash flow. In the project model, the company outlays €16,000 to €33,000 in the first months. In the subscription model, the initial investment is €1,000 to €3,000, followed by monthly instalments. For an SME with tight cash flow, this difference can be decisive.
Value received over time. In the project model, value decreases: what was delivered on day 1 gradually becomes outdated. In the subscription model, value is constant or increasing: updates, new features and optimisations are included.
Hidden cost of issues. In the project model, every bug, every change and every update outside the contract is an additional cost. These "invisible" costs are frequently underestimated in the initial budget. Gartner studies indicate that maintenance and evolution costs represent 60% to 80% of the total cost of ownership of a system over its lifetime.
Opportunity cost. How much is it worth to have a new feature implemented in 3 days (subscription) vs. 3 months (new project)? If that feature enables you to capture 10 new clients per month, the 3-month delay costs 30 lost clients.
When the Project Model Makes Sense
Despite the clear advantages of the subscription for many situations, there are scenarios where the project model remains the better option:
Projects with a very defined and finite scope. If you need to migrate a database from one system to another, that is a project with a clear beginning, middle and end. It does not make sense to pay a monthly subscription for something done once.
Proprietary product development. If you are building a software product that will be the core of your business, a project-based development may make more sense, with full code ownership and total control over the roadmap.
Capital budgets (CAPEX). Some companies prefer — or are required for tax reasons — to treat technology investments as CAPEX (capital expenditure) rather than OPEX (operational expenditure). The project model fits this accounting logic better, although the global trend is a shift towards OPEX.
Need for total independence. If the company wants to be completely independent of external suppliers after delivery, the project model allows this (provided the internal knowledge exists to maintain what was delivered).
When Subscription Is the Right Choice
The subscription model is ideal when:
• The company does not have an internal technical team and needs ongoing support.
• Technology needs evolve rapidly and flexibility is critical.
• Cash flow is a concern — better to spread the investment over time.
• The goal is to always have the most up-to-date technology, without redesign cycles.
• The company values an ongoing partnership with the supplier, rather than one-off transactions.
• The business is growing and today's needs will differ from tomorrow's.
In our experience, more than 70% of SMEs with 5 to 100 employees benefit more from the subscription model. The exception is companies with robust internal technical teams and very stable requirements — which, in practice, is rare in the current context of accelerated digital transformation.
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We provide a personalised total cost of ownership analysis for both models, based on your actual needs.
Talk to us →The Hybrid Model: The Best of Both Worlds?
In practice, many companies end up adopting a hybrid approach. For example: an initial project to build the foundation — website, core integrations, CRM setup — followed by a monthly subscription for maintenance, support, optimisation and development of new features.
This model makes sense when the company wants initial control over what is built, but recognises it needs ongoing support to maintain and evolve what was delivered. It is a kind of "build phase" followed by an "operate phase" — similar to what happens in large infrastructure projects.
The risk of the hybrid model is that the "build phase" can be oversized — the company invests in a large and complex project, and then the subscription merely maintains what exists, instead of actively evolving it. To avoid this, we recommend keeping the initial project as simple as possible — the MVP (Minimum Viable Product) — and allowing evolution to happen within the subscription model, iteratively and based on real usage data.
How to Evaluate Suppliers for Each Model
Regardless of which model you choose, supplier quality is decisive. Here are evaluation criteria for each approach:
For projects: ask for a portfolio with measurable results (not just attractive screenshots), check references from previous clients, insist on a clear contract with milestones and acceptance criteria, and confirm that you will have full access to the code and data after delivery.
For subscriptions: assess the supplier's financial stability (will they still exist in 3 years?), ask for client retention metrics (what is the churn rate?), confirm SLAs (Service Level Agreements) — response time, guaranteed uptime, update frequency — and check exit conditions: if you decide to cancel, what happens to your data and the work already completed?
Conclusion: The Right Decision Depends on Context
There is no universally superior model. There is the right model for the right situation. However, the trend is clear: the global market for software-as-a-service and subscription services is growing at over 20% per year, according to Statista. Companies are voting with their wallets — and the majority are choosing the flexibility, predictability and ongoing support of the subscription.
For an SME that wants to compete with agility, without large upfront investments and with the assurance that technology keeps pace with the business, the subscription is, in most cases, the smarter choice. Not because it is cheaper — but because it is more strategic.
Assess your needs, compare scenarios with real numbers, and make an informed decision. And if you need help with that analysis, we are available to do the exercise with you — no strings attached.
