Hey, I'm Yunus, a backend developer at CherryPick. About a year ago, I worked in the gaming industry, and one of the backend projects I was on had a task: integrating an SMS verification module into the registration process.

Being a developer, I decided to build it myself. It took me four full working days to create the base version and around 1–2 months to polish it. I improved the codebase, made the style consistent, and even added modem testing features since every modem has its own unique quirks and speed. Of course, there were small bugs to fix too. It was tough, but in the end, it worked like a charm.

Now, here's the catch: this project had its own infrastructure, deadlines were far off, and the company could afford the luxury of investing in a custom solution.

Fast forward a few months ago, I was tasked with a similar problem on a different project. But this time, there was no in-house infrastructure, and remembering how much time I had spent building that custom solution, I opted for a ready-made service. Plus, the deadline was staring us in the face, so speed was key.

And here's the big question—actually, two of them:

Why bother building your own solution when there are ready-to-use tools you can plug in instantly?

Or

Why use pre-made tools when you can create something custom, flexible, and perfectly tailored for your needs?

I'm personally a fan of the second option. Not just because I enjoy building tools that fit the project like a glove, but because I've identified some solid pros, cons, and pitfalls of both approaches:

The Pros of Building Your Own Solution

• Tailored Functionality: You can add exactly what you need without unnecessary features.
• Full Control: Scaling, tweaking, and optimizing are entirely in your hands.

The Cons

• Time-Consuming: Time is money—literally, from the project budget.
• Increased Responsibility: You're responsible for functionality and maintenance.
• Performance Challenges: Monitoring and scaling become your problems. If something breaks, it's on you to fix it without breaking the budget.

The Pitfalls

• You might get carried away and spend weeks building something that could've been integrated with just a few hours of work using a ready-made solution.

When Does It Make Sense to Build Your Own Tools?

I've come up with a formula for this: If your project has heavy loads, and a ready-made solution costs more than your hourly rate multiplied by the hours it would take to build the custom tool, then go for the custom approach.

Other Cases Where a Custom Solution is Better:

• When the off-the-shelf tool needs weird workarounds to fit into your project.
• When your project is already generating revenue, and deadlines aren't an issue.

Key Takeaways

1. Always keep your project's deadlines and budget in mind. The choice depends on the business goals and resources.
2. If time is tight, off-the-shelf solutions are usually the way to go.
3. Track your working hours to measure if custom development is worth the effort.

P.S. If you're curious, the SMS gateway code I built is open-source, and you can check it out here.