The Problem
Why teams leave Confluence
Search is notoriously poor for finding content
Performance degrades with large spaces
Interface is cluttered and hard to navigate
Atlassian ecosystem lock-in
Page editor has limited formatting options
Macro and app marketplace creates hidden per-user costs
What We Build Instead
Your custom knowledge & docs tool
Modern wiki with fast, accurate full-text search
Clean, intuitive interface your team will actually use
Rich page editor with embeds, tables, and diagrams
Space-based organization with granular permissions
Page templates and content frameworks
Integration with your tools — not just Atlassian's
The Math
Confluence vs. custom build
Based on 100 seats at $8/seat/month, with ~10% annual SaaS price increases.
Keep paying Confluence
Build with 86 SaaS
3-year savings with 100 seats
-$11,820
-37% less than Confluence
Pricing Breakdown
Confluence tier pricing vs. one-time custom build
Compare what you pay per seat across Confluence's tiers against a single investment in software you own forever.
| Tier | Monthly/Seat | Annual/Seat | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | $6/mo | $5/mo | Unlimited pages, Macros, Page permissions, 250 MB storage |
| Premium | $11/mo | $9/mo | AI features, Analytics, Admin insights, Unlimited storage |
| Enterprise | $20/mo | $17/mo | SAML SSO, Data residency, Audit logs, Sandbox environments |
| Custom Build by 86 SaaS | $20,000–$40,000 one-time | $0/seat | Unlimited users, full ownership, no recurring fees |
Migration Timeline
From Confluence to ownership — week by week
A structured migration plan to move off Confluence in 5-9 weeks with zero downtime.
Discovery & Audit
1 weekMap existing spaces, page hierarchies, macros, and team usage
Architecture & Design
1 weekDesign wiki with page editor, space organization, and search engine
Core Development
2-5 weeksBuild wiki editor, search, permissions, templates, and integrations
Data Migration & Testing
1-2 weeksMigrate pages, spaces, attachments and validate search accuracy
Deployment & Training
1 weekLaunch wiki and train teams on content creation
Total build time
5-9 weeks
Feature Comparison
What you keep, what you skip, and why
A transparent comparison of Confluence features vs. your custom-built alternative.
| Feature | Confluence | Custom Build | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rich Page Editor | |||
| Space Organization | |||
| Page Templates | |||
| Full-text Search | Fast, accurate search — a major improvement | ||
| Permissions & Access Control | |||
| Comments & Mentions | |||
| Version History | |||
| File Attachments | |||
| Atlassian Marketplace Apps | Build integrations for your specific tools | ||
| Jira Integration | Direct project tracker integration — not limited to Jira | ||
| Clean Interface | Modern, intuitive UI your team will enjoy using |
Your custom build focuses on the features your team actually uses — typically 15-20% of what Confluence offers — built exactly for your workflow.
How It Works
From Confluence to ownership in 5-9 weeks
Free Audit
We analyze your Confluence usage and identify exactly which features your team actually uses.
Scope & Build
We build your custom knowledge & docs tool with only the features you need. 5-9 weeks.
Deploy & Migrate
We deploy to your infrastructure, migrate your data from Confluence, and train your team.
You Own It
Full source code, documentation, and optional maintenance retainer. No vendor lock-in. Ever.