The Problem
Why teams leave Databricks
DBU-based pricing is complex and unpredictable
Different rates for different workload types
Enterprise contracts typically $50K-$500K+/year
Multi-cloud deployment adds complexity
Notebook lock-in creates migration friction
What We Build Instead
Your custom devops & engineering tool
Data lakehouse architecture on your cloud
ETL/ELT pipelines with scheduling
SQL analytics and BI layer
ML model training and serving infrastructure
Data quality monitoring and governance
Predictable compute costs on your instances
The Math
Databricks vs. custom build
Based on 20 seats at $250/seat/month, with ~10% annual SaaS price increases.
Keep paying Databricks
Build with 86 SaaS
3-year savings with 20 seats
$103,750
52% less than Databricks
Pricing Breakdown
Databricks tier pricing vs. one-time custom build
Compare what you pay per seat across Databricks's tiers against a single investment in software you own forever.
| Tier | Monthly/Seat | Annual/Seat | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | $200/mo | $170/mo | Interactive notebooks, Basic clusters, Community support, SQL analytics |
| Premium | $350/mo | $295/mo | Job clusters, Repos integration, Delta Live Tables, Priority support |
| Enterprise | $600/mo | $500/mo | Unity Catalog, Serverless compute, Audit logging, 24/7 support, Custom SLA |
| Custom Build by 86 SaaS | $50,000–$80,000 one-time | $0/seat | Unlimited users, full ownership, no recurring fees |
Migration Timeline
From Databricks to ownership — week by week
A structured migration plan to move off Databricks in 12-20 weeks with zero downtime.
Discovery & Audit
2 weeksAudit data pipelines, notebooks, ML models, and compute patterns
Architecture & Design
2-4 weeksDesign lakehouse architecture with storage, compute, and governance layers
Core Development
6-10 weeksBuild ETL pipelines, notebook environment, SQL layer, and ML infrastructure
Data Migration & Testing
2-4 weeksMigrate data, notebooks, and models with parallel execution validation
Deployment & Training
1-2 weeksDeploy platform and train data engineering and science teams
Total build time
12-20 weeks
Feature Comparison
What you keep, what you skip, and why
A transparent comparison of Databricks features vs. your custom-built alternative.
| Feature | Databricks | Custom Build | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interactive Notebooks | |||
| ETL/ELT Pipelines | |||
| SQL Analytics | |||
| ML Model Training | |||
| Data Governance | |||
| Delta Lake Format | Open Delta Lake format — no vendor lock-in | ||
| Auto-scaling Clusters | |||
| Collaborative Workspace | |||
| Unity Catalog | Use open-source catalogs like Apache Iceberg | ||
| Predictable Pricing | Fixed compute costs — no DBU pricing surprises |
Your custom build focuses on the features your team actually uses — typically 15-20% of what Databricks offers — built exactly for your workflow.
How It Works
From Databricks to ownership in 12-20 weeks
Free Audit
We analyze your Databricks usage and identify exactly which features your team actually uses.
Scope & Build
We build your custom devops & engineering tool with only the features you need. 12-20 weeks.
Deploy & Migrate
We deploy to your infrastructure, migrate your data from Databricks, and train your team.
You Own It
Full source code, documentation, and optional maintenance retainer. No vendor lock-in. Ever.
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