The Problem
Why teams leave Workato
Annual contracts starting at $10K-$50K/year
Recipe and connection limits restrict what you automate
Complex pricing model — hard to estimate costs
Enterprise sales process slows procurement
Requires dedicated integration team to maintain
What We Build Instead
Your custom automation tool
Enterprise integration platform at a fraction of the cost
Unlimited recipes and connections
Pre-built connectors for your specific tools
Error handling, logging, and monitoring dashboard
Data transformation and mapping engine
Self-service automation builder for business teams
The Math
Workato vs. custom build
Based on 10 seats at $200/seat/month, with ~10% annual SaaS price increases.
Keep paying Workato
Build with 86 SaaS
3-year savings with 10 seats
$6,700
8% less than Workato
Pricing Breakdown
Workato tier pricing vs. one-time custom build
Compare what you pay per seat across Workato's tiers against a single investment in software you own forever.
| Tier | Monthly/Seat | Annual/Seat | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team | $200/mo | $200/mo | Community connectors, Recipe design, Job history, Team collaboration |
| Business | $400/mo | $400/mo | Premium connectors, Advanced workflow logic, API platform, Custom connectors |
| Enterprise | $600/mo | $600/mo | Unlimited connections, Workbot for Slack/Teams, Enterprise security, Dedicated support |
| Custom Build by 86 SaaS | $35,000–$65,000 one-time | $0/seat | Unlimited users, full ownership, no recurring fees |
Migration Timeline
From Workato to ownership — week by week
A structured migration plan to move off Workato in 8-14 weeks with zero downtime.
Discovery & Audit
1 weekAudit Workato recipes, connections, lookup tables, and API platform configurations.
Architecture & Design
2 weeksDesign enterprise integration platform with unlimited recipes, pre-built connectors, and data mapping engine.
Core Development
4-8 weeksBuild integration engine, connector library, data mapping, error handling, monitoring, and self-service builder.
Data Migration & Testing
1-2 weeksRecreate Workato recipes, test connectors, validate data transformations and error handling.
Deployment & Training
1-2 weeksDeploy platform, connect critical integrations, train integration and business teams.
Total build time
8-14 weeks
Feature Comparison
What you keep, what you skip, and why
A transparent comparison of Workato features vs. your custom-built alternative.
| Feature | Workato | Custom Build | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recipe/Workflow Builder | |||
| Pre-Built Connectors | |||
| Data Mapping & Transformation | |||
| Error Handling & Monitoring | |||
| API Platform | |||
| Self-Service Builder | |||
| Unlimited Recipes | No recipe or connection limits | ||
| Audit & Compliance | |||
| Workbot (Slack/Teams) | Replaced by custom bot integrations with your chat tools | ||
| Community Recipes | Replaced by custom integrations optimized for your use cases | ||
| Predictable Pricing | Fixed cost — no recipe-based pricing surprises | ||
| Data Ownership | Your infrastructure, full data control |
Your custom build focuses on the features your team actually uses — typically 15-20% of what Workato offers — built exactly for your workflow.
How It Works
From Workato to ownership in 8-14 weeks
Free Audit
We analyze your Workato usage and identify exactly which features your team actually uses.
Scope & Build
We build your custom automation tool with only the features you need. 8-14 weeks.
Deploy & Migrate
We deploy to your infrastructure, migrate your data from Workato, and train your team.
You Own It
Full source code, documentation, and optional maintenance retainer. No vendor lock-in. Ever.