White Label Brokerage Software vs Starting From Scratch

Overview

Building custom brokerage software from scratch gives you complete control but requires massive investment and time. White-label platforms like Brokurz provide enterprise-grade technology immediately at a fraction of the cost. This comparison helps you understand which approach makes sense for your situation.

Cost Comparison

Building From Scratch:

• Initial development: $500,000-$2,000,000+
• Ongoing maintenance: $100,000-$300,000/year
• Infrastructure and hosting: $50,000-$150,000/year
• Security and compliance: $50,000-$100,000/year
• Feature updates and improvements: $100,000-$200,000/year
• Total first year: $800,000-$2,750,000+
• Ongoing annual costs: $300,000-$750,000

White-Label Platform (Brokurz):

• Platform setup: $0-$5,000 (often included)
• Monthly platform fee: $500-$2,000
• All features included
• Infrastructure, security, and updates included
• No additional development costs
• Total first year: $6,000-$24,000
• Ongoing annual costs: $6,000-$24,000

White-label platforms cost 95-99% less than building from scratch, with all infrastructure, security, and updates handled by the provider.

Timeline Comparison

Building From Scratch:

• Planning and design: 2-4 months
• Development: 12-24 months
• Testing and QA: 2-4 months
• Deployment and launch: 1-2 months
• Total timeline: 17-34 months

White-Label Platform:

• Account setup: 1 day
• Branding customization: 1-3 days
• Configuration: 2-5 days
• Training: 1-2 weeks
• Total timeline: 1-3 weeks

White-label platforms allow you to launch in weeks instead of years, getting to market faster and starting revenue generation sooner.

Feature Comparison

Building From Scratch:

You can build exactly the features you want, but you must build everything yourself. This includes CRM, transaction management, commission processing, agent management, marketing tools, analytics, mobile apps, integrations, security, compliance, and more. Each feature requires significant development time and cost.

White-Label Platform:

White-label platforms like Brokurz include all essential features immediately: CRM, transaction management, commission processing, agent management, marketing tools, analytics, AI automation, and more. You get enterprise-grade features without development costs.

Maintenance and Updates

Building From Scratch:

• You're responsible for all maintenance
• Must hire and manage development team
• Handle all security updates and patches
• Manage infrastructure and scaling
• Build new features yourself
• Fix bugs and issues yourself

White-Label Platform:

• Provider handles all maintenance
• Automatic security updates
• Infrastructure managed by provider
• Regular feature updates included
• Bug fixes handled automatically
• 24/7 support included

Customization

Building From Scratch:

Complete customization is possible, but every change requires development time and cost. Custom features can be built exactly to your specifications.

White-Label Platform:

White-label platforms offer extensive customization options including branding, workflows, commission structures, and configurations. While you can't build completely custom features, most brokerages find the available customization sufficient for their needs.

Risk Comparison

Building From Scratch:

• High financial risk ($500K-$2M+ investment)
• Technology risk (may not work as expected)
• Timeline risk (delays are common)
• Maintenance burden (ongoing responsibility)
• Single point of failure (your team)

White-Label Platform:

• Low financial risk ($6K-$24K investment)
• Proven technology (already working for others)
• Fast timeline (weeks, not years)
• No maintenance burden (handled by provider)
• Provider handles reliability and uptime

When to Build From Scratch

Building custom software makes sense if:

• You have $500K-$2M+ available for development
• You have 12-24 months before you need to launch
• You need features that don't exist in any platform
• You have a dedicated development team
• You're building a unique business model

When to Use White-Label

White-label platforms make sense if:

• You want to launch quickly (weeks, not years)
• You want to minimize upfront investment
• Standard brokerage features meet your needs
• You want to focus on building your brokerage, not software
• You want predictable costs and no maintenance burden

The Bottom Line

For 99% of brokers starting a brokerage, white-label platforms like Brokurz are the better choice. They provide enterprise-grade technology at 95-99% lower cost, launch in weeks instead of years, and eliminate the ongoing maintenance burden. Building from scratch only makes sense if you have massive capital, unique requirements that don't exist elsewhere, and 12-24 months to wait.