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Off-the-shelf, in-house, or adnah.?

The honest three-way comparison. There are workflows where a $20-a-seat SaaS is the right answer, and workflows where your in-house team should build it themselves. Here's how to tell which is which, and where a custom build actually wins.

§ 01The scorecard

Twelve questions. Three answers.

Question
Off-shelf
In-house
adnah.
You own the source code
Fits your specific practice area & workflow
Legal domain expertise built in
Jurisdiction-aware from day one
Handles privilege, audit, and citation needs
Time to a working v0· off-shelf is instant if it fits
Cost predictable at year 3
You keep the models & prompts
Adoption survives partner turnover
No per-seat pricing
Data stays in your tenant
One accountable owner

§ 02The honest read

When to pick which.

If option A or B is the right answer for you, we'll tell you on the call. Free recommendation, no engagement.

When off-the-shelf is right

You have a horizontal problem (e-signature, generic billing, calendaring). The generic 70% is all you need. Your practice looks like every other practice for this workflow. Buy it, save the money.

  • Horizontal, well-defined problem
  • You're happy with the vendor's roadmap
  • Per-seat cost is acceptable long-term

When in-house is right

You have a strong internal engineering team, budget for a 6–12 month runway, and appetite to acquire the legal domain expertise your engineers don't have. Best when the tool is a lasting strategic asset your team will keep evolving.

  • You already have senior engineers
  • 12+ month runway is fine
  • You can invest in domain onboarding

When adnah. is right

You want a tool shaped to your practice, in weeks not quarters, with the legal domain expertise already inside the vendor. You want to own the code and drop us if we stop earning it. Most of our engagements start here.

  • You want the specific 30% built
  • You want ownership without hiring an eng team
  • You want a fixed price and a working v0 in weeks

Not sure which column you're in? One call, no deck.