Skip to content

Articles & case studies

Insights & results

Practical guides on AI automation and custom software, plus the real projects behind our work.

SaaS development cost, a cyan terraced mountain slope with rising tiers climbing toward a peak under a soft cyan sunrise
Custom Software · 9 min read

SaaS development cost: price guide 2026

SaaS development cost in 2026, broken down by phase, by building block and by month of running costs. Plus how to start smart. Book a free intake call.

Remo Vloet

AI specialist & Partner

App development cost, a cyan terraced mountain slope rising toward a peak with a soft cyan sunrise behind it
Custom Software · 9 min read

App development cost: price guide 2026

App development cost in 2026, broken down by app type, by feature and by year of upkeep. Plus how to keep the bill down. Book a free intake call.

Remo Vloet

AI specialist & Partner

Having an app built, a cyan terraced mountain structure of modular blocks rising toward the peak
Custom Software · 8 min read

App development: cost, types and process

Having an app built? What a custom app really costs in 2026, which type you need, how long it takes and how to pick a studio. Book a free intake call.

Remo Vloet

AI specialist & Partner

AI agent cost, several glowing cyan orbs resting across a green mountain landscape
AI & Automation · 10 min read

AI agent cost: price guide 2026

AI agent cost in 2026, broken down by agent type, per month in tokens and per year of upkeep. Plus how to keep the price down. Book a free intake call.

Remo Vloet

AI specialist & Partner

Off-the-shelf versus custom software, two equal cyan mountain hills joined by a glowing cyan bridge
Custom Software · 9 min read

Off-the-shelf vs custom software: how to choose

Off-the-shelf vs custom software: when is a standard package enough and when does custom win? Honest comparison with cost, TCO and a decision checklist.

Remo Vloet

AI specialist & Partner

Simply, an AI recruitment platform built by TopDevs

Simply

International

Recruitment SaaS

An AI recruitment suite, a native Salesforce app, a secure back-office and a marketing site. The full Simply stack, built end to end.

4-6 hrs/week

Recruiter time saved

Native Salesforce (Apex)

Integration

Read case study
The TopDevs team in a meeting around the table
Websites · 14 min read

Custom website development: the complete buyer's guide for 2026

What custom website development costs, when a bespoke build beats a template, the phases you go through, and how to pick an agency that actually hands over your code.

Joren Meylaerts

Product strategist & Co-Founder

Mastone real-estate platform built by TopDevs

Mastone

Netherlands

Real estate

From spreadsheet to a full real-estate platform with WWS scoring and an investor portal.

100+ rules

Complexity

Full platform

Type

Read case study
TopDevs colleagues at the office coffee machine
AI & Automation · 15 min read

AI automation for SMBs: a complete guide (2026)

What works and what does not when implementing AI automation in Dutch SMBs. Practical guide covering costs, tools, examples and pitfalls. No hype, concrete answers.

Remo Vloet

AI specialist & Partner

Two TopDevs colleagues reviewing a design together
Custom Software · 17 min read

Having custom software built for SMBs: the complete guide (2026)

What custom software really costs, how long it takes and when it pays off. A practical guide for SMB owners covering costs, phases, tech stack and pitfalls. No marketing pitch, just concrete answers.

Reno Toonen

Cybersecurity & CTO

BBS Advocaten, an automated legal content pipeline built by TopDevs

BBS Advocaten

Netherlands

Legal

A legal content pipeline that turns court RSS feeds into ready-to-publish blogs and social posts.

5+ hrs/week

Time saved

10x more content

Output

Read case study
What a website costs, a terraced meadow rising toward the peak with cyan glow
Websites · 11 min read

What does a custom website cost in 2026? An honest price guide per type

What does a custom website cost in 2026? Honest prices per type of site, with one-time investment, lead time, monthly costs and the real cost over 24 months.

Joren Meylaerts

Product strategist & Co-Founder

Hotel De Bungelaer, a custom hospitality site built by TopDevs and Aery

De Bungelaer

Netherlands

Hospitality / Hotel & restaurant

A bespoke luxury hospitality site in three languages, with room and restaurant booking built straight into the experience.

NL · EN · DE

Languages

Rooms + restaurant

Bookings

Read case study
Zapier vs Make vs n8n, comparison of automation tools for SMBs
AI & Automation · 8 min read

Zapier vs Make vs n8n: which automation tool fits your SMB? (2026)

Zapier vs Make vs n8n honestly compared on price, features and hosting. A concrete decision guide for SMB owners, no marketing fluff.

Remo Vloet

AI specialist & Partner

WordPress vs custom vs headless, three equal hills joined by a cyan light-bridge with a three-way fork
Websites · 11 min read

WordPress vs custom vs headless: which one should you pick in 2026?

WordPress vs custom vs headless compared on cost, speed, security, ownership and editing in one matrix, plus an honest choose-this-if guide.

Joren Meylaerts

Product strategist & Co-Founder

Planit AI, semantic search over a UK planning corpus, built by TopDevs

Planit Consulting

United Kingdom

Planning consultancy

An AI chat that makes 18,429 planning documents searchable, with source citations.

18,429

Documents

95,592

Chunks

Read case study
MVP development approach and phases for SMBs
Custom Software · 9 min read

Having an MVP built for SMBs: approach, phases and costs (2026)

Practical guide for SMB founders. What is an MVP, when do you pick this route, what does it cost, which phases do you go through and which features belong in a first version.

Reno Toonen

Cybersecurity & CTO

Custom software costs in 2026 for SMBs, honest price guide
Custom Software · 9 min read

What does custom software cost in 2026? An honest price guide for SMBs

Honest price guide for custom software in 2026. What drives the price, which ranges are realistic per project type, which costs sit next to the build, and how to avoid hidden extras.

Reno Toonen

Cybersecurity & CTO

Quantum Life, a meditation and wellbeing app built by TopDevs and Aery

Quantum Life

International

Wellness / Meditation app

A cross-platform meditation app with a Quantum Movie creator, a class marketplace and a matching web portal.

10,000+ daily

Peak users

€100k+ revenue

Launch day

Read case study
No-code versus custom automation, decision diagram for SMBs
AI & Automation · 10 min read

No-code vs custom automation: when do you choose what? (2026 guide)

No-code vs custom automation: when is Zapier or Make enough, and when does custom pay off? Concrete TCO, limits and a decision checklist for SMBs.

Remo Vloet

AI specialist & Partner

Hidden costs of cheap websites, cyan strata beneath the grassy surface of a hillside
Websites · 11 min read

The hidden costs of cheap websites: what a 500-euro site really costs you (2026)

The hidden costs of cheap websites add up over three years: lost conversions, vendor lock-in, plugin bloat, weak SEO and a rebuild you never budgeted for.

Joren Meylaerts

Product strategist & Co-Founder

GameChef, a browser-based AI game engine built by TopDevs

GameChef

International

Game development / AI SaaS

A browser-based, AI-powered game engine with a visual editor and code, art and sound tooling.

Days, not weeks

Build time

Code · Art · Sound

Channels

Read case study
Headless CMS comparison Strapi Payload Sanity for SMBs
Custom Software · 10 min read

Strapi vs Payload vs Sanity: which headless CMS fits your SMB? (2026)

An honest comparison of the four serious headless CMS options for SMBs: Strapi, Payload, Sanity and Storyblok. Which one to pick when, and when not.

Reno Toonen

Cybersecurity & CTO

AI agents vs chatbots, comparison for SMBs
AI & Automation · 10 min read

AI agents vs chatbots: what exactly is the difference? (2026)

AI agents vs chatbots, honestly explained for SMBs. What is the difference, what does it cost, and which do you pick for which task? No hype, real answers.

Remo Vloet

AI specialist & Partner

Peters Bouwadvies, building-inspection software built by TopDevs

Peters Bouwadvies

Netherlands

Building inspection / Construction

Tablet-first inspection software that captures findings on-site and turns them into .docx advisory reports and invoices.

Tablet-first

Device

.docx reports

Output

Read case study
Astro and Next.js vs WordPress, two equal hills with a faster cyan light-bridge between them
Websites · 10 min read

Astro vs WordPress (and Next.js): which modern stack is faster? (2026)

Astro vs WordPress compared honestly: why modern frameworks load faster, run safer and cost less to host, plus the real trade-offs nobody warns you about.

Joren Meylaerts

Product strategist & Co-Founder

Calculating workflow automation ROI, formula and examples for SMBs
AI & Automation · 11 min read

Calculating workflow automation ROI: the formula + 3 examples (2026)

Calculate workflow automation ROI for your SMB. The formula, three worked examples and the typical pitfalls. Concrete, with numbers, ten minute read.

Remo Vloet

AI specialist & Partner

E-commerce analytics and automation dashboard built by TopDevs

E-commerce scale-up

Europe

E-commerce / Analytics

One live source of truth across fragmented e-commerce data, plus automated, review-ready KPI reports.

6+ integrated

Sources

PDF · Excel · PPT

Outputs

Read case study
Web app, SaaS or custom platform choice for SMBs
Custom Software · 12 min read

Web app, SaaS or custom platform: what do you actually need? (2026)

The difference between a web app, SaaS and a custom platform, explained for SMB owners. When do you pick what, what does it cost and how long does it take? Concrete tables, pitfalls and a decision tree in five minutes.

Reno Toonen

Cybersecurity & CTO

WordPress vs Webflow vs Wix vs Shopify, a row of four equal hills joined by cyan light-bridges
Websites · 10 min read

WordPress vs Webflow vs Wix vs Shopify: which should you pick in 2026?

WordPress vs Webflow, Wix and Shopify compared honestly for SMBs: cost, ease, design freedom, SEO, e-commerce and ownership in one matrix with clear verdicts.

Joren Meylaerts

Product strategist & Co-Founder

n8n self-hosted versus managed hosting, comparison for SMBs
AI & Automation · 11 min read

n8n self-hosted or managed hosting: what is smarter? (2026)

n8n self-hosted versus managed hosting. Honest comparison on cost, control, GDPR and maintenance, with a decision checklist for SMBs.

Remo Vloet

AI specialist & Partner

Airtable Notion versus custom platform comparison for SMBs
Custom Software · 9 min read

Airtable vs Notion vs custom platform: what fits your SMB? (2026)

When are Airtable, Notion or Coda enough for your SMB, and when do you hit limits only a custom platform can solve? An even-handed comparison with prices, a feature matrix and a decision checklist.

Reno Toonen

Cybersecurity & CTO

Website speed and Core Web Vitals, a swift cyan light-streak racing across the meadow
Websites · 12 min read

How to improve website speed in 2026: Core Web Vitals without the jargon

How to improve website speed, explained plainly: what Core Web Vitals are, why load time drives conversion and ranking, what makes sites slow, and a checklist to fix it.

Joren Meylaerts

Product strategist & Co-Founder

AI automation examples for SMBs, 15 use cases per sector
AI & Automation · 13 min read

15 AI automation examples for SMBs that actually work (2026)

15 concrete AI automation examples for Dutch SMBs, with euro amounts, time savings and tools per sector. Law firms, recruitment, real estate, accountancy and e-commerce.

Remo Vloet

AI specialist & Partner

Software agency versus freelance developer choice for SMBs
Custom Software · 11 min read

Software agency vs freelance developer: what fits your SMB project? (2026)

When do you pick a freelance developer and when a software agency for your SMB project? Honest comparison on cost, risk, capacity and ownership.

Reno Toonen

Cybersecurity & CTO

Website ownership without lock-in, a rooted cyan block structure anchored into a hillside
Websites · 11 min read

Website ownership and no lock-in: do you actually own your site? (2026)

Website ownership broken into four layers: domain, hosting, code and content, plus the builder lock-in traps of Wix and Squarespace and a checklist you demand up front.

Joren Meylaerts

Product strategist & Co-Founder

Code ownership and vendor lock-in explained for SMBs
Custom Software · 12 min read

Code ownership and vendor lock-in: what every SMB owner needs to know (2026)

What does code ownership actually mean, how does vendor lock-in arise, and which subtle variants do people miss in a quote? Full explainer with red flags, the legal side and questions for potential partners.

Reno Toonen

Cybersecurity & CTO

Business process automation checklist, steps for SMBs
AI & Automation · 10 min read

Automating a business process: the complete SMB checklist (2026)

Automating a business process? Practical SMB checklist with 5 suitability criteria, 7 documentation points, 8 partner questions and 5 pitfalls. Tick it off yourself, no consultancy needed.

Remo Vloet

AI specialist & Partner

Website project checklist and brief, cyan stepping-stones leading step by step up the hillside
Websites · 12 min read

Website project checklist: how to brief a web agency (2026)

A practical website project checklist plus how to write a brief that gets accurate quotes. Goals, content, functionality, budget and who decides, all in one place.

Joren Meylaerts

Product strategist & Co-Founder

Building an AI agent over own data, RAG architecture for SMBs
AI & Automation · 9 min read

Building an AI agent over your own data with RAG: a complete SMB guide (2026)

How do you build an AI agent that answers questions about your own documents? A complete RAG guide covering components, tools, costs, pitfalls and a real client case. No hype, just workable answers for SMBs.

Remo Vloet

AI specialist & Partner

Client portal examples for SMBs
Custom Software · 12 min read

Building a client portal: guide with examples, costs and approach (2026)

What a client portal is, when it pays off for SMBs, five concrete examples from accounting, real estate and law firms, plus costs, phases and pitfalls.

Reno Toonen

Cybersecurity & CTO

Ready to build something that actually works?

Book a no-obligation call. We'll look at where the biggest win sits — fixed price, your code, no lock-in.

Book a call