When DIY Software Isn’t Cheaper, Just More Satisfying #

Here’s the scenario: A modestly priced utility catches your eye online. It’s exactly what you need, a small, specialized app or plugin, streamlined and simple, offered for $25. Your finger hovers over the “buy” button, but something stops you. After all, you’re a seasoned software engineer. You build software for a living. Buying this feels almost lazy. It’s $25 you’d never get back.

Instead, you opt for the “smarter” move: DIY. But these days, DIY means something a little different than it did before. With the rise of powerful AI coding assistants, writing your own utility is easier than ever, even enjoyable. A few evenings later, with $150 in AI tokens burned through, you sit back proudly, looking at the bespoke masterpiece you’ve created.

Wait, hold up, what just happened? Did you actually spend six times the cost of simply buying the software? Have you fallen victim to some kind of psychological self-deception, cloaked as rational engineering pride?

Unpacking the False Economy #

Economists and psychologists would nod knowingly at your conundrum. This situation is classic false economy, saving money upfront at the expense of greater costs later. But in your case, you’ve upped the ante, layering in the seductive power of technology and prideful self-reliance.

False economy occurs when an apparent saving leads to greater expense in resources, whether time, money, or energy, down the road. It’s an alluring cognitive trap because it offers immediate gratification and a sense of control. Your scenario amplifies this by mixing professional pride and the allure of new technological capabilities into the equation.

DIY, Cognitive Dissonance, and Pride #

You, the software engineer, are skilled enough to create tools tailored precisely to your needs. AI makes that process feel trivial, enjoyable, even empowering. But hidden behind this technical self-sufficiency is a blend of sunk-cost fallacy and cognitive dissonance.

The sunk-cost fallacy convinces you that because you’ve invested significant effort and resources into building something, it inherently holds great value—even though rationally, it exceeded the value of a ready-made product. Cognitive dissonance further fuels this narrative. To justify your investment, your brain persuades you that your custom-built solution isn’t just better, it’s premium, uniquely yours, addressing your exact preferences in ways no off-the-shelf product ever could. Although this might be technically accurate, the cost-to-benefit ratio may still be wildly unbalanced.

The IKEA Effect in Software Form #

Psychologists have a neat parallel for what’s happening here, the IKEA effect. This phenomenon describes how people assign disproportionately high value to things they’ve partially created themselves, even if their creation is objectively inferior or more costly than a professionally crafted alternative.

First described by Norton, Mochon, and Ariely in a 2012 study, the IKEA effect highlights our innate attachment to self-made outcomes. In software terms, your AI-generated, custom-crafted app is essentially an IKEA dresser assembled painstakingly, and expensively, by you. It’s functional, possibly beautiful in your eyes, but objectively, you paid more in time, frustration, or AI tokens than an equivalent product would have cost outright.

The Appeal of the Bespoke Solution #

Still, what you’ve built isn’t worthless. The custom-built software likely solves your problem precisely, elegantly, and perhaps even more efficiently than the commercial option. You’ve learned something valuable along the way, and the satisfaction derived from crafting it yourself is real and meaningful. This value is psychological and experiential rather than purely economic.

DIY software creation can indeed be rational under certain conditions. For example, if learning or skill development justifies the higher initial outlay, or when customization genuinely enhances productivity or workflow beyond off-the-shelf offerings. Sometimes, simply the intangible satisfaction of creation can outweigh tangible financial losses.

But if the rationale is purely financial, caution is warranted. You might be rationalizing instead of acting rationally.

Caught Between Rationality and Pride #

The internet is full of similar anecdotes. Engineers regularly overspend their time and resources, buoyed by a compelling mix of capability, pride, and curiosity. Forums on Hacker News or Reddit frequently host software engineers admitting they spent days coding something they could’ve purchased cheaply. Responses range from amused sympathy to knowing self-identification.

This isn’t unique to software engineers; it’s human nature. AI merely makes the trap more inviting, accessible, and deceptively efficient.

Reflecting on the Real Cost #

The key isn’t to stop creating nor abandon DIY entirely. The value of what you’ve built may be more nuanced than simple economics. Acknowledge the satisfaction, pride, and customization consciously. Understand you’re paying extra for the luxury of personal craftsmanship.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with this perspective. Just don’t fool yourself into believing it’s always the economically smarter choice.

DIY software is often not cheaper, just more satisfying. If you’re comfortable paying extra for that satisfaction, carry on proudly, and smile knowingly when your AI bill comes due.