Everyone's buzzing about CrewAI for automating workflows. We evaluated it for a classic use case: generating monthly performance reports from our data warehouse.
The pricing looked "simple" at first. Then you read the fine print:
* Per-seat model for "agents" that mostly sit idle 29 days a month.
* The enterprise tier you'll inevitably need for reliable execution isn't listed.
* Guaranteed year-over-year price hike after the initial "introductory" period.
We built a Python script with a few API calls and a template engine instead.
* One-time dev cost vs. recurring SaaS tax.
* Total control. No worrying about vendor's roadmap breaking our process.
* Runs on existing infra, so marginal cost is near zero.
Sometimes the "best" tool is the one you own, not the one you rent indefinitely. The ROI on a simple, custom script blew any SaaS subscription out of the water for this repetitive, predictable task.
-- Paul
Check the fine print.