Updated October 2026. Written by Power Platform MS. Product features and prices change, so check current details with each provider.
The short answer
If you have a handful of business-critical apps and flows that need monitoring, fixing and improving a few days a month, a support plan is usually much cheaper and lower risk than a full-time hire: our Care Plan starts from £495 a month excluding VAT. Once you have a steady pipeline of new builds that would keep one person busy full time, and you want that knowledge inside the organisation, hiring an in-house Power Platform developer starts to make sense.
A common middle path is to hire, and keep a support plan for holiday cover, code reviews and specialist work. That combination is often stronger than either option on its own.
Side-by-side comparison
| Factor | Support plan | In-house developer |
|---|---|---|
| Typical cost | Our Care Plan from £495/month excluding VAT | Salary plus employer costs, see the cost section below |
| Commitment | Monthly, 30 days notice on our plan | Permanent contract, notice periods, recruitment time |
| Capacity | A block of hours each month, flexes up for projects | Full time, every week |
| Cover for holiday and sickness | Agreed in the plan | None unless you hire or contract a second person |
| Breadth of experience | Sees many tenants and patterns | Deep knowledge of your organisation over time |
| Knowledge retention | Documented in your tenant as part of the service | In one person's head unless documentation is enforced |
| Best for | Keeping a small to medium estate healthy | A continuous pipeline of new development |
What each option actually gives you
A support plan buys a defined amount of expert time each month, plus monitoring and an agreed way of raising issues. Our Care Plan includes a monthly block of support hours (unused hours roll over one month), flow failure monitoring and fixes, small enhancements and licence changes, and a quarterly review call. You get a PL-200 certified specialist who already knows your solutions, without employing anyone.
An in-house developer gives you a full-time person who learns your organisation, sits in your meetings and can take on a continuous stream of work. Over time they understand the processes behind the apps better than any outside supplier can.
The hidden risk: one person
Many organisations reach this decision because one maker built everything and then left, or became too busy with their day job. Hiring a single developer can recreate the same risk: knowledge concentrated in one person, no cover during leave and a gap of months if they resign.
Whichever option you choose, insist on the basics: apps and flows in solutions, owned by service accounts, documented, with failure alerts going to a shared channel. Our fix ownerless flows page explains why that matters.
Signs you have outgrown a support plan
- Your monthly hours are used up every month and new requests queue for weeks
- There is a roadmap of new apps for the next 12 months, not just maintenance
- Power Platform has become a core part of how the organisation operates
- You want someone on site regularly to work with teams day to day
When those apply, hiring is often the right move. We are happy to help you write the job description, assess candidates' technical skills and hand over cleanly to your new developer.
Which should you choose?
Choose a support plan when
- You need a few days of expert time a month, not five days a week
- You want cover for failures without the risk of a single employee
- Your estate is stable and the work is mainly fixes and small changes
- You want to avoid recruitment, management and employment costs
Choose an in-house developer when
- You have a continuous pipeline of new builds
- You want the knowledge to stay inside the organisation long term
- Close daily collaboration with business teams is essential
- You can fund the role, its training and some form of cover
Cost considerations
Our Care Plan starts from £495 a month excluding VAT, around £5,940 a year, and can be cancelled with 30 days notice. The final monthly fee depends on the size of your estate and the hours you need, and is agreed in writing.
For an in-house hire, salary is only part of the cost. As an indication only: job-board data such as IT Jobs Watch, which tracks advertised UK salaries, has shown a median of around £55,000 for permanent Power Platform developer roles in recent periods, with most adverts falling roughly between £46,000 and £80,000. These are advertised salaries rather than actual pay, and they vary by period, region and seniority, so check the live figures before budgeting.
- Employer costs: employer National Insurance and pension contributions on top of salary.
- Recruitment: agency fees or advertising, plus the time spent interviewing.
- Tooling and training: a laptop, a development environment, premium licences for development, and ongoing training and certification.
- Management and cover: someone has to manage the role, and holiday, sickness or a resignation leaves a gap.
The comparison is not just price. A support plan buys a slice of senior expertise; a hire buys full-time capacity. If you only need a slice, paying for full time is expensive. If you need full time, a plan's monthly hours will not stretch that far.
Moving between the two
Either direction goes smoothly with a proper handover:
- Start with a health check: our Power Platform Health Check from £1,450 inventories apps, flows, owners and risks so whoever supports the estate starts with an accurate picture.
- From plan to hire: we document each solution, walk your new developer through the estate and can stay on a reduced plan for cover and reviews.
- From hire to plan: when a developer leaves, a support plan can pick up the estate. Ask for their documentation before their last day, and move flows to service accounts while they are still there to explain them.
A good scoping call should be willing to tell you the other option is the better fit. If it is, you will hear that on the first call.