Octane AI vs Building Your Own Quiz
We get itāyou want full control. But building a custom quiz is a massive undertaking. See why 5,000+ brands choose Octane AI instead of reinventing the wheel.
The real cost of building your own
Custom quiz builds sound appealing until you add up the true costs. Here's what brands typically spend when building in-house:
Development
Initial build with quiz logic, product matching, and frontend
Design
UX/UI design for quiz flow, results page, mobile views
Integrations
Shopify, Klaviyo, analytics, and other tool connections
AI/ML
Product recommendation engine, image analysis capabilities
Testing & QA
Cross-browser, mobile, and edge case testing
Ongoing maintenance
Bug fixes, updates, Shopify API changes
And that's before you account for opportunity cost, bug fixes, or the features you didn't know you needed until launch.
Feature-by-feature comparison
See exactly what you're gettingāand what you'd have to build.
| Feature | Octane AI | Custom Build |
|---|---|---|
| Time to launch | Hours | 3-6 months |
| Development cost | Included | $50,000-$200,000+ |
| Ongoing maintenance | Handled by us | Your dev team |
| AI-powered recommendations | Built-in CORE-1 AI | Build from scratch |
| Shopify integration | Native, real-time sync | Manual integration |
| Klaviyo integration | One-click setup | Custom API work |
| A/B testing | Built-in | Build yourself |
| Analytics & reporting | Full dashboard | Build yourself |
| Mobile optimization | Automatic | Manual testing |
| Image analysis (shade matching) | AI-powered | Complex ML project |
| Quiz templates | 20+ industry templates | Start from scratch |
| Dedicated support | Expert team | Your team only |
| Full customization control | Custom CSS + logic | Complete control |
| Performance optimization | Continuous updates | Manual optimization |
Think about what you're actually building
A product recommendation quiz isn't just a form. It's a complex system with conditional logic, product matching algorithms, real-time syncing, and AI capabilities.
Developer time adds up fast
At $150/hour (agency rate), that's $133,500 in development costs alone.
When does custom make sense?
We believe in being honest. Here are the rare cases where custom might be the right call:
Enterprise with unique requirements
If you're a Fortune 500 with proprietary systems, complex compliance needs, and a dedicated engineering team, custom might make sense. But even then, our Enterprise plan includes API access and custom development support.
You need something we don't do
If you need a quiz for something completely outside ecommerceālike medical diagnostics or industrial applicationsāwe're probably not the right fit. But for Shopify stores? We've seen it all.
For everyone else: Octane AI
For 99% of Shopify brands, Octane AI offers more features, faster time-to-value, and lower total cost than any custom build. Plus, we handle updates, security, and optimizationāso you can focus on your brand.
We can help you migrate
Stuck maintaining a custom quiz? Our team can help you migrate to Octane AI and start saving time and money immediately.