In the digital age, having a robust knowledge base is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity. Whether you’re supporting customers, onboarding new employees, or organising internal documentation, a well-maintained knowledge base can reduce support costs, improve productivity, and enhance user satisfaction.

But when it comes to choosing the right solution, businesses are faced with a key decision:

Do you build your knowledge base in-house, or invest in a paid, third-party solution?

In this post, we’ll dive into the pros and cons of both approaches to help you determine which one aligns best with your business needs.

What Is a Knowledge Base?

A knowledge base is a centralised repository where information is stored, organised, and easily accessible. It can contain how-to guides, FAQs, troubleshooting articles, product manuals, and internal documentation.

There are two primary ways to manage a knowledge base:

1. In-House (Custom-Built) – Developed and maintained internally using existing resources (e.g., company wiki, CMS, or custom software).

2. Paid Knowledge Base Software – Subscription-based tools like Universal Knowledge, from KPSOL, that comes with built-in features and support.

Option 1: In-House Knowledge Base

Pros

1. Full Customisation
You’re in control of the design, features, and integrations. You can tailor the system exactly to your needs without being constrained by third-party limitations.

2. No Ongoing Subscription Fees
Once built, your ongoing costs can be relatively low—especially if you already have developers or IT infrastructure.

3. Data Ownership & Security
You have full control over where data is stored and how it’s protected, which can be crucial for companies with strict compliance requirements.

Cons

1. High Upfront Development Costs
Building a knowledge base from scratch takes time, money, and expertise. For small businesses, this can be a significant barrier.

2. Maintenance Overhead
You’re responsible for bug fixes, updates, scalability, and feature enhancements. Over time, this can drain internal resources.

3. Slower Time to Market
It can take weeks or even months to build a usable solution. During that time, customers or employees might suffer from poor documentation access.

Option 2: Paid Knowledge Base Software

Pros

1. Quick Setup
Most paid platforms are plug-and-play. You can get started in hours—not weeks—with templates, WYSIWYG editors, and guided onboarding.

2. Feature-Rich
Search optimisation, analytics, version control, user roles, UI configurability—paid tools often include features that would take significant effort to replicate in-house.

3. Reliable Support & Updates
Vendors regularly roll out new features and handle security patches, uptime, and performance, so your team can focus on content—not infrastructure.

Cons

1. Recurring Costs
Most platforms charge per user and/or per article limit. Over time, this can become costly, especially for growing teams. Make sure you have discussed the growth plan with your vendor so there are no surprises further down the line.

2. Limited Customisation
You might not be able to tweak everything to fit your brand or workflow, especially on lower-tier plans. Look for a vendor and platform which is flexible and highly configurable.

3. Data Control Concerns
Your data lives on someone else’s servers. Ensure you choose a vendor which offers robust security.

When to Choose In-House

• You have unique requirements that off-the-shelf tools can’t meet.

• Your team includes developers with time and budget to spare.

• You need complete control over data and infrastructure.

• You’re looking to avoid long-term subscription costs.

When to Choose Paid Software

• You need to launch quickly with minimal fuss.

• Your team lacks the technical expertise to build and maintain a platform.

• You want access to powerful features and customer support.

• Scalability and reliability are more important than deep customisation.

How to mitigate against the potential cons of paid knowledge base software

Recurring Costs

The Problem:

Paid tools typically come with monthly or annual fees, and costs can increase as your team grows or your content expands.

How to Mitigate:

• Start with a  lower-tier plan to test the tool’s ROI before committing to a more expensive option.

• Negotiate pricing—many vendors offer flexible pricing dependent on company type, size of deal or commitment to longer contracts.

• Audit your user base regularly. Ensure only essential contributors or admins are on paid accounts.

• Consolidate tools: If your paid knowledge base replaces other documentation, shared drives or other knowledge bases, you may actually save money overall.

Limited Customisation

The Problem:

You may not be able to fully brand or customize the software’s UI, workflows, or permissions the way you could with a custom-built solution.

How to Mitigate:

• Choose a tool that allows high levels of configurability or supports embedding content into your own website.

• Prioritise extensibility: Look for platforms with documented APIs.

• Involve key stakeholders in the tool selection process—identify potential customisation needs early and evaluate vendors accordingly.

• Use feature requests or customer driven roadmap if the vendor offers them—they often listen to user feedback.

Data Control & Security Concerns

The Problem:

You’re storing proprietary or sensitive data on third-party servers, which could introduce privacy, compliance, or control risks.

How to Mitigate:

• Choose a vendor with strong security certifications (e.g.ISO 27001).

• Understand their data policies—including where data is stored and how backups are handled.

• Use role-based access control (RBAC) to limit access to sensitive documentation.

• Back up your data regularly—many platforms offer export tools or APIs that you can automate.

• Consider on-premise or self-hosted options if data sovereignty is a serious concern. Some “paid” tools (e.g. Knowledge Powered Solutions) offer this.

Vendor Lock-In & Migration Challenges

The Problem:

Switching to another platform later can be difficult if your content is deeply embedded in a vendor’s ecosystem.

How to Mitigate:

• Use a platform with open export formats (HTML, PDF, CSV).

• Maintain a structured content hierarchy that can easily be mapped to other platforms.

• Document your taxonomy and templates internally so that migration won’t require rethinking your content strategy.

• Periodically export and store your data offline—even if just as a backup.

Dependency on Vendor Roadmap

The Problem:

You’re at the mercy of the vendor for new features, updates, or bug fixes.

How to Mitigate:

• Choose mature platforms with transparent roadmaps.

• Evaluate responsiveness of vendor support before buying—test their customer service with pre-sales questions.

• Monitor updates and changelogs to stay ahead of changes that may impact your workflows.

Summary Table

Whilst an in-house knowledge base may seem like a good option, a paid knowledge base is often the better choice because it offers faster deployment, built-in features, ongoing support, and scalability—saving time and resources compared to building and maintaining a custom solution in-house.