The hidden cost of building workflow editors in-house
Summary
This article analyzes the hidden costs of building a production-grade workflow editor from scratch using React Flow, including edge routing, auto-layout, node configuration, validation, and performance. It presents a detailed cost comparison (14–25 weeks and $67k–$120k upfront) versus a one-time €6,990 license for an embedded SDK, arguing that buying is often more cost-effective for non-core workflows and highlighting maintenance and opportunity costs with real case studies.