If you’re planning to launch a carsharing, e-scooter sharing, or mobility-as-a-service business, one of the first big decisions you’ll face is: Should you build your own platform in-house, or use a proven ready-made solution like CT Mobility?
Both paths have their merits but the right choice depends on your budget, timeline, and business goals. In this article, we’ll outline the pros and cons of each approach, based on over 10 years of experience in the shared mobility industry.
Advantages of using a ready-made solution like CT Mobility
1. Speed to market
Launch in as little as 15 days, instead of spending 12-18 months on development and testing.
2. Lower costs
Avoid the high upfront and ongoing expenses of hiring developers, designers, product managers, and support teams. With CT Mobility, there’s no setup fee - you simply pay a fixed monthly rate based on the number of connected vehicles. This price already includes platform maintenance, Helpdesk services, and dedicated support from our team, with no hidden fees. Your costs stay transparent, predictable, and scalable, without large initial investments.
3. Built on a decade of experience
Benefit from expertise gained in dozens of global carsharing and micromobility projects. Pre-configured for billing, referral programs, pricing models, liveness and sobriety detection, deposits, geofencing, CRM, marketing tools, fleet management, and more.
4. All-in-one platform
Everything you need - fleet management, white-label mobile apps, ID verification, and subscriptions - fully integrated at no extra cost.
5. Seamless integrations
Instant compatibility with 15+ IoT and leading telematics providers, plus custom API integrations available on request.
6. White-label apps
Your branding, your rules - iOS and Android apps under your developer accounts, optimized for user experience.
7. Security and compliance
Designed to help you meet GDPR, PCI DSS, and other key data protection and payment security standards.
8. Open API access
Extend functionality, integrate third-party tools, conduct advanced analytics, or even build your own front-end.
9. No vendor lock-In
Your system and database are hosted on your own servers, ensuring full ownership of your infrastructure, data, and applications.
10. Ongoing optimization
Built-in analytics, user behavior data, dynamic pricing, and marketing tools - features that take years to develop from scratch.
11. Dedicated support
24/7 technical support, onboarding assistance, and regular platform updates.
12. Scalable solution
Start small, scale to thousands of vehicles across multiple markets.
13. Fully functional web application
Users can book from mobile or desktop - reducing dependency on Apple and Google app store policies.
Advantages of building in-house
For some businesses, especially large-scale operators with significant investment and time, building in-house may be the right choice. Potential advantages include:
1. Full control over product vision
Every feature and workflow is designed exactly to your specifications.
2. Completely unique functionality
Ideal for business models that don’t fit standard mobility workflows.
3. Long-term independence
No recurring SaaS fees, complete control over product roadmap and infrastructure.
4. Deep internal expertise
Building in-house grows your team’s technical knowledge, which can fuel future innovation.
5. Custom integrations with proprietary systems
Easier to deeply connect with existing internal or enterprise platforms.
However:
🚩 You’ll need 12 to 18 months (at minimum) to develop and test the first version.
🚩 Development costs can reach hundreds of thousands of euros before launch, and ongoing maintenance, updates, and security will remain your responsibility.
🚩 You’ll also need to hire and retain skilled developers, product managers, and QA specialists, which can be challenging and costly - especially if your team lacks prior experience in mobility software.
When to choose each option
🚀 Choose a ready-made solution if you want to launch quickly, keep costs predictable, and benefit from proven technology with built-in support.
💻 Choose in-house development if you have substantial funding, a strong tech team, a flexible launch timeline, and very specific requirements that existing platforms cannot meet.
Conclusion
Launching a shared mobility service is a complex undertaking, but your technology choice can make or break your timeline, budget, and success rate.
With CT Mobility, you can go live in just a few weeks, not years, and scale with confidence using a platform already trusted by 50+ operators powering over 15,000 vehicles worldwide.
👉 Ready to explore your options? Book a demo today.
Launch your e-scooter sharing in just 15 days with CT Mobility Solutions!
No setup fees. Unlimited features.
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