Build vs. buy: The true cost of internal content moderation
Developing a custom moderation solution in-house can drain time, resources, and take the focus away from your core product. That’s why forward-thinking brands choose to buy, not build. Bodyguard's advanced, battle-tested technology is ready to deploy, always evolving, and built by experts who live and breathe moderation. Don't leave your brand reputation to chance; trust Bodyguard to take care of every comment, every time.
Find out more
These brands choose to buy over build
Industry leaders in every sector choose to invest externally in moderation, instead of developing solutions in-house. These leading brands trust Bodyguard to protect their reputation and safeguard their communities from harmful toxicity, across social media and beyond.
Why build isn't always better
Building a solution in-house comes with challenges and can be costly; not only financially but in terms of resources.
- Time consuming: Internal solutions take months of development, testing and ongoing maintenance.
- Resource intensive: Building and supporting an in-house solution puts a strain on product, engineering and T&S teams.
- Can trigger conflict: Different priorities between feature delivery and risk management mean that internal conflict can arise.
Understanding the complexity of an
in-house solution
Many teams underestimate just how complex it can be to build, manage and maintain a moderation solution in-house; especially one that works.
- Expensive: It can be costly to hire and train an in-house team of developers and moderators; especially those with specific expertise.
- Maintenance burden: Once built, the system demands constant updates to keep up with platform changes and new content type
- Visibility gaps: Without specialized tooling, it’s easy to miss critical patterns or emerging risks across your community.
The benefits of outsourcing your moderation
It's a myth that building an in-house moderation solution is more cost-effective than outsourcing. Here's why:
- Better cost savings and efficiency: Ensure financial stability, allocate your budget elsewhere and avoid the costs of hiring and training more people.
- Specialist expertise: Relax knowing your moderation is being managed and maintained by a team of experts with specialist skills.
- More value long-term: Your solution is constantly maintained and continuously updated to keep up with an evolving landscape, all for a set monthly cost.
Build vs. buy:
Why expectations and reality and don't align
The expectations of building a content moderation solution in-house are rarely the reality.
Find out why it's better to buy your moderation solution than it is to build.
Expectations
- Tailored to your stack, tight integration with your internal tools
- Adjusted to your budget capabilities with transparent costs
- Full control over rules and workflows, aligned with your needs and policies
- Monitored and maintained by your teams for custom developments
Reality
- Months of development & testing just to reach a basic MVP
- Hidden resource drain across engineering, product, and safety teams
- Conflicts in priorities between feature delivery and risk management
- Lack of adaptability as policies evolve or languages diversify
Frequently asked questions
Ready to see Bodyguard in action?
Request a free demo and see how quick and easy it is to monitor and moderate content using Bodyguard.
© 2025 Bodyguard.ai — All rights reserved worldwide.