Every agent project hits the same fork: managed platform, DIY framework, or hire a builder. All three are reasonable. People usually pick on vibes instead of capacity. - Managed platform: fastest. Working this week. Price is control: their abstractions, their model choices, their meter. - DIY on LangGraph or CrewAI: the control pick. You own the code, data stays put. Price is maintenance, discovered around month three. - Hire a builder: control without staffing it. Built on open frameworks, scoped to your workflow, you own the result. - Match the path to your team's capacity and what the workflow is worth. No universal answer. Want the agent without the homework? PrivateLLM deploy sets up your private LLM on AWS for $50 plus usage.