If you're technical, you could build your own Python bot for SPY scalping instead of using NoVo — and for some, that's genuinely the right choice. But the build path hides real, ongoing costs. An honest build-vs-buy comparison helps you see what “just code it” actually entails.
What building really involves
A working system is far more than a strategy script. You need: reliable market data (real-time options and greeks aren't free or trivial); broker integration (order routing, fills, error handling, rate limits); the dealer-level math (computing gamma exposure, walls, flip, gravity correctly — genuinely hard); robust execution logic (sizing, stops, exits, edge cases); testing and paper validation; and then indefinite maintenance as brokers, data, and markets change. It's a real software project, not a weekend hack — and bugs cost you real money.
What buying gives you
NoVo is the bought version of all that: the dealer-level computation, broker plumbing, execution engine, server-side stops, and hosted infrastructure already built, tested, and maintained — for a subscription. You skip months of engineering and the ongoing upkeep, and you get a system that already handles the hard parts correctly. The tradeoff: less total customization than your own code.
“I'll just build it” means building data feeds, broker plumbing, gamma math, execution, tests, and maintaining it forever. Buying is paying someone to have already done the hard 90%.
How to decide
Build if you genuinely enjoy the engineering, want total control, and have the skill and time to maintain it — the DIY path is real and respectable. Buy if you'd rather spend your time trading than building and debugging infrastructure, and you want the hard parts handled correctly from day one. Be honest about the maintenance burden — many home-built bots die not from a bad strategy but from unmaintained plumbing. Related: hosted vs. self-hosted automation.