Have done three pairs of custom road cycling shoes. For me it was worth every penny and the effort. You only regret paying for quality once. Would I do it again? Yes, for sure. Does one need custom? Only if you have maybe really wide feet, really narrow, really low volume, or really hard to fit feet, and really don't fit in anything available on a retail basis. Me, I have flat, narrow, low volume feet and most retail shoes are way too big and way too wide. So much so that velcro straps don't overlap, they get cinched so tight that all I have is a long flapping strap hanging on the side of the shoe and the forefoot sides meet or even overlap.

To have a custom shoes made where they are snug, form fitting, low stack height, no insoles or footbeds needed, carbon soled, light, colors of your choosing, model and design of your choice, no excess straps, no scrunched up overlap on the top of the shoe, etc..etc.. is a dream. Worth the extra cost. But have learned that casting the foot is way better than just a trace outline on paper. Have the sock procedure done where a mold is made and the shoe is built off the mold. They fit like a glove, a very snug glove that is perfectly formed to the size and shape of your foot.

Again, if you fit in off the shelf shoes, no real reason to spend the extra. But if you don't fit in stock stuff go custom. I will again when one or both of the two most recent pairs that I rotate eventually wear out or break down. But that could be a few more years of great service. Ammortized over 6 to 8 or more years of hard use comes out to very little per year as opposed to some of the garbage made on assembly lines. A craftsman built mine and a happy customers gets to use their quality and pride in their workmanship product. Win/win.

Good luck.