A SaaS MVP with one core workflow, authentication and billing costs $15,000 to $45,000 and takes 8 to 14 weeks. A production platform with integrations, granular permissions and enterprise features runs $60,000 to $200,000. Ongoing engineering after launch is typically $3,500 to $15,000 per month.
The build is the visible cost. What surprises founders is the twelve months after launch, when the product needs continuous engineering and the infrastructure bill arrives.
MVP range
To launch
Early infra/month
Cost is post-launch
$3,000–$10,000. Flows, interface and prototype. Skipping it costs more in rebuilt features than it saves.
$8,000–$25,000 for the workflow your value proposition depends on, built multi-tenant from the start.
$3,000–$6,000. Sessions, teams, roles, Stripe subscriptions, trials, proration and dunning.
$2,000–$5,000 in the same codebase, so the product and the pricing page look like one thing.
$50–$500/month early on. Database, hosting, email, monitoring and error tracking.
$3,500–$15,000/month. This is where most of the lifetime cost lives, and most plans ignore it.
| Stage | Cost | Timeline | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prototype sprint | $3,000 – $6,000 | 2–3 weeks | Clickable prototype, costed plan |
| MVP | $15,000 – $45,000 | 8–14 weeks | A product customers can pay for |
| Product-market fit iteration | $3,500 – $9,000/mo | 3–12 months | Changes driven by real usage |
| Scale-up build | $60,000 – $200,000 | 6–18 months | Integrations, permissions, enterprise |
| Enterprise readiness | $15,000 – $40,000 | 6–12 weeks | SSO, audit, compliance controls |
Number of distinct user roles, integrations, and whether the core workflow involves money or compliance.
| Cheaper MVP | Expensive MVP |
|---|---|
| One user type | Admin, manager, member, external guest |
| No external integrations | CRM, accounting and calendar sync |
| Simple subscription billing | Usage metering and custom contracts |
| Data in, data out | Money movement with reconciliation |
| No compliance requirement | Healthcare or financial controls |
| Desktop-first internal tool | Public product needing polish and SEO |
The pattern is building for the company you hope to be in three years. Almost none of that work survives contact with what customers actually ask for.
A very narrow one, yes — a single workflow, one user type, simple billing, minimal design. It is a legitimate way to test an idea. It is not a platform, and anyone quoting a full multi-tenant product with integrations at that price is under-scoping.
Infrastructure is usually $50–$500 a month at early scale — database, hosting, email, monitoring. The dominant cost is engineering: $3,500–$15,000 a month to keep shipping, which most financial plans omit entirely.
For the first twelve months, an agency or contract team is usually cheaper and faster — no recruitment cost, no ramp time, and you can stop. Once the product is proven and the roadmap is continuous, in-house becomes better value.
Enough for the build plus twelve months of iteration, which typically means roughly two to three times the build cost. Raising only enough to launch is the most common way products die shortly after shipping.
Indicative ranges in USD. Every engagement is quoted to a written scope before work starts, so the number you approve is the number you pay.
$3,000 – $6,000
2–3 weeks
Best for: Clarity before committing budget
$15,000 – $45,000
8–14 weeks
Best for: A chargeable product in market
from $3,500 / month
Ongoing
Best for: Iterating after launch
How we think about this work, in more depth.
Cost guide
A 30-minute call, then a written proposal with scope, price and timeline within two to three working days. No retainer required to get a real number, and no obligation if the answer is that we are not the right fit.