Free Tool
Software Development Cost Estimator
A realistic 2026 budget range and timeline for a web app, mobile app, SaaS platform, AI application or AI agent, priced the way we price fixed-scope proposals — by scope, design, integrations, compliance and who builds it.
Describe the Project
Payments, CRM, ERP, EHR, marketplaces, messaging — count each system.
Estimated Budget
Build cost range
$22,582 – $31,881
Timeline
15 weeks
Annual maintenance (approx.)
$4,516
What drives this estimate
Scope sets the base: an MVP covers the core flows, a standard v1 roughly doubles the surface, and a complex system with many roles and reporting nearly triples it. Custom design adds 15 to 30 percent. Each integration is priced as its own piece of work because it is. Compliance adds architecture, documentation and testing effort — most for HIPAA.
Running costs — hosting, third-party fees and maintenance — are separate from the build figure and typically run 15 to 20 percent of it per year.
Go Deeper
Detailed pricing guides
The estimator compresses a lot of judgement into a few dropdowns. For the reasoning behind each band, see our guides to AI app development cost, mobile app development cost and what custom AI development includes.
If you are weighing a team rather than a project, the offshore TCO calculator compares the annual cost of in-house against dedicated offshore engineers. Every WORKFLOX project is quoted at a fixed price against a written scope — our packages show the standard engagement shapes.
FAQ
Cost estimate questions
How accurate is this software cost estimator?
It gives a realistic range, not a quote. The bands come from the fixed-price proposals we have issued for web, mobile, SaaS, AI and automation projects in 2025 and 2026, adjusted for scope, design, integrations, compliance and team location. A written scope narrows it to a fixed price, which we provide free after a scoping call.
Why do integrations add so much?
Each integration — a payment provider, a CRM, an EHR, an ERP, a marketplace API — carries authentication, permissions, error handling, testing against a sandbox and often a vendor review. Individually small, together they are frequently the largest source of timeline slippage in a project, so the estimator prices them explicitly.
What is not included in the estimate?
Running costs: hosting, third-party API fees, model inference for AI systems, app store fees and ongoing maintenance, which typically runs 15 to 20 percent of build cost per year. Also content, marketing and any hardware. The estimator covers design, engineering, testing and launch.
Why is the US agency figure about five times the offshore figure?
Because US agency rates run $150 to $350 per hour against $25 to $50 for an equivalent senior engineer on our managed offshore model. The engineering is the same; the cost of living behind the rate is not. The trade-off is working hours and communication, which a good partner solves with committed overlap and a fixed-price scope.
Next Step
Turn the range into a fixed price
Send us a paragraph on what you are building and we will return a milestone-based proposal with a fixed price and timeline within two working days.
Get a Fixed-Price QuoteContact Us
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