How much does a custom application cost?
The honest answer is “it depends” — but that is not an answer. So here are real ranges, what moves them, and what nobody thinks to tell you before you sign.
Four budget markers
These are starting ranges, not a price list. Their real use is telling you whether your project is in the right order of magnitude before you even call us.
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A tool that does one thing well
Under €5,000
2 to 4 weeks
An automation that replaces a task done by hand, a form wired into your tools, a small internal tool for one team.
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A first usable version
€5,000 – €15,000
4 to 10 weeks
The core of your idea, online and usable by real people. Almost always the best way in: we ship small, you learn, we grow it.
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A complete application
€15,000 – €50,000
2 to 5 months
Several kinds of users, accounts, an admin area, connections to your other software. Web, mobile, or both.
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A business platform
Over €50,000
6 months and up
A system your operation genuinely runs on: many users, complex business rules, security or compliance requirements.
What actually moves the price
In order of real importance. The first one weighs more than all the others put together.
- 01
How many things the application has to do
This is the first factor by a long way. Every screen, every button, every “yes but in that case we need to…” is time. An application with ten screens doesn’t cost twice one with five: it costs more, because the screens interact with each other.
- 02
Web, mobile, or both
A website you can reach from a phone costs less than a real app you install. And an app on both iPhone and Android costs more than one of the two — not double, but more. We will tell you honestly whether you need an app at all, or whether a site is enough.
- 03
How many systems have to be connected
Making your new tool talk to your accounting, your CRM or your payroll is often the most expensive and least visible part. Each connection is a small project in itself, especially when the software on the other side is old.
- 04
How much care goes into how it looks
A clean, standard interface is included in all our projects. A visual identity worked screen by screen, with motion, is a separate line — and it is sometimes justified, particularly when your customers are the ones looking at it.
- 05
Accounts and data
The moment people log in, you need passwords, access rights, privacy and backups. Invisible to the user, and not compressible for us.
- 06
The application’s life after launch
An application is not a piece of furniture: it needs updates, fixes and improvements. Budget for it at the start rather than discovering it six months later.
What is included, and what never is
The second list is the number one source of nasty surprises, here and everywhere else. Better said upfront.
Included in our quotes
- Conversations, questions and progress meetings
- The design work that happens before development
- Testing, and fixing any defect we introduced
- Go-live and training for your teams
- The source code, which is yours from day one
Never included, by anyone
- Apple developer account (99 $/year) and Google Play (25 $ once)
- Monthly hosting for your application
- Third-party service fees: text messages, maps, online payments
- Content: copy, photography, professional translation
- Features decided after signing — these get a written addendum, never a surprise invoice
How we price
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The first conversation is free and commits you to nothing
An hour on a call. You tell us about your project, we ask questions, and you leave with a first order of magnitude — even if you never work with us.
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Fixed price for a defined scope
We write down together what needs building, then we name a firm price. If we got our estimate wrong, that is our problem, not yours.
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Time and materials for ongoing work
When the need keeps evolving, we bill the time spent, with an agreed ceiling and a weekly update on what got done.
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You can stop
At the end of each stage, you decide whether we carry on. You leave with what has been built and paid for — the code is yours.
Markers by type of project
The detail of what each service covers.
- Custom web applications Your internal tools, your customer portal, your dashboards.
- Mobile applications An app on iPhone and Android, published on both stores.
- Custom software development For when no off-the-shelf software does what you need.
- Advice and scoping Know what it costs and what it commits you to, before committing anything.
- Going live and hosting Your application online, fast, backed up and watched over.
- Data and dashboards Finally know what your numbers say, without re-typing them by hand.
The questions we get about money
Why not display a fixed price?
Because it would be false. “An application” can mean a connected form or a platform an entire company depends on. A provider who quotes a fixed price before knowing your project will sell you either too much, or an application that won’t do what you need.
Is the first meeting billable?
No. The first conversation is free and commits you to nothing, and you leave it with an order of magnitude even if you then decide to work with somebody else.
What if the project goes over budget?
On a fixed price, an overrun caused by our own bad estimate is on us. The only thing that moves the price is what you add along the way — and we quote the addition before doing it, never after.
Can I start small?
That is what we recommend nearly every time. A tightly-scoped first version, live and used by real people, teaches you more in a month than any specification ever will. The real risk is not overpaying: it is paying for features nobody will use.
How much does maintenance cost?
Expect a monthly retainer proportional to the size of the application. It covers security updates, monitoring, fixes and an agreed volume of improvements. We price it alongside the project, not afterwards.
Does the code really belong to me?
Yes, entirely, and from day one. You can take the whole codebase at any moment and hand it to another team. We have never held a client hostage and we don’t intend to start.
Can you take over an application somebody else started?
Yes, and it is a significant part of what we do. We look at what exists first and tell you plainly what it is worth, and what it would cost to continue it rather than start again.
Want an order of magnitude for your project?
Describe it in a few lines. We come back within one business day with a realistic range — free, and with no strings attached.