You have an idea you cannot stop thinking about. You can picture the first users. You can even see the first version in your head. Then you hit the question that can stall everything: what is a realistic MVP development cost?
You do not need a fuzzy “it depends.” You need ranges you can budget around, plus the factors that push the number up or down.
In most cases, a straightforward MVP starts around $5,000 to $25,000. If you add complex logic, real-time features, AI, or many integrations, it can move past $70,000 and keep climbing.
The final number comes down to one thing: what you must build to solve one core problem for your first users.
What a First MVP Usually Costs (By Tier)
Think of building an MVP like building a house. A simple tiny home costs less than a custom build with smart features, custom finishes, and a complicated foundation. Software works the same way.
The fastest way to estimate your budget is to place your idea into a tier. Be strict about what is required for version one versus what can wait.
Which tier does your MVP fit?
Most ideas fall into one of these buckets. The key is to protect version one from “nice-to-haves.” This is how you avoid spending months and money on features users never touch.
- Simple MVPs: $5,000 to $25,000, usually 4 to 6 weeks.
- Medium complexity MVPs: $25,000 to $70,000, usually 6 to 12 weeks.
- Advanced MVPs: $70,000 to $100,000+, usually 12 to 20 weeks.
Most projects end up between $15,000 and $120,000, depending on the product type and how much you automate in version one.
Quick guide to MVP cost tiers
Use this table as a starting point. It shows what teams usually include at each level.
| Complexity Tier | Estimated Cost Range | Typical Timeline | Example Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple | $5,000 to $25,000 | 4 to 6 weeks | Basic user profiles, one core feature (booking form or simple dashboard), basic admin view, static pages. |
| Medium | $25,000 to $70,000 | 6 to 12 weeks | Multiple user roles, key third-party integrations (payments, maps), interactive dashboards, basic reports. |
| Complex | $70,000+ | 12 to 20 weeks | Real-time (chat, notifications), AI/ML features, complex rules, custom analytics, many integrations. |
These are estimates, not quotes. Still, they help you plan. Next, let’s talk about what causes two MVPs in the same tier to end up with very different price tags.
What Drives the Cost Up (Or Keeps It Under Control)
Why does one MVP cost $15,000 while another ends up at $150,000? It usually comes down to the choices made early, before the first sprint even starts.
Instead of thinking of pricing like buying a finished product, think of it like custom work. Every decision affects design time, build time, and testing time.
Feature scope is the biggest variable
Every new feature adds hours. It also adds risk, because each feature creates more ways things can break.
Founders often underestimate “simple” features. Real-time chat is a classic example. It can require live connections, message delivery rules, read receipts, a data model, moderation tools, and careful testing across devices.
A good filter is this question: What is the one problem version one must solve?
If a feature does not directly support that, save it for later. Example: if you are building a tool to help writers outline articles, you probably do not need a social network inside the product on day one. Cutting that single idea can save tens of thousands.
Your build team changes the budget and the outcome
Who builds your product matters as much as what you build. Team setup affects speed, quality, and how much of your own time gets pulled into day-to-day management.
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Freelancers: Often the lowest hourly rate. But you become the project manager, and you are responsible for coordination and quality control. The “cheap” option can get expensive if timelines slip or work does not match.
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In-house hires: Maximum control, maximum overhead. Salaries, benefits, equipment, and leadership time add up fast. This usually makes sense only when you are funded or already revenue strong.
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A product studio: You get strategy, design, development, QA, and project management as one team. Rates may look higher, but many founders pay less overall because the process is tighter and mistakes happen less.
Whatever route you choose, make sure there is a clear owner for scope, timeline, and quality. If that role is unclear, costs tend to drift upward.
Tech choices affect speed, hiring, and future costs
The tools you build with can speed up development or slow it down. Common stacks can cost less because more developers know them, and problems are easier to solve.
For many web apps, a popular approach is a frontend with React and a backend with Node.js. The advantage is a large talent pool and lots of community support.
Key idea: The “right” stack is not the newest one. It is the stack that fits your product, budget, and hiring plan, so you avoid rebuilding later.
If you want examples of stacks and where they fit, this internal guide can help: popular tech stack examples.
Hidden Costs That Blow Up MVP Budgets
Many founders budget for design and development, then get surprised by everything around it. Those costs are real, and they show up in almost every build.
These are not “gotchas.” They are part of launching something real.
Strategy and research before build
The highest value work often happens before the first line of code. This phase turns a vague idea into a plan a team can build from.
It usually includes:
- Market and user research: Interviews, surveys, competitive review, and problem validation.
- Roadmap and prioritization: What ships in version one, what waits, and why.
- User stories and flows: The steps users take, plus edge cases you need to handle.
Skipping this can feel faster, but it often causes rework. Rework is one of the fastest ways to burn budget.
Project management plus technical setup
Someone needs to run the work. That includes planning, keeping communication clear, and making sure the product you ship matches the goals.
Project management often accounts for 10% to 20% of the build cost, depending on scope and how many stakeholders are involved.
Then there is setup. These are easy to forget until you need them on day one:
- Hosting and servers: From simple hosting to a cloud setup on a platform like AWS.
- Domain and SSL: Basic trust and security for users.
- Third-party services: Payments with Stripe, email with SendGrid, maps with Google Maps, analytics, and more.
Some of these are monthly, some are usage-based, and some have setup time that shows up as billable hours.
Legal, compliance, and what happens after launch
Technology is only part of the “real product.” You also need the business basics in place.
Budget reality: These surrounding costs can add 15% to 40% to early estimates, especially in regulated industries or products that handle sensitive data.
- Legal documents: Terms of Service and a Privacy Policy are not optional.
- Compliance work: If you touch healthcare, finance, kids’ data, or enterprise security, plan for extra work and review.
- Maintenance: After launch, you pay for bug fixes, hosting, updates, and small improvements. A common planning rule is 15% to 25% of the build cost per year.
If you budget for these upfront, you reduce the risk of a launch that stalls because you ran out of runway.
Common Pricing Models (And When Each One Works)
Once you know what you are building, the next question is how you will pay for it. Different contract models shift the risk between you and the team.
There is no “best” model for every startup. The right one depends on how clear your scope is and how much you expect to learn as you build.
Fixed price
Fixed price means one agreed cost for a defined scope. It feels predictable, and it can be helpful when requirements are stable and documented.
The tradeoff is flexibility. If user feedback changes what you need, you often go through change requests, new estimates, and delays. Startups learn fast, so this can become frustrating.
Time and materials
Time and materials means you pay for the hours worked, plus tools and services. This model supports change, because you can reorder priorities when you learn something new.
The tradeoff is predictability. To make this work, you need strong planning, frequent updates, and clear tracking, so the budget does not drift.
What to ask for: Weekly progress updates, clear scope for the next sprint, and transparent reporting on time spent.
Milestone-based payments
Milestone billing breaks work into phases with clear deliverables. Each phase has its own price, and you pay when it is done.
This can be a good middle ground. You get structure, but you can still adjust the plan between milestones based on what you learned.
Comparing MVP pricing models
| Pricing Model | Best For | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed Price | A stable scope with detailed specs that will not change. | Budget clarity: You know the cost upfront. | Hard to change: Adjustments often cost extra and slow down delivery. |
| Time and Materials | Products that need learning, iteration, and frequent adjustments. | Flexible: Easier to respond to user feedback. | Needs discipline: Requires good planning and clear communication. |
| Milestone-Based | Founders who want structure plus room to adjust between phases. | Phased predictability: Clear deliverables and cash-flow checkpoints. | More admin: Each milestone needs definition and sign-off. |
The goal is not the “cheapest” model. It is the model that matches how you will build, learn, and make decisions.
How to Lower MVP Spend Without Lowering Quality
If your budget is tight, you still have options. The best founders spend money to learn faster, not to build everything at once.
Here are strategies that reduce cost while keeping the product useful for real users.
Start with a Concierge MVP
A Concierge MVP means you deliver the core value manually for your first users. You are doing the work that software would do later.
If you want to build a recommendation engine, start by curating recommendations by hand and emailing them. If you want to build a tutor marketplace, start by matching people yourself using a spreadsheet.
This helps you confirm demand before you invest in automation. It also gives you direct insight into what users care about, and what they ignore.
Use no-code and low-code where it fits
Not everything needs custom code. Many MVPs can ship faster by combining tools that already exist.
- For pages and simple user experiences, teams often start with Webflow.
- For workflow automation, Zapier or Make can connect systems quickly.
- For early prototypes, Bubble or Airtable can cover a lot of ground.
This approach is not “less serious.” It is a way to learn what matters before you pay to build custom systems.
Stay focused on one painful problem
The biggest waste in early product development is building features nobody uses.
Your MVP should not be a smaller version of your full vision. It should be a sharp solution to one problem for one clear group of users.
Simple rule: If you can still solve the core problem without a feature, do not ship it in version one. Put it on a later list.
This is where good product management pays off. If you want a practical overview of how to keep work aligned to outcomes, see our guide on product management fundamentals.
When you combine manual delivery, smart tool choices, and strict focus, you can ship sooner and spend less, while still learning what users really want.
How to Get a Real Quote (Not a Guess)
Ballpark ranges help, but you still need a real estimate. To get one, you need to show a team what you are building, who it is for, and what “done” means for version one.
Use this checklist before you talk to any development partner.
Your pre-quote checklist
- What problem are you solving?
Write it in one or two sentences. Example: “Sales teams waste hours writing call notes, so we are building a tool that transcribes and summarizes calls.”
- Who are the first users?
Be specific. “Everyone” is not a user group. Choose the people who feel the pain the most.
- What are the 3 to 5 must-have outcomes?
List what users must be able to do to get value. Try to describe outcomes, not a long feature list.
Process note: The fastest path to a reliable quote is a short strategy phase that turns user flows and priorities into a clear build plan.
What our process looks like
After the checklist, the next step is a fit call. If it makes sense to work together, we run a paid strategy phase. The goal is to remove surprises.
In that phase, we map user flows, confirm scope, outline the architecture, and prioritize features. You leave with a plan you can build from and a quote you can trust.
If you are building a new platform and want to see how we approach builds, you can read more about our custom website and application development work.
FAQ: MVP Cost Questions Founders Ask Most
How do I get a reliable estimate for my MVP idea?
Bring a clear problem statement and a prioritized list of version-one outcomes. Any team that gives you a firm quote after a short call is guessing.
A better approach is a discovery or strategy session that maps the user flows and technical requirements first. That is where accurate estimates come from.
Does the technology choice change the price a lot?
Yes. Tech choices affect development speed, how easy it is to hire, and long-term maintenance.
For example, highly interactive apps built with frameworks like React often cost more upfront than simpler content sites, but they can support richer product experiences when that is needed.
Should I hire a freelancer or a studio?
Freelancers can cost less per hour, but you may spend more time managing work, reviewing quality, and coordinating different roles.
A studio typically brings a full team, including project management. That can reduce risk and make the timeline more predictable, especially for first-time founders.
What costs should I plan for after launch?
Plan for hosting, third-party subscriptions, bug fixes, and small updates. Many teams budget about 15% to 25% of the build cost per year for maintenance.
Separately, plan a Phase 2 budget for the next set of improvements based on real user feedback.
Conclusion: Budget for Learning, Not Just Building
The right budget depends on what you need to prove in version one. Keep scope tight, plan for the supporting costs, and choose a pricing model that matches how you will learn.
If you want help turning your idea into a clear plan and a build-ready quote, Refact can help. Learn more about our development process.
