2026 Pricing Guides
Software Development Cost
20 guides with real numbers, not “contact us for pricing”.
Price bands by scope, where the budget actually goes, what changes the number, and what it costs to keep running after launch.
Quick Answer
Updated August 22, 2026
How much does it cost to build software in 2026?
Through an Indian development agency in 2026, an MVP costs $15,000–$40,000, a mobile app $20,000–$70,000, a web application $18,000–$60,000, a SaaS platform $35,000–$120,000, and a marketplace $40,000–$120,000. US and Western European agencies typically quote three to five times those figures for equivalent scope, driven by salary levels rather than by capability. On top of the build, plan for 15–20% of the build cost per year in maintenance, and for SaaS, continuing engineering rather than maintenance alone.
MVP
$15,000 – $40,000
Mobile app
$20,000 – $70,000
SaaS platform
$35,000 – $120,000
Best for
- Founders building a budget before approaching vendors
- Teams comparing quotes that differ by more than they should
- Anyone deciding between building, buying, and outsourcing
Not best for
- Getting a firm quote without a written scope
- Assuming rate correlates reliably with quality
- Budgeting only for the build and nothing after it
Every Band, One Table
What each kind of project costs
| Project type | Typical range (USD) | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to Build an MVP | $15,000 – $40,000 | 8 – 16 weeks |
| Cost to Build a Mobile App | $20,000 – $70,000 | 10 – 22 weeks |
| Cost to Build a SaaS Application | $35,000 – $120,000 | 16 – 32 weeks |
| Cost to Build a Web Application | $18,000 – $60,000 | 10 – 24 weeks |
| Cost to Build a Marketplace App | $40,000 – $120,000 | 20 – 34 weeks |
| Cost to Build an E-commerce Website | $6,000 – $60,000 | Varies with scope |
| Cost to Build an AI Chatbot | $10,000 – $45,000 | 6 – 16 weeks |
| Cost to Build an AI Agent | $25,000 – $90,000 | 10 – 24 weeks |
| Cost to Build a Fintech App | $45,000 – $150,000 | 20 – 40 weeks |
| Cost to Build a Healthcare App | $40,000 – $130,000 | 18 – 36 weeks |
| Cost to Build a Delivery App | $35,000 – $95,000 | 18 – 30 weeks |
| Cost to Build a Booking App | $20,000 – $60,000 | 10 – 22 weeks |
| Cost to Build a Custom CRM | $25,000 – $80,000 | 14 – 28 weeks |
| Cost to Build a Social Media App | $35,000 – $110,000 | 18 – 32 weeks |
| Software Development Cost in India | $15,000 – $120,000 | Varies with scope |
| Mobile App Development Cost in India | $20,000 – $70,000 | Varies with scope |
| Website Development Cost in India | $750 – $30,000 | Varies with scope |
| SaaS Development Cost | $35,000 – $120,000 | Varies with scope |
Indicative ranges for delivery by an Indian agency at senior rates, current as of August 2026. Not a quotation — each guide explains the assumptions behind its band.
By product type
What each kind of product costs to build, and what pushes the number up.
Cost to Build an MVP
What an MVP really costs, and what makes it cost more.
Typical range: $15,000 – $40,000
Cost to Build a Mobile App
What a mobile app costs, including the parts nobody quotes for.
Typical range: $20,000 – $70,000
Cost to Build a SaaS Application
SaaS costs more than a web app, and the reason is not the interface.
Typical range: $35,000 – $120,000
Cost to Build a Web Application
What a custom web application costs, tier by tier.
Typical range: $18,000 – $60,000
Cost to Build a Marketplace App
A marketplace is two products and a payment problem.
Typical range: $40,000 – $120,000
Cost to Build an E-commerce Website
Most stores should not be custom-built. Here is where the line falls.
Platform build: $6,000 – $18,000
Cost to Build a Custom CRM
Custom CRM is a licence-fee arbitrage, not a features decision.
Typical range: $25,000 – $80,000
Cost to Build a Booking App
Booking looks simple until you model availability.
Typical range: $20,000 – $60,000
Cost to Build a Social Media App
Social apps are cheap to build and expensive to run.
Build range: $35,000 – $110,000
By sector
Where regulation and integration change the maths rather than the features.
Cost to Build a Fintech App
In fintech, the ledger and the audit trail are the product.
Typical range: $45,000 – $150,000
Cost to Build a Healthcare App
Healthcare pricing is decided by compliance and integrations.
Typical range: $40,000 – $130,000
Cost to Build a Delivery App
A delivery app is three products: customer, driver, and dispatch.
Typical range: $35,000 – $95,000
AI projects
Build cost plus the monthly token spend that most quotes leave out.
Rates and running costs
What engineers cost by region and role, and what a product costs after launch.
Software Development Cost in India
What software development actually costs in India in 2026.
Agency hourly rate: $22 – $45
Software Development Hourly Rates
Developer hourly rates, compared honestly across regions and roles.
India (agency): $22 – $45 / hour
Mobile App Development Cost in India
Mobile app pricing in India, in rupees and dollars.
Typical range: ₹17 – 58 lakh
Website Development Cost in India
Website pricing in India, from landing page to platform.
Marketing site: ₹60,000 – ₹2.5 lakh
SaaS Development Cost
The build cost is one line in a SaaS budget.
Build cost: $35,000 – $120,000
App Maintenance Cost
Maintenance is not optional. It is only ever deferred.
Annual cost: 15 – 20% of build cost
FAQ
Budget questions worth answering before you brief anyone
How much does software development cost?
Through an Indian agency in 2026: $15,000–$40,000 for an MVP, $20,000–$70,000 for a mobile app, $18,000–$60,000 for a web application, and $35,000–$120,000 for a SaaS platform. US and Western European agencies typically quote three to five times those figures for equivalent scope.
Why do quotes for the same project vary so much?
Three reasons. Different scope assumed behind the same words, different seniority behind the same rate, and different things included — some quotes exclude QA, deployment, or project management entirely. Ask every vendor to price the same written feature list and the range narrows dramatically.
What is a realistic budget for a first product?
$15,000–$40,000 for an MVP is the usual starting point. Keep 20–30% of your total budget for after launch — acting on what real users tell you is where products are actually won, and spending everything on version one is the most common founder mistake.
Should we choose fixed price or time and materials?
Fixed price when scope is genuinely clear and unlikely to change; you buy certainty and pay a risk premium for it. Time and materials when the product is still evolving, which is most of the time. Fixed price on an unclear scope just relocates the argument to change requests.
What does software cost to run after launch?
Typically 15–20% of the build cost per year in maintenance, plus infrastructure of $50–$1,500 a month depending on scale. SaaS products need more than maintenance — budget continuing engineering, because products that stop developing lose customers to ones that do not.
Is cheaper offshore development a false economy?
Frequently. The most expensive projects we take on are rescues of cheap builds, where the second attempt costs more than doing it once properly. That said, expensive does not guarantee good either. Judge on the code and the references, not the rate.
Quick Brief
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