Honest numbers and the factors that drive them up or down. No "it depends" without an explanation.
This is the question every business asks first and every agency dodges. "It depends" is technically true, but it's not helpful. Here are real numbers based on the projects we've built and the market we work in.
Typical ranges
- Marketing website with CMS: $10K-$30K
- Web application (MVP): $30K-$80K
- Web application (full product): $50K-$200K
- Mobile app (cross-platform, one codebase): $40K-$120K
- SaaS platform (multi-tenant, billing, admin): $80K-$250K
- Enterprise system (complex integrations, compliance): $150K-$500K+
What drives cost up
Integrations with external systems, compliance requirements (HIPAA, PCI, SOC 2), complex business logic with many edge cases, real-time features, and multi-platform support. Each of these adds complexity that takes time to build and test correctly.
What keeps cost down
Clear requirements before development starts, a tight MVP scope, using proven frameworks and libraries instead of building from scratch, and making decisions quickly instead of cycling through options. The biggest cost driver we see is indecision - requirements that keep changing add weeks of rework.
Fixed price vs. hourly
We work on a fixed-price basis for new projects. You know what you're paying before we start. This works because we invest time upfront in discovery and scoping, which reduces surprises during development. For ongoing maintenance and feature work, we use hourly retainers.
Ben Arledge
CEO & CTO, CloudOwlWant to talk strategy?
No sales pitch, just an honest conversation about what you're building.