Customer portal development cost at a glance
- Client document portal
- Main featuresLogins, document uploads and downloads, search, email notifications
- Build cost, our model$49,500 to $58,000
- Build time7 to 8 weeks
- Client portal with billing
- Main featuresRoles, documents, invoices, card payments, email, search, payment processor connection
- Build cost, our model$60,000 to $80,500
- Build time8 to 11 weeks
- B2B ordering portal
- Main featuresCompany accounts with buyer roles, catalog search, invoices, payments, reports, ERP and payment connections
- Build cost, our model$64,000 to $91,000
- Build time8 to 12 weeks
- Customer support portal
- Main featuresRequests and messaging, file uploads, search, email, CRM connection
- Build cost, our model$59,000 to $78,500
- Build time8 to 10 weeks
- Dealer or partner portal
- Main featuresPartner companies and teams, documents, messaging, dashboard, CRM connection
- Build cost, our model$62,500 to $83,500
- Build time8 to 11 weeks
- Project portal for clients
- Main featuresRoles, documents, scheduling calendar, messaging, dashboard, email, one connection
- Build cost, our model$65,000 to $90,000
- Build time9 to 12 weeks
- Self-service portal with an AI assistant
- Main featuresLogins, documents, search, an assistant that answers from your records, CRM connection
- Build cost, our model$58,000 to $76,500
- Build time8 to 10 weeks
- Portal layer on your ERP or CRM
- Main featuresLogins, documents, search, email, reading and writing through your system's API
- Build cost, our model$18,500 to $31,000
- Build time4 to 6 weeks
| Portal type | Main features | Build cost, our model | Build time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Client document portal | Logins, document uploads and downloads, search, email notifications | $49,500 to $58,000 | 7 to 8 weeks |
| Client portal with billing | Roles, documents, invoices, card payments, email, search, payment processor connection | $60,000 to $80,500 | 8 to 11 weeks |
| B2B ordering portal | Company accounts with buyer roles, catalog search, invoices, payments, reports, ERP and payment connections | $64,000 to $91,000 | 8 to 12 weeks |
| Customer support portal | Requests and messaging, file uploads, search, email, CRM connection | $59,000 to $78,500 | 8 to 10 weeks |
| Dealer or partner portal | Partner companies and teams, documents, messaging, dashboard, CRM connection | $62,500 to $83,500 | 8 to 11 weeks |
| Project portal for clients | Roles, documents, scheduling calendar, messaging, dashboard, email, one connection | $65,000 to $90,000 | 9 to 12 weeks |
| Self-service portal with an AI assistant | Logins, documents, search, an assistant that answers from your records, CRM connection | $58,000 to $76,500 | 8 to 10 weeks |
| Portal layer on your ERP or CRM | Logins, documents, search, email, reading and writing through your system's API | $18,500 to $31,000 | 4 to 6 weeks |
Every row is a result of our estimate model at $89 per hour of team time, with design, QA and project management included. They are model results for the features listed, not quotes. Run the same model with your own features in the estimate and you get your own range.
Why published portal prices run from $4,000 to $400,000
Guides on customer portal development cost lump together three different things. At the bottom sit configured templates and no-code tools that give each client a login and a file folder. In the middle sit custom portals for one company's customers. At the top sit enterprise platforms with single sign-on, user provisioning and deep ERP integration across business units. Rates in those guides also swing from $25 to $200 an hour. Your price depends on which of those you need, and the honest way to find out is to list the screens and the systems the portal has to talk to.
The other reason for the spread is where the data lives. A portal that shows records you already keep in NetSuite, QuickBooks or HubSpot is mostly a secure window plus the connection. A portal that becomes the system of record for orders, tickets or projects needs its own data model, admin screens and reports, which is why it costs three times as much.
How much does a customer portal cost per feature?
These are the hours our model adds per feature, converted to dollars with design, QA and project management included.
- Customer accounts and sign-in
- Added cost, our model$3,100 to $5,200
- Roles, for example buyer, approver, accounts payable
- Added cost, our model$2,100 to $4,100
- Company accounts with several users each
- Added cost, our model$3,100 to $5,200
- Document uploads and downloads
- Added cost, our model$1,500 to $3,100
- Email notifications
- Added cost, our model$1,500 to $3,100
- Search across orders, invoices or documents
- Added cost, our model$2,100 to $5,200
- Invoices and statements
- Added cost, our model$2,100 to $4,100
- Card or ACH payments
- Added cost, our model$4,100 to $8,300
- Messaging between customers and your team
- Added cost, our model$5,200 to $10,300
- Booking or scheduling calendar
- Added cost, our model$4,100 to $8,300
- Customer dashboard
- Added cost, our model$4,100 to $8,300
- Reports and exports
- Added cost, our model$2,100 to $5,200
- AI assistant that answers from your records
- Added cost, our model$6,200 to $12,400
- Each integration, for example ERP, CRM, accounting, payments
- Added cost, our model$2,100 to $6,200
| Portal feature | Added cost, our model |
|---|---|
| Customer accounts and sign-in | $3,100 to $5,200 |
| Roles, for example buyer, approver, accounts payable | $2,100 to $4,100 |
| Company accounts with several users each | $3,100 to $5,200 |
| Document uploads and downloads | $1,500 to $3,100 |
| Email notifications | $1,500 to $3,100 |
| Search across orders, invoices or documents | $2,100 to $5,200 |
| Invoices and statements | $2,100 to $4,100 |
| Card or ACH payments | $4,100 to $8,300 |
| Messaging between customers and your team | $5,200 to $10,300 |
| Booking or scheduling calendar | $4,100 to $8,300 |
| Customer dashboard | $4,100 to $8,300 |
| Reports and exports | $2,100 to $5,200 |
| AI assistant that answers from your records | $6,200 to $12,400 |
| Each integration, for example ERP, CRM, accounting, payments | $2,100 to $6,200 |
The base package covers the data model, the main screens, environments, security setup and deployment, and it is the largest single line. That is why a standalone custom portal never costs $10,000, and why one more feature rarely moves the total by more than ten percent.
Custom customer portal or client portal software?
Client portal software is cheap and fast. SuiteDash, for example, lists plans at $19, $49 and $99 a month per workspace on Capterra in 2026, which is about $1,800 to $3,600 over three years on the middle and top plans. If your customers mainly need a branded place to download files, sign documents and pay invoices, buy that and keep your budget.
- Upfront
- Client portal softwareSetup time, often a few days
- Custom portal layer, our model$18,500 to $31,000
- Custom B2B portal, our model$64,000 to $91,000
- Recurring
- Client portal softwareMonthly plan per workspace
- Custom portal layer, our modelHosting plus optional maintenance from $990 a month
- Custom B2B portal, our modelHosting plus optional maintenance from $990 a month
- Works with your ERP or CRM data
- Client portal softwareThrough the vendor's connectors, if they exist
- Custom portal layer, our modelReads and writes your system directly
- Custom B2B portal, our modelBuilt around it
- Your pricing rules, approvals and catalogs
- Client portal softwareLimited to the vendor's options
- Custom portal layer, our modelShown from your system
- Custom B2B portal, our modelModeled exactly
- Who owns the code
- Client portal softwareThe vendor
- Custom portal layer, our modelYou
- Custom B2B portal, our modelYou
| Over 3 years | Client portal software | Custom portal layer, our model | Custom B2B portal, our model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upfront | Setup time, often a few days | $18,500 to $31,000 | $64,000 to $91,000 |
| Recurring | Monthly plan per workspace | Hosting plus optional maintenance from $990 a month | Hosting plus optional maintenance from $990 a month |
| Works with your ERP or CRM data | Through the vendor's connectors, if they exist | Reads and writes your system directly | Built around it |
| Your pricing rules, approvals and catalogs | Limited to the vendor's options | Shown from your system | Modeled exactly |
| Who owns the code | The vendor | You | You |
Custom pays off when the portal is part of how you sell. Distributors with customer specific price lists, manufacturers whose dealers place repeat orders, and service firms whose clients approve work in several steps all hit the limits of a generic portal fast. Every order a customer places in the portal instead of by phone or email is time your inside sales team gets back.
Build a new portal or add one to your ERP or CRM?
If your orders, invoices and customer records already live in an ERP or CRM that works, add a portal layer and leave the system alone. That is the $18,500 to $31,000 row above, and it ships in 4 to 6 weeks. Build a full portal with its own data model when there is no good system behind it, or when the portal itself becomes the product your customers pay for. Our custom ERP development and custom CRM development pages show what those builds look like when the back office needs work too.
How long does it take to build a customer portal?
A portal layer on an existing system takes 4 to 6 weeks of build. A standalone client portal takes 7 to 8 weeks, and a B2B ordering or project portal takes 8 to 12 weeks. Every project starts with a one week Discovery that confirms the scope and fixes the price of each later stage. Single sign-on with your customers' identity providers and migration of old customer accounts are sized separately in Discovery, because they depend on what you have today.
What does a customer portal cost after launch?
Budget for hosting, email sending, payment processing fees on every transaction and maintenance. Our maintenance plans start at $990 a month and cover security updates, monitoring and small changes. If late invoices are the main reason you want a portal, pair it with accounts receivable automation that follows up on every invoice by email and text, so customers get reminded before they ever need to log in.
How to keep customer portal development cost down
- Start with the two or three things customers ask your team for most, usually order status, invoices and documents.
- Read data from the system you already have instead of copying it into a new database.
- Use your payment processor's hosted checkout so card data never touches the portal.
- Leave single sign-on for later unless your largest customers require it today.
- Pay stage by stage. Discovery costs 10 percent of the estimate, at least $1,900, and you can stop after any stage.
Get your customer portal priced
Pick the portal type, the features and the systems it connects to in the estimate, and see hours, team size, timeline and cost in about a minute. If the portal sits inside a bigger web application, add those screens in the same estimate.