Cost to develop software with a custom software development cost calculator
In our model, custom business software costs $16,000 to $29,000 for an integration between two systems, $59,000 to $78,500 for an internal tool that replaces spreadsheets, and $63,000 to $88,000 for a customer portal with payments. Every number comes from base hours, hours per feature, three overheads and one rate of $89 an hour. Run your own project in the calculator and see the range in about a minute.
No call, no card, no email needed to see your estimate.
Web app
Hours per feature
Typical range
$40,000 to $120,000
What custom software costs in four common project shapes
These are results of the same calculator you can use, with the inputs listed. They are model ranges, not quotes, and they include design, QA and project management.
- Integration between your CRM and ERP
- What it includesTwo system connections, scheduled reports, email alerts
- Hours180 to 325
- Cost$16,000 to $29,000
- Timeline3 to 6 weeks
- Internal tool that replaces spreadsheets
- What it includesLogins, roles, admin panel, file uploads, reports, email, one ERP connection
- Hours661 to 882
- Cost$59,000 to $78,500
- Timeline8 to 10 weeks
- Customer portal with billing
- What it includesAccounts, roles, team accounts, uploads, search, dashboard, email, CRM and payment connections
- Hours708 to 986
- Cost$63,000 to $88,000
- Timeline8 to 11 weeks
- AI document processing for operations
- What it includesAI document extraction, uploads, reports, one connection to your system
- Hours261 to 418
- Cost$23,000 to $37,000
- Timeline5 to 7 weeks
| Project | What it includes | Hours | Cost | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Integration between your CRM and ERP | Two system connections, scheduled reports, email alerts | 180 to 325 | $16,000 to $29,000 | 3 to 6 weeks |
| Internal tool that replaces spreadsheets | Logins, roles, admin panel, file uploads, reports, email, one ERP connection | 661 to 882 | $59,000 to $78,500 | 8 to 10 weeks |
| Customer portal with billing | Accounts, roles, team accounts, uploads, search, dashboard, email, CRM and payment connections | 708 to 986 | $63,000 to $88,000 | 8 to 11 weeks |
| AI document processing for operations | AI document extraction, uploads, reports, one connection to your system | 261 to 418 | $23,000 to $37,000 | 5 to 7 weeks |
If you already have finished designs, the design overhead drops out. The internal tool above then comes to $50,500 to $67,500 instead of $59,000 to $78,500.
How the software development cost estimation works
Most quotes arrive as one number after two calls and a week of waiting. Ours is a formula you can check line by line.
The hours also set the team size and the timeline, planned in two week sprints with about 60 productive hours per person per sprint.
- 01 Base hours for the project type cover architecture, data model, core screens, environments, testing pipeline and deployment. An integration starts at 64 hours, an AI feature at 96, an MVP at 200, a web application at 320.
- 02 Every feature adds its own hour range, for example 40 to 80 hours for an admin panel or 16 to 40 for reports and export.
- 03 Every connection to another system adds 16 to 48 hours, depending on how good that system's API is.
- 04 Design adds 20 percent, QA 15 percent and project management 10 percent.
- 05 The total is multiplied by $89 per hour of team time and rounded to the nearest $500.
Hours per feature for business software
The full list, including mobile features such as push notifications and offline mode, is on the cost to develop an app page.
- 01 User accounts and login, 24 to 40 hours
- 02 Roles and permissions, 16 to 32 hours
- 03 Team accounts, 24 to 40 hours
- 04 Admin panel, 40 to 80 hours
- 05 Dashboard with charts, 32 to 64 hours
- 06 Search and filters, 16 to 40 hours
- 07 Reports and export, 16 to 40 hours
- 08 Payments and subscriptions, 32 to 64 hours
- 09 Public API, 32 to 64 hours
- 10 AI document extraction, 40 to 80 hours
- 11 AI assistant on your data, 48 to 96 hours
- 12 Each third-party integration, 16 to 48 hours
What moves the custom software development cost
The biggest driver is scope, not the technology. Two products built on the same stack can differ by a factor of three because one has eight features and the other twenty.
The cheapest saving is almost always a feature you move to the second release. Try it in the calculator: remove one feature and the range updates instantly.
- 01 Integrations with older systems. A modern CRM with a documented API sits near 16 hours. A legacy ERP that only exports files can take 48.
- 02 Roles and approvals. Software that several departments touch needs permissions, audit trails and notifications, and each adds hours.
- 03 Reporting. Finance and operations teams usually want exports in the exact format their month end process uses.
- 04 Deadline. If the scope needs more weeks than you have, the model adds 15 percent for a larger team, because more people means more coordination.
- 05 Designs. Bringing finished designs removes the 20 percent design overhead.
What custom software costs after launch
The build is not the whole bill. Plan for three running costs from day one.
If you would rather keep building with your own product manager, you can hire a dedicated developer for $4,900 a month part-time or $8,900 full-time.
- 01 Hosting and third-party services, paid directly by you in your own accounts, so you own the infrastructure.
- 02 Maintenance, meaning security updates, dependency upgrades, monitoring and small fixes. Our software maintenance and support plans run $990, $2,490 or $4,990 a month, with 10, 30 or 65 hours included.
- 03 New features, priced with the same model as the original build, so you know the cost of version two before you commit.
Paying for custom software in stages
You never prepay a whole project. Discovery and scope comes first, at 10 percent of the estimate with a minimum of $1,900. It confirms the requirements, the data and every integration, and it fixes the price of design, build and launch. Each later stage is paid before it starts, and after each one you can continue, change the plan or stop and keep what was delivered. The trade-offs between this model and hourly billing are covered in fixed price vs time and materials, and the full payment schedule is on software development pricing.
Custom software cost questions
In our model, custom software costs from about $16,000 for a focused integration between two systems to $88,000 or more for a customer portal with roles, billing and several connections. The final number depends on the features, the integrations and whether you bring designs. The calculator shows your range in about a minute.
Small business projects that solve one problem well, such as connecting two systems or automating one document workflow, come to $16,000 to $37,000 in our model. A full internal tool with logins, roles and reporting usually lands between $50,000 and $80,000.
We add the base hours for the project type, the hour range of every feature and each integration, then design, QA and project management as percentages. That total times $89 an hour gives the range. Discovery then confirms the details and fixes the price of each stage.
Our examples take 3 to 6 weeks for an integration, 5 to 7 weeks for an AI document workflow and 8 to 11 weeks for an internal tool or customer portal. The timeline comes from the same hours as the price, divided across a team planned in two week sprints.
It can be over three to five years when you pay per seat for several tools and still move data by hand. Compare the yearly subscription and labor cost with a one-time build plus a maintenance plan from $990 a month. If the numbers are close, keep the SaaS tools.
No. It is a preliminary range from the model. Discovery confirms the details, and the price of each later stage is fixed in the scope you accept before it starts.
Calculate the cost of your software
Pick the project type, features and integrations and see the hours, team, timeline and price in about a minute.