Planning · Calculator
Software Project Cost Estimator
Structure your scope the way an engineering team reads it — category, roles, platforms, integrations and timeline — so the estimate you receive is grounded in something real.
Development cost questions are usually asked before scope exists, which is why answers vary so wildly. The variables that move a budget are specific: how many user roles, which external systems must be integrated, whether data has to be migrated, how much of the interface is bespoke, and how compressed the timeline is.
Work through the inputs below and you will have a scope summary worth quoting against — useful whether you build with us or with anyone else.
Scope builder
Describe the project
A real estimate depends on requirements and technical discovery, so this page does not publish a figure. Send the scope you have selected and we will respond with an indicative range and the assumptions behind it.
What drives the estimate
Project category
A marketing site, a SaaS platform and an internal business system carry very different architecture and testing needs.
User roles and permissions
Each additional role adds screens, access rules and test paths — often the single most underestimated factor.
Platform coverage
Web only, or web plus iOS and Android, including store release and device testing effort.
Design complexity
Template-led, custom interface, or fully bespoke design with motion and a documented design system.
Integrations
Payments, ERP, CRM, logistics, messaging and identity — cost scales with each system's maturity, not its count.
Dashboards and reporting
Basic administration versus analytical reporting with aggregation, exports and performance considerations.
AI and automation
Assistive features versus AI that is central to the product, where evaluation and oversight become core work.
Timeline and discovery
How much is still undecided, and whether the schedule allows sequential delivery or forces parallel effort.
What you'll get back
- A scope summary written in the terms an engineering team estimates against.
- An indicative range once we understand the requirements, with assumptions stated.
- A view of which choices are driving the cost, and which are cheap to keep.
- Options for phasing — what a focused first release could contain.
- The discovery work needed before a fixed proposal is responsible.
- Clarity on what is included: testing, deployment, security and support.
We do not publish arbitrary price ranges. A real proposal depends on requirements and technical discovery, and any figure given before that is a guess presented as certainty.
How it works
- 1
Select your scope
Choose the category, roles, platforms, integrations and timeline that reflect what you have in mind.
- 2
Send it with context
Add the outcome you are after and any existing systems involved, through the project enquiry form.
- 3
Receive an indicative estimate
We respond with a range, the assumptions behind it, and the discovery needed for a fixed proposal.
Frequently asked questions
- Why does this estimator not show a price yet?
- Because a number produced from six clicks would be fiction. The estimation logic is being built against our real delivery data; until it is connected, the tool structures your scope and a specialist responds with an indicative range.
- What actually drives software project cost?
- Scope depth rather than surface count: number of user roles, integrations with external systems, data migration, compliance requirements, design originality, platform coverage and how much discovery is still open.
- Why do quotes for the same brief differ so much?
- Usually because the briefs are not really the same. One includes discovery, testing, deployment, security and support; another prices a prototype. Comparing quotes requires comparing what is inside them.
- Does a phased approach cost more?
- Not typically. Shipping a focused first release and extending it tends to cost less overall than building a large specification upfront, because decisions are made with real usage evidence.
- How does timeline urgency affect cost?
- Compression raises cost non-linearly. Parallel workstreams need more coordination, more review and more senior involvement, and beyond a point they raise risk rather than speed.
- What do you need to give a real proposal?
- A conversation about outcomes, users and constraints, plus any existing systems involved. From that we produce a scoped proposal with assumptions written down, rather than a headline figure.
Have the scope conversation properly.
Bring the scope you have shaped here and we will map the fastest credible route to a production product.
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