Free planning tool

UK MVP Cost Calculator

Answer eight questions about your product and get an indicative cost range in GBP and a build timeline. The ranges come from our published UK custom web application cost guide: £25,000–£45,000 for a robust MVP, from £40,000 for internal tools and £60,000–£120,000+ for customer portals.

The ranges behind the calculator

The calculator never returns a figure outside these bands. A “+” means the published figure can be exceeded.

Published cost and timeline ranges by product type
Product type	Cost range (GBP)	Timeline	Timeline source
SaaS MVP	£25,000–£45,000	8–12 weeks	Published (SaaS cost guide)
Web application MVP	£25,000–£45,000	12–16 weeks	Published (UK cost guide)
Internal operational tool	£40,000–£80,000+	12–20 weeks	Derived
Customer portal	£60,000–£120,000+	16–24 weeks	Derived

What drives MVP cost in the UK

The type of product sets the band. A focused MVP proves one core workflow; an internal tool has to fit the way several teams already work; a customer portal puts your data in front of clients, so it carries more security and testing work. Within each band, seven drivers decide where your build lands.

User roles and admin

Every extra type of user adds permissions, screens and test cases. Admin dashboards and reporting are often deferred from a first release; if your team needs them on day one, budget for them.

Integrations and AI features

Payments, CRMs, ERPs and data feeds each depend on the quality of someone else’s API, so they add build and error-handling work. Our SaaS development cost guide lists integrations and custom data ingestion among the factors that move a focused MVP budget. One assistive AI feature, such as summarising or drafting, is a contained piece of work. When AI is the product, for example retrieval over your own documents, evaluation, guardrails and usage-cost controls become part of the build.

Mobile, compliance and design

A native iOS and Android app is a second client to build, test and release alongside the web app. UK GDPR and accessibility (WCAG 2.1 AA) apply to most products; regulated sectors add audit logging, access controls and documentation. Starting design from scratch adds discovery and interface work before development begins.

Timelines and what is excluded

We publish 8–12 weeks for a focused SaaS MVP and 12–16 weeks for a standard operational MVP. We have not published timelines for internal tools or portals, so the calculator derives cautious ranges from those figures. Hosting, third-party licences and maintenance are separate running costs; the UK cost guide explains them, along with team shape and pricing models.

Not sure the idea is worth building yet? Test it first with the AI Dev Planner validation platform, which produces an MVP scope, budget and roadmap from market and competitor research. When you are ready to build, our MVP development service turns the range into a fixed scope and plan.

MVP cost FAQs

How much does an MVP cost in the UK?

Our UK custom web application cost guide gives a planning range of roughly £25,000 to £45,000 for a robust MVP. Where your MVP sits in that range depends on user roles, integrations, AI features, compliance and how much design work is needed. Our SaaS development cost guide puts a focused B2B SaaS MVP at roughly $25,000 to $65,000 in US dollars.

How accurate is this MVP cost calculator?

It gives an indicative planning range, not a quote. It places your answers inside the ranges we have published and never returns a figure outside them. A fixed price needs a scoping conversation about your workflows, data, integrations and compliance, because two products with the same answers here can still differ a lot in detail.

How long does it take to build an MVP?

Our SaaS development cost guide gives 8 to 12 weeks for a focused SaaS MVP, and our UK cost guide gives 12 to 16 weeks for a standard operational MVP. We have not published timelines for internal tools or customer portals, so the calculator derives conservative ranges for those from the MVP figures and labels them as derived.

What is not included in the estimate?

The range covers design and build of the first version. It excludes hosting, third-party licences and ongoing maintenance after launch, which our cost guides treat as separate running costs. It also excludes work outside the scope you describe, such as data migration from legacy systems you did not mention.

Why do internal tools and customer portals cost more than an MVP?

Our UK cost guide puts internal tools from about £40,000 for a single department to well over £80,000 for a company-wide system, because cost grows with the number of departments the software touches. Customer portals start around £60,000 and can exceed £120,000, because they need security auditing, testing across browsers and devices, and data sync with your internal CRM.