Free planning tool

MVP Cost Calculator: Estimate Your Build (2026)

Answer eight questions about your product and get an indicative cost range and build timeline. The bands are set in GBP in our published UK custom web application cost guide; view them in US dollars, pounds or euros.

How much does an MVP cost?

On our published bands, a robust MVP costs £25,000–£45,000 (about $33,000 to $60,000). Internal tools start at about £40,000 and can run well over £80,000; customer portals start around £60,000 and can exceed £120,000. Timelines: 8–12 weeks for a focused SaaS MVP; 12–16 weeks for a standard operational web-app MVP.

Last checked: 31 October 2026. GBP ranges from our UK cost guide and SaaS cost guide. US-dollar figures are approximate conversions at £1 = $1.3335 (ECB euro reference rates, 16 October 2026), not a separate price list.

The ranges behind the calculator

The calculator never returns a figure outside these bands. A “+” means the published figure can be exceeded. The bands are set in GBP; the US-dollar column is an approximate conversion at £1 = $1.3335 (ECB euro reference rates, 16 October 2026), rounded to the nearest 1,000.

Separately, our SaaS development cost guide publishes a US-dollar range of $25,000–$65,000 for a focused B2B SaaS MVP; that is the figure on our homepage and engagement cards. It is a separately published band, not a conversion of the GBP figures above.

Published GBP cost ranges, approximate US-dollar conversions and timeline ranges by product type. Scroll sideways to see every column.
Product type	Cost range (GBP, published)	≈ USD (conversion)	Timeline	Timeline source	Cost source
SaaS MVP	£25,000–£45,000	≈ $33,000–$60,000	8–12 weeks	Published (SaaS cost guide)	UK cost guide
Web application MVP	£25,000–£45,000	≈ $33,000–$60,000	12–16 weeks	Published (UK cost guide)	UK cost guide
Internal operational tool	£40,000–£80,000+	≈ $53,000–$107,000+	12–20 weeks	Derived	UK cost guide
Customer portal	£60,000–£120,000+	≈ $80,000–$160,000+	16–24 weeks	Derived	UK cost guide

What is in an MVP budget, and what is not

The calculator’s range covers design and build of the first version. Running costs and anything outside the scope you describe are separate.

What the MVP cost range includes and excludes. Scroll sideways to see every column.
Cost item	In the range?	Note
Product design for the core workflow	Yes	User flows and interface design for the journey that proves the idea.
Build of the agreed scope	Yes	The features on the written scope; everything else goes on the cut list.
Authentication and data model	Yes	Sign-in, user roles and a database designed to be extended, not rebuilt.
Deployment pipeline and monitoring	Yes	Automated releases and monitoring so the MVP can take real users.
60–90 day warranty	Yes	Covers defects in what we delivered after launch.
Hosting	No	A running cost, paid to the hosting provider in an account you own.
Third-party licences	No	Paid services such as email, maps or AI model usage.
Maintenance after the warranty	No	Available as a separately scoped retainer.
Work outside the described scope	No	For example, migrating data from a legacy system you did not mention.

Prototype, proof of concept or MVP?

Quotes vary partly because people use these words for different things. The bands on this page are for an MVP: working software that real users can rely on. We do not publish prices for prototypes or proofs of concept.

Differences between a prototype, a proof of concept and an MVP. Scroll sideways to see every column.
Attribute	Prototype	Proof of concept	MVP
What it is	Clickable designs or a mock-up of the main screens	A small technical test of the riskiest part, such as an integration or an AI step	Working software with one core workflow that real users can sign up to and use
Question it answers	Do users understand it and want it?	Can this be built the way we need?	Will people use it, and pay for it?
Who uses it	Founders, test users, investors	The product and engineering team	Real customers
Production code?	No	Usually not; often thrown away	Yes: authentication, data model, deployment and monitoring
Typical next step	Validate demand, then scope the MVP	Decide the architecture for the MVP	Iterate from real usage or extend into a full product

What drives MVP cost

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. Data protection law (for example GDPR in the EU, UK GDPR in the UK or the CCPA in California) and an accessibility target such as WCAG 2.2 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

Our published timelines are 8–12 weeks for a focused SaaS MVP; 12–16 weeks for a standard operational web-app MVP. We have not published timelines for internal tools or portals, so the calculator derives cautious ranges from those figures. The MVP development timeline guide breaks those weeks down phase by phase. 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.

How to cut MVP scope without gutting it

The cheapest MVP is the one that proves the idea with the fewest features. Start from the one workflow that proves it and ask of every other feature whether the first users need it to get value. Admin dashboards, advanced settings, extra integrations and edge-case roles usually wait.

Keep a written cut list

Record every feature left out of the MVP with the reason. New requests are then weighed against the agreed scope rather than added by default, and the decisions are easy to revisit after launch.

Treat scope changes as separate phases

Estimate and schedule larger additions as follow-on phases. That keeps the first launch date and budget intact, and lets real usage decide what comes next.

Do not cut the foundations

Authentication, a sound data model, a deployment pipeline and monitoring are what let an MVP take real users and be extended rather than rebuilt. Cutting features is cheap; rebuilding a rushed foundation is not.

How other published figures compare

For context, these are figures from other businesses and public rate data. Each row names the market it comes from, and figures stay in their original currency. The agency figures are those businesses’ own published numbers, not independent benchmarks, and each defines “MVP” and its exclusions differently, so compare scope before comparing price. The UK contract day rate and the US employee wage describe what individual developers are paid, not project prices, and they are not directly comparable with each other.

MVP cost and developer rate reference points from UK and US sources, with market and access date. Scroll sideways to see every column.
Published by	Market	Figure	What it refers to
Magora Systems	UK agency	£10,000–£25,000	Published band for a startup MVP; the page states its figures exclude VAT (page marked last checked 13 October 2026). Source: magora-systems.com/mvp-cost-uk/, accessed 15 October 2026.
Rocking Tech	UK agency	£30,000–£60,000	Published as what most funded startups spend on a custom MVP (article dated 30 July 2026). Source: rockingtech.co.uk/blog/what-custom-mvp-development-actually-costs-in-the-uk, accessed 15 October 2026.
ITJobsWatch	UK contractor day rate	£500 per day	Median UK contract day rate advertised for full-stack developers, 6 months to 15 October 2026. A rate, not a project price. Source: itjobswatch.co.uk/contracts/uk/full stack developer.do, accessed 15 October 2026.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics	US employee wage	$65.38 per hour	Median hourly wage for US software developers (SOC 15-1252), Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (median annual wage $135,980). An employee wage that excludes benefits and employer costs: not a contract rate or a project price. Source: data.bls.gov/timeseries/OEUN000000000000015125208, accessed 17 October 2026.

Not sure whether an agency is the right way to build at all? Our guide to agency vs freelancer vs in-house development compares the options for UK startups, and our checklist for choosing a software development company covers what to ask before you sign.

How much does a web app or MVP cost in Europe?

European buyers usually compare three routes. The calculator above prices only the last one, our own bands, which are set in pounds sterling; choose euros in the calculator for an approximate conversion at European Central Bank reference rates. A robust MVP on our bands is £25,000–£45,000, about €30,000 to €53,000.

How the cost of an MVP is built for an in-house EU team, a nearshore agency and AI Dev Planner. Scroll sideways to see every column.
Route	How the cost is built	Typical figure
In-house team in the EU	Salaries plus employer social contributions, recruitment and management time, paid monthly whether or not there is work	Varies widely by country and seniority
Nearshore agency (e.g. Poland, Romania, Portugal)	Day rates or sprint prices set by each firm	Ask each firm for a written range
AI Dev Planner (Islamabad, remote)	Published bands, then fixed two-week sprint costs against a written scope	£25,000–£45,000 for a robust MVP (about €30,000 to €53,000)

Euro figures are approximate conversions of our GBP bands, not a separate euro price list; the written quote sets the final figure. For services, working hours and the GDPR set-up for European clients, see our web development agency for Europe and software development company for Europe pages.

Running costs after launch

The build is not the whole cost. Our SaaS development cost guide puts ongoing running costs at roughly 15–25% of the initial build per year. Hosting and third-party licences are paid to the providers, ideally in accounts you own. A 60–90 day warranty after launch covers defects in what we delivered; after that, a maintenance retainer can be scoped separately, or your own developers can take over using the documentation and handover.

If your MVP is a multi-tenant product, it can grow into a full platform through our SaaS development services. If it is a client-facing system, see customer portal development. For the first version itself, see our MVP development company page.

MVP cost FAQs

How much does an MVP cost in 2026?

Our UK custom web application cost guide gives a planning range of roughly £25,000 to £45,000 for a robust MVP: about $33,000 to $60,000, or about €30,000 to €53,000, at European Central Bank reference rates for 16 October 2026. 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.

Which currency are the prices in?

Our bands are set in pounds sterling (GBP), the currency of our published cost guides. The calculator can also show US dollars or euros: those are approximate conversions of the GBP figures at £1 = $1.3335 and £1 = €1.1850 (European Central Bank euro reference rates for 16 October 2026), rounded to the nearest 1,000. They are not separate price lists, and exchange rates move.

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?

8–12 weeks for a focused SaaS MVP; 12–16 weeks for a standard operational web-app MVP. Those are the figures in our SaaS and UK cost guides. 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.

Can I get a fixed price for an MVP?

Not before the product has been scoped. We scope budgets in a technical discovery phase, where we map your workflows, data model and integrations, and then set fixed 2-week sprint costs with clear milestones against that agreed scope. Larger additions are estimated as separate follow-on phases, so the first launch date and budget hold.

Is it cheaper to build an MVP with no-code or AI app builders?

For testing demand, often yes. A no-code tool or an AI app builder can put a working version in front of users quickly and cheaply, and that is a sensible way to validate an idea. The costs move later, when real users and real data arrive: authentication, access rules, the data model, payments and deployment discipline all need to hold up. Once the idea is validated and the product has to handle customer data, budget for a production build, either by hardening what exists or rebuilding the core. If you already have an AI-built app, our free production readiness checker shows what to harden first.

What does an MVP cost to run after launch?

Hosting, third-party licences and maintenance sit outside the build price. Our SaaS development cost guide puts ongoing running costs at roughly 15–25% of the initial build per year. A 60–90 day warranty after launch covers defects in what we delivered; after that, a maintenance retainer is scoped separately.

Where can I see all published price bands in one place?

On our pricing page at /pricing, which summarises the same published bands used here: a robust MVP at £25,000–£45,000, internal tools from about £40,000 to well over £80,000, customer portals from around £60,000 to over £120,000, a focused B2B SaaS MVP at $25,000–$65,000 in 8–12 weeks, and ongoing running costs at roughly 15–25% of the initial build per year. Those are planning ranges, not quotes, and the UK custom web application cost guide gives the detail behind the GBP figures.

Want a fixed figure?

We work with founders and businesses worldwide, including the UK, US and Gulf, from our engineering team in Islamabad, Pakistan. Tell us what you are building and we will scope it with you.

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