How much does it cost to build a custom app?

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VX-N · Accepted Answer

A focused internal tool or MVP typically runs $15,000-$50,000; a full agency build of the same thing is often $50,000-$120,000, and hiring in-house is $180,000+ a year before you have shipped anything. The variable that actually drives the number is how clearly the requirements are defined before anyone writes code. Costs balloon in predictable places: user accounts and permissions, payments, anything involving other people's APIs, and any requirement that arrives after the build starts. Costs stay low when the first version does one thing for one type of user. The cheapest version of this decision is to build the smallest thing that proves the idea works, then extend it. Most expensive projects are expensive because version one tried to be version three.