MVP cost
calculator

Pick what your product needs. Get a price range and a build timeline in seconds, next to what freelancers and agencies typically quote.

1. What are you building?

Pick the closest match.

Every MVP includes: sign-up and login, your core workflow, database, Stripe checkout or a waitlist, a basic admin view, responsive UI, landing page, production deployment and 30 days of post-launch support.

2. What else does version 1 need?

Only pick what your first users cannot live without. Everything else can come after launch.

3. Third-party integrations

Tools the product connects to beyond payments and email: a CRM, Google Calendar, Slack, an industry API.

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4. Design

5. Platform

Get an exact, fixed quote

Send your estimate and one line about the idea. You get a fixed price and a week-by-week plan back within one working day. No sales sequence.

How the estimate works

The starting price covers a focused web MVP: one user type, one core workflow, Stripe checkout or a waitlist and a basic admin view, built and deployed in 30 days or less. Each feature you add has a price and a number of build days, based on what that feature has cost across the 20+ MVPs we have shipped. The range allows for details we only learn on a call, such as how many screens a workflow needs.

The price list behind the estimate

The core MVP is $5,000 and 30 days or less. Each add-on below has a fixed price and a number of extra build days. Third-party integrations are +$750 and about 1 day each. The calculator adds these up and shows a range, because some details only come out on a call.

Add-onPriceBuild time
Marketplace
Two sides, such as buyers and sellers, with listings and matching.
+$3,000+3 days
AI product
The core value is an AI workflow: chat, analysis, generation.
+$3,000+3 days
Subscription billing
Plans, trials, upgrades and a billing portal, beyond a simple checkout.
+$1,000+2 days
Teams and roles
Organisations, invites and permission levels.
+$1,500+2 days
AI features
Summaries, chat or extraction on top of an LLM.
+$2,500+3 days
Real-time
Live chat, notifications or collaborative updates.
+$2,000+3 days
File processing
Uploads, previews and reading data out of documents.
+$1,000+1 day
Analytics dashboard
Charts and reports for your users, with exports.
+$1,500+2 days
Search and filters
Fast search across your product's data.
+$750+1 day
Email automation
Onboarding emails, reminders and digests.
+$500+1 day
Compliance
Audit trails, retention and access controls for regulated data.
+$3,000+5 days
Custom brand design
Designed screens in your brand before the build starts.
+$1,500+2 days
Web + native mobile
Adds iOS and Android apps built with React Native.
+$6,000+15 days

What common apps cost on this price list

Ten well-known products, cut down to the smallest version that tests the idea and priced with the list above. The list price is the sum of the line items; the estimate is what the calculator shows for the same choices. Each link opens the full breakdown, including a cheaper test version and what the app costs to run after launch. See all of them on cost to build an app like X.

Lean MVPList priceEstimateTimelineCalculator
Rental marketplace like Airbnb$11,750$12,000 to $14,00040 to 45 daysLoad it
Freelance marketplace like Upwork$13,000$13,000 to $15,50045 to 50 daysLoad it
Delivery marketplace like DoorDash$13,500$13,500 to $16,00045 to 50 daysLoad it
Listings site like Zillow$11,750$12,000 to $14,00040 to 45 daysLoad it
Ride app like Uber (native apps)$18,750$19,000 to $23,0009 to 11 weeksLoad it
Scheduling app like Calendly$8,750$9,000 to $10,000About 40 daysLoad it
Team chat like Slack$11,750$12,000 to $14,00045 to 50 daysLoad it
AI chat app like ChatGPT$10,000$10,000 to $11,500About 40 daysLoad it
Dating app like Tinder (native apps)$16,250$16,500 to $19,5009 to 10 weeksLoad it
Course platform like Teachable$8,250$8,500 to $9,00035 to 40 daysLoad it

What makes an MVP cost more

Native mobile apps

Two app stores, two review processes and device testing. A responsive web app is usually enough to validate. See web app, PWA or native app for your MVP and mobile app MVP development.

AI features

Prompting, evaluation, guardrails and cost control take real build time, even on top of a hosted model.

Compliance

Audit trails, data retention and access controls for health, care or finance data. See compliance software.

Integrations

Each outside system brings its own auth, rate limits and edge cases. Well documented APIs are quick, legacy ones are not.

Questions about MVP cost

How much does it cost to build an MVP?

At minidev.pro a focused web MVP is $5,000 fixed: sign-up, one core workflow, a database, Stripe checkout or a waitlist, a basic admin view, a landing page, deployment and 30 days of support. Add-ons have fixed prices, such as subscription billing (+$1,000), teams and roles (+$1,500) or native iOS and Android apps (+$6,000). By our estimate, freelancers typically quote $8,000 to $25,000 and agencies $50,000 to $150,000 or more for similar scope.

How much does a SaaS MVP cost?

On our price list a SaaS MVP starts at $6,000: the $5,000 base plus $1,000 for subscription billing with plans, trials, upgrades and a billing portal. Adding teams and roles (+$1,500) and an analytics dashboard (+$1,500) brings it to $9,000. Use the calculator above to price your exact feature list, or read what a SaaS MVP needs on day one.

How long does it take to build an MVP?

A focused web MVP takes 30 days or less with us, and the date is written into the agreement. Each add-on adds a set number of build days: a marketplace adds 3, real-time features 3 and native mobile apps 15. The calculator turns the total into calendar days or weeks, so an Airbnb-style marketplace with search, photo uploads, booking emails, payouts and maps comes out at 40 to 45 days.

How accurate is this MVP cost estimate?

It is a range based on what similar features have cost across 20+ MVPs we have shipped. The exact price depends on details like how many screens each workflow needs and how well documented your integrations are. A 30-minute call turns the range into a fixed quote that does not change unless you change the scope.

Why is a minidev.pro MVP cheaper than an agency?

A small senior team, no account managers, a stack we do not debate, and a scope locked in the first days. Agencies price in layers of management and long discovery phases, and freelancers often bill hourly while the scope grows. You pay for building, not for layers.

What if my estimate is above $20,000?

That usually means the scope is past a minimum viable product. We split it: launch the core workflow in about 30 days, learn from real users, then add the rest on our monthly SaaS development retainer, prioritised by what users actually need.

Read next

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MVP cost in the UK

The same question in pounds, with UK rates.

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Which billing option to use for a SaaS, with fees worked out.