How much does it cost to build an MVP?

An MVP is not a prototype. A prototype proves an idea to you; an MVP is handed to real users who create real data and expect it back tomorrow. That difference is most of the price.

Our range is $18,000 to $45,000. It includes scope written down and a clickable prototype before any code, sign-in, roles, billing and the core workflow, an admin console for whoever runs the product. What moves it inside that range: how many user roles there are, and how deep the permissions go, how complicated payments and subscriptions get, third-party integrations, compliance requirements (soc 2, hipaa, gdpr data residency).

Three things drive the cost up. First, the data model: if your MVP has to handle stock, orders and returns, or permissions and roles, or workflows that branch on conditions, the database is weeks of work before any user sees anything. Second, integrations: connecting to a payment processor, a shipping API, a CRM or an accounting system costs more than a system that works in isolation. Third, production readiness: monitoring so you know when something breaks, backups so you can recover from it, and a deployment process that does not wake you up at midnight. A prototype skips all three. An MVP does not.

If what you actually need is a marketing site with a form that sends you an email, that is a different piece of work and costs $4,500 to $12,000. We will say so on the first call rather than sell you the larger number.

Mobile apps cost more. A native iOS and Android app is larger than a web MVP because you maintain two codebases, handle two app stores and test on dozens of devices. The complexity is the same; the scope is wider. Plan for $45,000 or higher if mobile is required.

Real-time features cost more. If users need to see each other's changes live (a collaborative editor, a live dashboard, a game), that is event streaming and websockets, not a traditional web form. It is not harder, but it is not a beaten path.

AI integration costs more. An MVP that classifies documents, generates images, or talks to a model costs more than one that does not, because you have to handle rate limits, fallbacks and a bill that grows with usage. Budget for monitoring and guardrails.

Below our hourly floor of $55 the work stops paying for review, testing and support, and the first defect eats the margin for the whole project. We do not quote below it.