What Does a Custom Software Project Cost, and Where Can You Stop?

Phases · Fixed Early Pricing · Exit Points

What Does a Software Project Cost, and Where Can You Get Off?

Most software buyers ask three questions before they ask anything else. What are the phases? What does each one cost? Where can I stop if it is not working? This page answers all three, with real numbers, because a firm that will not name its prices is asking you to sign before you know what you are signing.

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Where can I stop if it is not working?

Are there change orders?

What does ongoing support include?

Can I cancel the retainer?

Razoyo Zoy reading the plan along a path of steps

Is This the Right Page for You?

This is for you if: you are comparing development firms and want to see the total commitment before you begin.

This is not for you if: you already have code and want it assessed. Start with harden or rebuild.

What Are the Phases and What Does Each Cost?

Step	What it is	Starting price	What you own if you stop here
0	Free consultation	$0	A clear view of fit and next steps
1	System Spec	$2,500 fixed	A finished product brief and PRD, usable with any team
2	Requirements Package	$2,500 fixed	Full requirements, user flows, epics, stories, acceptance criteria
3	Working MVP	From $5,000	Live, usable software
4	From MVP to production	From $10,000, depending on complexity	Software hardened for real users and real traffic
5	Ongoing support and expansion	From $1,500 a month	Continued work by the same senior team

Two things about those numbers. They are starting points: a larger scope costs more, and we say so before you commit. And the first two steps are fixed prices, so you know what you will spend before the work starts.

For a sense of range at the first step, the Women's POWER Pickleball League paid $5,000 for a Spec because her scope was bigger. The Marketplace MVP and Unified Commerce Production Specs were $2,500 each. See our work.

Five exit points

Where Can You Stop?

At every step. There are five exit points, and each one leaves you with something you own.

Step 1

After the Free Consultation

You have paid nothing. If we are not the right team, we say so and help you find one.

Step 2

After the System Spec

$2,500 fixed

You have paid $2,500 and hold a document you can give to any developer, agency or investor. Some clients stop here and take it elsewhere.

Step 3

After the Requirements Package

$2,500 fixed

You hold everything a development team needs to start, and an estimate you can budget against.

Step 4

After the MVP

From $5,000

You have working software and evidence about whether it does the job.

Step 5

After Production

From $10,000

The product is hardened. You can run it yourself or keep us on for support.

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Buy the Smallest Piece First

The Marketplace MVP client signed a Phase I agreement that said, in plain language, that they were only obligated for Phase I. That sentence describes how the whole ladder works: buy the smallest piece that tells you whether to buy the next piece.

The thing that actually drives cost

Why Do Software Projects Overrun, and What Do We Do About It?

Why they overrun

Projects do not usually run over because the engineers were slow. They run over because the plan was underspecified, and the person typing filled the gaps with guesses. Every guess that turns out wrong is rework.

What we do about it

The definition is the first deliverable, not a formality before the real work. A System Spec is built to be specific enough that a team can start without asking what you meant. That is where cost gets controlled: before a line of code exists.

What Does a Project Actually Cost in Total?

Add the published starting prices and the smallest possible path from idea to production software is $2,500 for the Spec, $2,500 for requirements, $5,000 for the MVP and $10,000 to harden it. That is a floor, not a quote: most scopes are bigger, and we price every step above the first two before you commit to it. Real projects cost more when the scope does, and every price above the first two steps is set before you commit to that step.

You can skip steps. If you already have a spec, we start at the MVP. If you already have a prototype, we start with a Production Spec (see prototype to production).

Every price on this page is also on our pricing page and, step by step, on our process page.

Questions We Get Before the Call

Not on the fixed-price steps. The Spec and Requirements Package have fixed prices, and we scope and price each later step before you commit to it.

From $1,500 a month: unlimited bug fixes through our automated systems, a staging site, every change reviewed by a lead developer, and bi-weekly check-ins with a project manager.

Yes, on 30 days notice.

Scoping a software project, what you own if you leave and the cost of taking an AI-built prototype to production.

Pick your next step

Start With a Conversation. It Costs Nothing.

Every engagement begins the same way, with a free consultation. You will leave it with an honest recommendation, including the recommendation not to build.

1 Free

Free consultation

A working session with a senior person, not a sales rep. Always the first step.