Published ranges · written quote in 48 hours
Software development pricing: what a project costs, what a team costs, and what is included.
Most software development companies will not put a number on their website. We do, because a range you can read in thirty seconds saves both of us three meetings. The ranges below are ours, and what moves you within them is scope: how many integrations, how much data has to migrate, and whether you hire a fixed-scope build or a dedicated team. We use AI to lay the application base and to speed the tooling around it, while our engineers write the product code and a senior engineer reviews every line.
If the ranges do not fit your budget, we would rather you knew now than after three calls. If they do, the written quote is free and takes 48 hours.
$6.5k
Smallest fixed project
$3.2k
Per engineer, per month
48h
To a written quote
0
Hidden line items
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Trusted by companies worldwide
- Bloomford
- Contractor Plus, Inc.
- Snappy Stats
- Ad Lunam
- Local Buzz
- CyberFind
- Hellory
- 5.0Clutch · 8 client reviews
- 4.9Google · 18 reviews
- Top ratedUpwork · 100+ reviews · 5K+ hours worked
- TopTracker7K+ hours tracked with clients
Pricing models
Software development pricing models: fixed price, a dedicated team, or a support retainer.
Three ways to buy the same senior team. Most clients start with a fixed-scope build and move to a dedicated team once the product is live and the roadmap keeps going. Nothing locks you into either.
Fixed-scope project
From $6,500
Pick this if you know what you want built.
- A written scope with the exclusions listed
- Milestone billing: no hourly drift
- Typically 6–14 weeks, then done
Dedicated team
$3,200 per engineer / month
Pick this if the roadmap keeps going.
- You interview every engineer first
- Scale up or down on 30 days notice
- Your board, your standups, your repository
Support retainer
From $1,400 / month
Pick this if the product is already live.
- Agreed response windows, not best effort
- Features, monitoring and performance
- Unused hours roll one month forward
Quote contents
What a software development quote should contain
Most quotes price the engineering and leave the rest to arrive later as change requests. Ask where each of these six sits before you compare totals.
Engineering
Senior engineers writing the code, named in the quote. Ask any other vendor: Is it the named team, or a bench?
In a QalbIT quote: Included
UI design
Screens, states and a design system you keep. Ask any other vendor: Quoted separately, or not at all?
In a QalbIT quote: Included
QA & testing
Test plans, automation on the paths that matter, release checks. Ask any other vendor: Billed hourly, or in the number?
In a QalbIT quote: Included
Delivery management
Planning, fortnightly demos, written reporting. Ask any other vendor: Is anyone accountable for the plan?
In a QalbIT quote: Included
Project tooling
CI/CD, environments, monitoring. Ask any other vendor: Passed through, or set up for you?
In a QalbIT quote: Included
Post-launch support
Thirty days after release, in the price. Ask any other vendor: A retainer, or thirty days included?
In a QalbIT quote: Included
What a build costs
How much does custom software development cost? Typical first-release ranges.
Our ranges, from projects we have delivered. Each row assumes one platform, standard UI patterns and up to two integrations; add a third system to connect, a legacy dataset to migrate, or a second platform, and the number moves up the range. The two sections below say exactly what pushes it up and what brings it down.
| Project type | Typical range | Timeline | What that buys |
|---|---|---|---|
| Startup MVP | $6,500 – $16,500 | 6–10 weeks | One platform, the core journey only, ready for real users |
| Custom business software | $9,000 – $28,500 | 8–14 weeks | The spreadsheet or legacy workflow replaced, with roles and reporting |
| SaaS product (first release) | $13,500 – $41,000 | 10–16 weeks | Multi-tenant, billing, roles and an admin console |
| Custom CRM | $10,500 – $30,000 | 8–14 weeks | Pipeline, contacts, automation and the integrations you already run |
| ERP (phase one) | $19,000 – $52,500 | 12–20 weeks | The first two or three modules, migrated data, live in one department |
| E-commerce platform | $11,000 – $34,000 | 8–14 weeks | Catalogue, checkout, payments, logistics hooks and an order desk |
| Mobile app | $9,000 – $26,500 | 8–14 weeks | iOS and Android from one Flutter codebase, on your API |
How we use AI
How AI changes the number: an AI-built application base, engineers writing the product.
We do not hand your product to an AI. We use it for the part of every build that is the same every time, the application base, and for tooling that speeds the rest, while our engineers write the code that is actually yours. That is where the ranges above come from. The research is honest about the trade: Google's 2025 DORA report found AI raises delivery throughput but strains stability where review is weak, which is why a senior engineer reviews every line.
Where we use AI
The application base: project scaffolding, boilerplate, schema and migration drafts, test skeletons and documentation. And productivity tooling in the editor, the pipeline and QA. The hours that used to go on the same setup every time are the hours that have left the quote.
The base and the tooling
Where we do not
The product code. Your business logic, integrations, screens and data model are written by our engineers, and the architecture, security decisions and what ships first are owned by a senior engineer named in your quote.
Written by engineers
What it changes in your number
Fewer engineer-hours per build, so the ranges above reflect the scope, not padded hours on the base, and a dedicated engineer ships more in a month. The saving goes into your number, not our margin.
Scope, not padding
What it does not change
Code review, automated tests on the paths that matter and staged releases are inside every quote, because speed without them is how any fast build becomes an outage. You own the code, and every line in your repository was written or reviewed by a named engineer.
Review stays
Dedicated team rates
Software development rates by seniority: dedicated developer cost per month.
Full-time, dedicated, working your hours, billed per engineer per month. No bench sharing, no rotating engineers, no annual commitment. You interview each person before they start.
Mid-level engineer
$3,200
Ships features against a clear spec
3–5 years
Senior engineer
$4,400
Owns architecture and reviews the team
6–9 years
Tech lead
$5,600
Runs the pod, the scope and the reporting
10+ years
QA engineer
$2,600
Test plans, automation, release checks
3–6 years
Product designer
$3,600
Flows, UI and a design system you own
5+ years
Which model fits
Fixed price vs dedicated team vs support retainer: which pricing model fits.
The same senior people, three ways of paying for them. The right answer depends on how well the scope is known and how long the roadmap runs after launch.
| The question | Fixed-scope project | Dedicated team | Support retainer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best when | The scope is known and a date matters | The roadmap keeps going after launch | The product is live and needs looking after |
| How it is billed | Milestones, four or five across the build | Per engineer, per month, in advance | A monthly block of hours, in advance |
| Minimum | From $6,500 | One month | From $1,400 a month |
| Who owns the backlog | We do, against the signed scope | You do: your board, your priorities | Shared: you raise it, we schedule it |
| When scope changes | A written change request, priced before work starts | Reprioritise the sprint; the rate does not move | Bigger items are quoted as a fixed piece |
| How it ends | On delivery, with 30 days of support included | 30 days notice, no exit fee | 30 days notice, unused hours roll forward once |
What is in the price
What is included in the price, and what is billed separately.
The second list is short on purpose. Anything that could turn up as a surprise on an invoice is named here instead, and nothing on it is billed without your written approval first.
Included in every engagement
Included in every engagement
- UI design and a design system you keep
- QA, with automated tests on business-critical paths
- Delivery management and fortnightly demos
- CI/CD pipelines and staged releases
- Architecture documentation and handover notes
- Thirty days of post-launch support
Not included · quoted separately
Not included · quoted separately
- Third-party licences and cloud bills, billed at cost
- Paid design assets, fonts and stock imagery
- Penetration testing by an external firm
- On-site visits and travel, quoted separately
What moves the number
What changes the cost of software development, in both directions.
Scope decides roughly seventy per cent of any quote. If a range above is higher than you hoped, the answer is almost always in the second list, and we will walk through it with you before anything is priced.
Pushes the price up
Pushes the price up
- Number of user roles and permission rules
- Every external system you integrate with
- Two platforms instead of one
- Fully custom UX instead of proven patterns
- Data migration from a legacy system
Brings the price down
Brings the price down
- A narrower first release with fewer screens
- Reusing patterns rather than designing new ones
- One platform now, the second after validation
- Clear decisions made quickly on your side
- Phasing integrations across releases
How we estimate
How a software development estimate is produced, in 48 hours.
A quote is only as good as the scope under it, so the two arrive together. Here is what happens between your first message and a number you can hold us to.
You send two lines
What the product is and what it has to do first. A deck is welcome, a paragraph is enough.
Day 0
We read it and ask back
One call, or a written list of questions if you prefer. Roles, integrations, platforms and what can wait for release two.
Day 1
A written scope and a range
The scope with its exclusions listed, an architecture recommendation, the engineer who would lead it, and a firm price range. That is what turns an enquiry into a fixed-scope project.
Within 48 hours
A fixed number, then a signature
Once the scope is agreed the range becomes one number for fixed-scope work, or a monthly rate for a team. We name which of fixed scope, dedicated team or staff augmentation we would recommend, and both numbers are yours to keep whether or not you sign.
When you are ready
Our clients · reviews
Teams who trusted QalbIT
Short feedback from clients and products we work on across web, mobile, SaaS and internal tools.
- Testimonials from long-term custom software development and SaaS product clients.
- Covers ERP systems, B2B marketplaces, booking platforms, and web & mobile app development projects.
- Real text and video reviews from founders, CTOs, and product teams who partnered with QalbIT for delivery.
Video review
Rated 5 out of 5.“I would recommend QalbIT to everybody. QalbIT has been developing all my front-end & backend systems complete to my requirements. They have excellent technical knowledge and listen very well to the needs of their customers. And above all, they are great people.”
Wouter SantensExecutive Search Consultant · Bloomford Written review
Rated 5 out of 5.“Excellent work! QalbIT team delivered the project on time, with great quality. Their ability to quickly adapt to new requirements and deliver promptly was impressive. Highly recommend them for Flutter projects.”
Ahmed GFounder at Local Buzz · Consumer app / local discovery
Video review
Rated 5 out of 5.“QalbIT quickly integrated four payment platforms: Square, Stripe, PayPal and Coinbase. Active communication, timely deadlines despite research-heavy work, plus post-launch support.”
Roshan SethiaCTO · Contractor Plus, Inc. Written review
Rated 5 out of 5.“They took a half-finished marketplace, stabilised it, and shipped the modules we actually needed first. The weekly demos meant nothing came as a surprise.”
Abhishek P.Product Lead · B2B marketplace
Written review
Rated 5 out of 5.“QalbIT is a fantastic dev partner. They provide quality work, good communication and go above and beyond. Fantastic work delivered by QalbIT and his team. Can’t give enough credits with regards to how they work and at which speed they do it. Top team.”
Joost HesselberthFounder · Ad Lunam
What these prices buy
Software development services at a glance.
From MVPs to long-term platforms, combine our core and specialised services to design, build and grow products that match how your business really works.
Custom Software Development
End-to-end custom software development services for web, mobile and cloud: from a first release to a long-term platform, with clear costs and ongoing support.
MVP Development
MVP development for startups: scope, design and launch a working product in 6–10 weeks, validate with real users and scale what works.
Get a real number
Ranges are useful. A written quote is better.
Send the product and the constraint. You get a written scope, an architecture recommendation and a firm price range within 48 hours.
Get a real number
Ranges are useful. A written quote is better.
Send the product and the constraint. You get a written scope, an architecture recommendation and a firm price range within 48 hours.
- A written scope with the exclusions listed
- A firm range, not a placeholder
- The name of the engineer who would lead it
- Free, and yours to keep either way
FAQs · software development pricing
Software development pricing: frequently asked questions
What a build costs, what a developer costs per month, hourly versus monthly, fixed price versus time and material, and why these numbers are lower than a US agency quote.
Ask us directly →Next step
Know the number before the meeting.
Two lines about the product gets you a written scope, timeline and firm range within 48 hours, free, and yours either way.