Bespoke Software development costs
What’s involved in the costs of custom software? Find out below.
Building a platform or app…
It might be obvious, but not every software/app project is the same.
Like building a house or buying a custom car, custom software projects are not equal.
The budget and timelines are affected by the items below:
Things that effect cost:
We have included a comparative cost to building a house (in italic) as to clarify any abstractions.
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Bespoke Design
Custom design interfaces are a necessary step in commercial product launch. A good user interface is intuitive, masking underlying complexity with simple and considered user journeys.
The complexity of a design can affect price, for example it takes longer to design a beautiful animated graph than a list.Think of the Architect designing the house and an interior designer adding the feel and finishing touches.
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Technical complexity
Requiring complex algorithms and challenging computer science to a platform will naturally increase the budget. Technical complexity could be real time trading or communication, blockchain integration or dynamic processes.
Think of the number of rooms in a house, do you want underfloor heating? Perhaps you want a swimming pool? These all add to the build complexity. -
Features (& Functionality)
The required number of features and functionality is going to be one of the largest factors driving budget. The number of user types, screens and computer logic required are all examples of this.
Build in a modular way spread out the scope.
Think of the blinds, ovens, fridges and Smart TV’s. -
3rd Party Integrations
If you need third party integrations, for example integrating an accounting software to your platform this will affect the timelines (and budget). Both the number and complexity of third party integrations will affect the project here and be aware that no 3rd party system is the same.
Think of specific items, made by others integrated into your house. Surround sound, A/C units, Garage doors etc.
Our advice?
Follow Incremental Software Methodology (ISM)
What does this mean? You don’t have to do it all at once. This is our advise as it reduces project risk along with leading to better products as you can get your product/platform or app into the hands of your users sooner!
Generally speaking you should start with an MVP. This is a version of your platform that has the the required features and functionality to test your product with real users and explore product market fit.
This is followed by the Post MVP release that adds more features and important upgrades based on the input from your user base. From here you can continue to add and update features and functionality as required. This is approach is also beneficial as:
It allows your product to released faster.
It gives you the possibility to test your product early with actual users.
It reduces the initial budget requirements.
It breaks the process down, allowing your platform to grow at the pace you want.
Overall reduces risk.
Example budgets for different platforms:
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Small Project: £5,000 - £15,000
2-3 months
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Medium Project: £15,000 - £40,000
3-6 months
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Large Project: £40,000+
4-6+ months
Recent projects we have completed for clients with relative size:
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Customer rewards platform (S)
A customer rewards platform that allows the business to give rewards to customers utilizing membership QR cards.
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Real time analysis platform (M)
A pattern analysis platform that aggregates multiple data sources to provide business intelligence using a proprietary algorithm.
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SASS solution (L)
A SASS solution that forms the core of this startups offering. Featuring rich user experiences and complex functionality - this platform features a number of algorithms that power the business of the technology startup.
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Mobile app for small business (S)
A mobile app for a small business that allows them to collect and analyze their customers data enabling them to increase the efficiency of on-boarding new business along with various other features.
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Multi-platform learning app (M)
A multi-platform learning platform that allows users to educate and test themselves on a number of topics with gamified progress.
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Personal Finance Platform (L)
A personal finance platform that allows users to open bank accounts, manage savings and investments, payments and direct debits. This end to end platform fills the role of day to day bank account for its users.
Once we understand your requirements we can provide you with a size estimation.
Got a project in mind?
We’ll give you a free, no obligation consultation and estimate for your project.
What to do next
All in all typical project costs are influenced by the complexity of the build. Development & engineering is the most costly and time consuming (as is the actual building of a house), but design, project management and quality assurance all both play an important role and add to overall timelines and budget.
What do I need for an indicative estimate?
Any techy worth their salt will at minimum require the following:
Idea - Obvious perhaps, but you should be able to explain your idea
Feature List - What features do you require?
User Types & Sector - Who is your platform for, and is it for a specific sector?
Tech Specs - Are there any specific technologies or 3rd party integrations you know you will need?
Optional: User Journeys - How will your users interact with the platform? (we can go through these with you over a virtual coffee)
Got a project in mind?
We’re a friendly bunch and always enjoy meeting and hearing about your ideas, products and goals. Why not meet our team for a virtual coffee?
Fill out the form below and we will get in touch.
What Happens next?
We will respond to you within one working day.
We engage in initial discussions so we can understand your requirements.
You will receive a no obligation quote.
All information is protected by a mutual NDA.
Our team of analysts, architects, designers and engineers assess your scope and propose informed options to achieve your goals.