Software Development Cost Calculator
Every input updates the price live, so you know the number before the first sales call.
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Every software estimate you've gotten so far has probably been a guess dressed up as a number. This one is different because you can see the math behind it: base hours for your project type, plus hours for every feature you check, multiplied by complexity, platform count, design level, and timeline. Built for founders and product leads scoping a build before the first sales call.
What is a software development cost calculator?
A software development cost calculator turns your project type, platforms, features, complexity, and timeline into a cost range and delivery timeline. This one models cost as hours at RaftLabs's published $35/hr blended rate, then shows a range instead of a single number, because every honest quote is a range.
01 Methodology
How we calculated this
No hidden multiplier. The formula behind every number on this page.
The calculator starts with a base estimate for your project type, whether that's a web app, a mobile app, both, an API-only backend, or an AI feature added to something that already exists. Every core feature you check, accounts and auth, payments, search, and so on, adds its own build time on top.
That combined figure is multiplied by three levers. First, how complex the logic is: simple CRUD versus heavy integrations and compliance. Second, how many platforms you need, since each additional platform (web, iOS, Android) shares the backend but still needs its own frontend work. Third, how custom the design has to be. One more multiplier applies for timeline: a compressed schedule needs a bigger team to hit the same scope.
The hourly rate behind the number, $35 an hour, is RaftLabs's published blended rate for an experienced delivery team, not a market average or a vendor's list price. We show a range (the midpoint plus and minus 20 percent) instead of one number, because two projects with an identical feature checklist still cost differently once real data, real integrations, and real edge cases show up.
02 Cost drivers
What actually drives software development cost
Six levers explain most of the gap between a $15K MVP and a $150K platform build.
- 01Feature count and scopeEvery feature you add, auth, payments, search, notifications, is real engineering hours, not a checkbox. A product with 3 features and one with 10 can differ by tens of thousands of dollars even at the same complexity tier, because each feature carries its own build, test, and edge-case work.
- 02IntegrationsConnecting to a CRM, ERP, or legacy system adds discovery time before any code gets written, since someone has to read the other system's API docs and handle its failure modes. A single well-documented integration (Stripe, HubSpot) is cheap. A legacy or undocumented one can quietly double the timeline for that one line item.
- 03Compliance requirementsHIPAA, SOC2, or GDPR obligations add audit prep, access logging, and documentation on top of the build itself. This calculator's "Complex" tier accounts for typical compliance overhead, but heavily regulated industries (healthcare, banking core systems) often need a dedicated compliance review beyond what any calculator can price.
- 04Design depthA template UI ships fastest and cheapest. A fully custom design system costs more up front but pays for itself once you're shipping a second and third feature on the same components. Most teams underestimate how much design work is really "design system work" disguised as one screen.
- 05Team seniorityThis calculator models an experienced team at $35 to $40 an hour, not a junior offshore rate. A less experienced team can quote a lower hourly number and still cost more in total, because more of the schedule goes to rework, code review, and fixing bugs a senior engineer would have caught first.
- 06Timeline pressureCompressing a schedule means adding people, not making the same team type faster. A larger team needs more coordination, which is why a rushed delivery costs roughly 30 percent more for the same scope, not the same price shipped sooner.
03 Benchmarks
Typical cost ranges by project type
Ranges from RaftLabs's published cost model, not vendor list pricing. Use these to sanity-check the calculator's output against your specific project type.
| Project type | Cost range | Typical timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Internal tool / PoC | $8,000 to $20,000 | 3 to 6 weeks |
| MVP | $15,000 to $60,000 | 6 to 14 weeks |
| Mobile app (iOS + Android) | $25,000 to $80,000 | 10 to 16 weeks |
| SaaS product | $20,000 to $100,000 | 12 to 18 weeks |
| Marketplace | $40,000 to $140,000 | 14 to 24 weeks |
04 Where to go next
Tools and services that pair with this estimate
The estimate is step one. These are the next moves teams typically make once a number is on the table.
- 01
Custom software development
How we scope, build, and ship custom software at a fixed price.
- 02
MVP scope builder
Already know you're scoping an MVP? Prioritize the feature list first.
- 03
Build vs buy calculator
See the true cost of building in-house before you commit to a custom build.
- 04
Dedicated development teams
Talk to a strategist before the estimate becomes a board slide.
How it works
This calculator models cost as base hours for your project type plus hours for each feature you select, multiplied by complexity, platform count, design level, and timeline. The hourly rate and project-type ranges are anchored to RaftLabs's published cost model. It returns a range, not a single number, because every real quote is a range too.
Common questions
- Most apps cost $15,000 to $100,000 to build, depending on platform count, feature list, and how custom the design needs to be. A single-platform MVP with a handful of features lands at the low end. A full product across web and mobile with payments, admin tooling, and integrations lands at the high end. Anything past $150,000 usually means enterprise-scale compliance or multiple complex integrations, not a bigger app.
- It is a planning range, not a quote. The calculator uses base hours per project type and per feature, then adjusts for complexity, platform count, design level, and timeline. Two projects with the same feature checklist can still cost differently once we see your actual data, integrations, and edge cases. Use this number to sanity-check a budget conversation, then get a scoped quote before you commit to one.
- Three reasons. Different agencies assume different hourly rates ($25/hr offshore shops versus $150-250/hr Western agencies for the same scope). Different agencies scope different amounts of hidden work: QA, code review, deployment, and post-launch bug fixes are sometimes included and sometimes billed separately. And vague requirements let each agency fill in the gaps with their own assumptions, which is exactly what a written scope and a calculator like this one are meant to remove.
- Cut platforms before you cut features. Ship one platform (usually web, since it reaches iOS and Android users through a browser) instead of three. Use a template for design instead of a custom system. Pick the 3 to 5 features that let a real user complete the core workflow, and hold everything else for a second phase once you have paying users telling you what they actually need.
- The hourly rate is lower, but the full cost of ownership often is not. Offshore shops billing $15-25/hr frequently need more hours to hit the same quality bar, and time zone gaps slow down review cycles and bug fixes. A team billing $35-40/hr with senior engineers and tighter communication can land the same scope in fewer combined hours. Compare the full project cost, not the hourly rate alone.
Want a real quote?
Send us your scope and we'll come back within two business days with a fixed price, not another range.