How we price
Honest answers about estimates, day rates, and project pricing.
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How we price
Software-Pricing is a frequent first question and a frequent first source of mismatch. Below: how we build an estimate, what is and is not in our day rate, when fixed price beats time-and-materials, and a sample calculation for a typical MVP project.
What costs what? The effort brackets
Software is not a catalogue product, but the ranges can be stated honestly. Here are the typical effort brackets per service. They do not replace a quote, but they give a realistic order of magnitude before we get more precise together.
Custom Software Development for SMEs
Web Development with Next.js & React
App Development for iOS, Android & Web
UI/UX Design for Software & Apps
Technical Consulting & Software Architecture
Worked example: a customer portal
A typical customer portal with login, roles and a connection to an existing system usually consists of three parts: UI/UX design in the mid range (around 10,000 €), backend and custom software in the mid range (around 40,000 €) and the web frontend (around 20,000 €).
Total: around 60,000 to 90,000 €, roughly three to four months. With clear requirements closer to the lower end, with many integrations above it.
How is an estimate built?
Three steps. First, a 30-minute intro call where we listen to the problem and check if we can deliver it seriously. Second, a discovery phase where we map requirements into effort brackets - typically two to ten engineering days, billed at our day rate. Third, a written estimate with a fixed price for the agreed scope, or a T&M structure for genuinely open-ended work. We never quote without discovery; the only thing worse than a high estimate is a low one that turns into a surprise.
What is in the day rate, what is not?
Engineering day rate (€1,100) covers eight hours of focused work by the assigned engineer: implementation, code review on our side, deployment to a staging environment, and one demo per week. Not in the day rate: dedicated infrastructure, third-party licenses or API costs (passed through at cost), and out-of-scope changes (handled via a written change request). Consulting (architecture reviews, audits, workshops) is billed separately at €190/h - different value, different commitment shape.
When does fixed price make sense, when T&M?
Fixed price works when the scope is clear enough that we can scope it without hand-waving. Marketing sites, well-defined MVPs, classic CRUD applications. T&M works when discovery itself is the work: research-heavy projects, integrations into systems we cannot fully see in advance, or fast-moving products where the spec is the next iteration. We default to fixed price after discovery; if discovery shows the work is genuinely open-ended, we say so and switch to T&M with a weekly cap.
Sample calculation: typical MVP project
A typical MVP project: 6 weeks of build, ~250 hours of engineering, 2 weeks of upfront discovery, deployed on Fragon Cloud. Total range: €30,000 to €45,000 net, depending on scope and integration count. A leaner MVP (fewer integrations, no auth, single-platform) lands closer to €15,000 to €25,000. An app with backend, auth, two platforms, and store submission lands in the €25,000 to €40,000 range. Numbers are honest, not aspirational - we have shipped projects in each of these brackets.
When custom software is not worth it
Not every problem needs its own software. If an established standard tool or SaaS covers your case, that is almost always cheaper and faster. With a budget below around 5,000 € or still unclear requirements, we also advise against starting a full project right away. A workshop or a feasibility analysis from 1,500 to 3,000 € is the better first step to clarify direction and effort before larger money is spent.
Have a project to estimate?
30-minute intro call, non-binding. We give you a price-and-time range within one business day.