The True Cost of Building an MVP (2025 Pricing Breakdown)
The quoted price is just the beginning. Here's what you'll actually spend.
When a founder asks "How much does an MVP cost?", they usually get a number between $20K and $150K. What they don't get is the real answer: the quoted development price is typically only 60-70% of what you'll actually spend in Year 1.
After shipping 50+ MVPs and watching founders navigate this landscape, we've built a comprehensive breakdown of true MVP costs—including the hidden line items that blow budgets and the framework we use to help founders plan properly.
Base Development Costs by Complexity
Let's start with the obvious part: what you'll pay for development itself. These ranges assume a U.S.-based or senior offshore team building production-ready code (not a prototype).
| Complexity Level | Examples | Timeline | Cost Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple | Landing page + waitlist, basic SaaS dashboard, content site with auth | 2-4 weeks | $15K - $25K |
| Moderate | User auth + payments, booking systems, basic e-commerce, API integrations | 4-6 weeks | $30K - $50K |
| Complex | Two-sided marketplace, real-time features, AI/ML integration, mobile + web | 6-10 weeks | $50K - $75K |
| Enterprise | Compliance (HIPAA/SOC2), complex integrations, multi-platform native apps | 10-16 weeks | $100K - $200K+ |
Important: These are development costs only. Keep reading—the hidden costs below often add 30-50% to your total Year 1 spend.
The Hidden Costs Most Founders Miss
Here's where budgets break. These costs are rarely discussed upfront, but they're as real as the development invoice.
1. Infrastructure & Hosting ($600 - $6,000/year)
Your code needs to run somewhere. The "free tier" works for testing, but production means real costs:
- Vercel/Netlify: $0-240/year for small traffic, $1,200+ for serious scale
- Database (Supabase, PlanetScale): $300-1,200/year
- File storage (S3, Cloudflare R2): $100-500/year
- CDN, SSL, domains: $50-200/year
2. Third-Party Services ($1,200 - $12,000/year)
Modern apps are built on services. Each one has a price tag:
- Authentication (Clerk, Auth0): $0-3,600/year based on MAU
- Payment processing (Stripe): 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction
- Email (Resend, SendGrid): $200-1,200/year
- Analytics (Mixpanel, PostHog): $0-2,400/year
- Error tracking (Sentry): $0-600/year
- AI APIs (OpenAI, Anthropic): $100-5,000+/year based on usage
3. Post-Launch Iteration ($5,000 - $25,000)
No MVP survives first contact with users unchanged. Budget for at least one significant iteration:
The 30% Rule
Plan to spend ~30% of your initial development cost on post-launch changes. If your MVP costs $40K to build, budget $12K more for iteration. The founders who run out of money usually spent 100% on the initial build with nothing left to adapt.
4. Ongoing Maintenance ($12,000 - $36,000/year)
Code rots. Dependencies update. Security patches ship. Someone needs to keep the lights on:
- Basic maintenance: $1K-2K/month (bug fixes, updates, minor features)
- Active development: $3K-6K/month (continuous improvement, new features)
Some agencies include 30 days of support post-launch. After that, you're either paying for retainer hours or finding a new developer.
5. Design & Brand ($0 - $15,000)
Using a component library keeps costs low. But if you need custom design:
- Logo & brand identity: $1,000-5,000
- Custom UI design (Figma): $5,000-15,000
- Illustrations/graphics: $500-3,000
Our take: For MVPs, use a polished component library and invest in brand later. You can always upgrade visuals once you have product-market fit.
6. Legal & Compliance ($500 - $10,000)
Don't skip this, especially if you're handling user data:
- Terms of service + privacy policy: $500-2,000
- Trademark filing: $500-1,500
- HIPAA compliance (healthcare): $5,000-10,000+
- SOC 2 certification (enterprise): $10,000-30,000+
Total Year 1 Cost: The Full Picture
Here's what a realistic Year 1 budget looks like when you account for everything:
| Cost Category | Simple MVP | Moderate MVP | Complex MVP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Development | $15K - $25K | $35K - $50K | $60K - $75K |
| Infrastructure | $600 | $1,800 | $4,800 |
| Third-party services | $1,200 | $3,600 | $8,400 |
| Post-launch iteration (30%) | $6,000 | $12,750 | $20,250 |
| Maintenance (6 months) | $6,000 | $9,000 | $18,000 |
| Legal (basic) | $1,000 | $2,000 | $5,000 |
| TOTAL YEAR 1 | $30K - $45K | $65K - $85K | $115K - $135K |
Notice how a $40K development project becomes a $75K+ Year 1 investment? That's the gap that catches founders off guard.
Development Options Compared
Beyond cost, you're also choosing a development partner. Here's how the main options stack up:
| Option | Cost | Timeline | Quality | Risk | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freelance (Upwork) | $10K-$30K | 6-12 weeks | Variable | High | Technical founders who can vet code |
| Offshore Agency | $15K-$50K | 8-16 weeks | Variable | Medium | Budget-constrained with clear specs |
| U.S. Agency | $75K-$200K+ | 12-24 weeks | High | Low | Funded startups, enterprise needs |
| Technical Co-founder | 10-30% equity | Varies | Variable | Medium | Pre-seed, long-term partnership |
| No-Code (Bubble, etc.) | $5K-$25K | 2-6 weeks | Limited | Medium | Simple MVPs, validation only |
| Boutique Studio (PSV) | $15K-$75K | 4-8 weeks | High | Low | Founders who need speed + quality |
How to Budget Properly: The 50/30/20 Framework
Based on what we've seen work (and fail), here's how to allocate your total MVP budget:
Initial Development
Half your budget goes to the first build. This forces you to scope ruthlessly. If you have $60K total, your initial MVP should cost ~$30K. That constraint is a feature, not a bug—it keeps you focused on what matters.
Iteration & Changes
Reserve this for post-launch learnings. You WILL need to change things once real users touch your product. The founders who succeed are the ones who can afford to iterate. The ones who fail spent everything on v1.0.
Operations & Runway Buffer
Infrastructure, services, maintenance, legal—plus a buffer for surprises. Every project has surprises. This 20% is what keeps you from running out of money at the worst possible moment.
Red Flags That Signal Budget Problems
Watch Out For
- •Quotes under $10K for production apps (corners will be cut)
- •Hourly billing with no cap (incentivizes slow work)
- •No mention of post-launch support
- •"We'll figure out the scope as we go"
- •No timeline commitment in the contract
Good Signs
- •Fixed price with clear scope document
- •Specific timeline with accountability
- •Post-launch support period included
- •Clear discussion of what's NOT included
- •References you can actually call
Our Approach at Pacific Software Ventures
We designed our model specifically to solve the problems founders face with MVP budgets:
- Fixed price, fixed timeline: $15K-$75K depending on complexity. 4-week delivery for standard MVPs. No hourly billing, no scope creep.
- 50% money-back guarantee: If we miss the deadline, you get half your money back. We have skin in the game.
- 30 days post-launch support: Included in every project. Bug fixes, minor adjustments, deployment help—covered.
- Full code ownership: It's your IP. No lock-in, no proprietary frameworks, no ongoing licensing.
Why Our Range Works
At $15K-$75K, we hit the sweet spot: expensive enough to have senior U.S.-based developers who ship quality code, affordable enough that you're not burning half your seed round on one MVP. Most of our projects fall in the $30K-$50K range—enough complexity to be useful, scoped tight enough to ship in 4 weeks.
The Bottom Line
The true cost of an MVP isn't just the development quote. It's:
- Development + infrastructure + services + iteration + maintenance
- Time to market (and the cost of delay)
- Risk of rework if you choose the wrong partner
- Opportunity cost of equity if you go the co-founder route
Plan for the full picture. Use the 50/30/20 framework. And choose a partner who's transparent about all of it—not just the number that wins the deal.
Get Your Custom Estimate
Use our budget calculator to get a ballpark figure in 60 seconds, or book a call to talk through your specific project.