A custom software project in the US typically costs between $30,000 and $250,000, and the range is wide because the word covers everything from an internal tool to a platform with paying customers. A single-purpose internal application usually lands between $30,000 and $80,000. A customer-facing product with accounts, payments, and an admin side starts around $80,000 and passes $200,000 once integrations and compliance enter the picture.
Internal tool
$30,000 – $80,000
One workflow, a handful of screens, a database, and access control. Replaces a spreadsheet that outgrew itself.
Customer-facing product v1
$80,000 – $180,000
Accounts, payments, notifications, an admin back office, and the operational work to keep it running.
Platform with integrations
$180,000 – $400,000+
Several systems connected, roles and permissions, reporting, and compliance obligations that shape the architecture.
The cheaper option
If a configured SaaS product covers 80 percent of the need, the remaining 20 percent almost never justifies a custom build. The honest comparison is subscription cost over three years against build plus maintenance over the same period, and it frequently favours the subscription.
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Because they cover different scopes. One includes discovery, testing, deployment, and three months of support; the other covers development hours. Compare line by line rather than on the total.
Fixed price transfers risk to the vendor and you pay a premium for that transfer. Time and materials with a monthly cap and a weekly demo is usually cheaper and more honest when scope will move.
Three to six months for most products, with the calendar driven by decisions on your side more than by engineering capacity.
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