How Much Does it Cost to Develop a Software [Pricing Guide 2025]
Published On June 25th, 2025 Engineering
Technology has grown in leaps and bounds, and it doesn’t seem to slow down anytime soon. Businesses must adapt to the ever-changing technological landscape by investing in software application development.
When the topic of investing in software arises, one question naturally follows.
How much does it cost to develop software that focuses on customer satisfaction and meets the business’ growth objectives?
To give a ballpark figure, software development costs can range between $5,000 and $250,000. A number of factors, like project complexity and scale, are considered to reach the figure.
There is a concerning statistic related to business spending for software development. About two-thirds of businesses exceed their original software development budgets. Spending more than the allocated budget can be disastrous to a business’ financial health.
This blog is here to help you avoid breaking your software development budget. It dives deep into the economic side of software development, or, to be more specific, the cost of building one when partnering with a custom software product development company. It answers questions like, “How much does it cost to create software for my startup?” and “How much should I spend to create a basic streaming app like Spotify?” Stick around to learn more!
Key Takeaways
- The average cost to develop a software product is approximately $35,000. This figure can either go up or down based on certain factors that are discussed below.
- Features, design, modules, and other elements contribute to the final development cost.
- Businesses can save on development costs by opting for an offshore product development company.
Table of Contents
Key Cost Components of Software Development Projects
The final cost of developing a scalable and fully functional software product is highly dependent on the resources used and its complexity. The sections below discuss the breakdown of the average software development project.
👉 Project Planning and Analysis – 10% of Total Budget
Project planning and analysis establishes a clear road map for the software development team. The objectives and scope of the software product are determined during project planning along with timeline estimation and resource allocation.
Project analysis, on the other hand, assists in identifying the risks in the software project and ensures the development team and stakeholders are on the same page.
🚨 Tips to Reduce Project Planning Costs: Seeking the advice of experts can prevent discrepancies and process-blocking debates, improving the efficiency of this stage.
👉 Software Coding – 60% of Total Budget
Coding is a critical part of software product development as it translates requirements and design data into functional code. Developers utilize powerful programming languages, like Python, Java, SQL, JavaScript, and CSS, to create secure database and server-side components and intuitive UIs.
🚨 Tips to Reduce Software Development Costs: Automation and low-code development speed up the development process while reducing costs.
👉 Testing and Debugging – 15% of Total Budget
During testing, the software’s functionalities are verified and validated to ensure stability, security, and user-friendliness. An effective testing process greatly enhances the usability of the software and end-user satisfaction rate.
Debugging involves the use of numerous tools and techniques to improve code performance and quality to prevent software malfunctions and crashes.
🚨 Tips to Reduce Software Development Costs: Automation is extremely useful here. The shift-left testing approach improves the effectiveness of the testing process, reducing the need for fixing bugs.
👉 Software Deployment – Variable
Software deployment prioritizes the smooth transition from a development or staging environment to a live production environment. It incorporates software installation, customization, drafting user manuals, devising guidelines, and end-user training.
🚨 Tips to Reduce Software Deployment Costs: Opting for approaches like orchestration or configuration management can help software deployment costs.
👉 Future Maintenance and Support – 20% of Total Budget
Maintenance and support contribute to the software application’s long-term viability, functionality, and user experience. The development team runs maintenance routines and updates the software application at regular intervals to meet the changing market and end-user requirements.
Maintenance and support is a combination of proactive measures, like documentation updates and code optimization, and reactive measures, like addressing user-reported problems.
🚨Tips to Reduce Software Maintenance Costs: Finding and terminating unused services can reduce operational costs. Cloud service providers like Azure and AWS have Reserved VM Instances pricing plans that considerably reduce costs.
How Much Does It Cost to Develop Software for Businesses?
The approximate software development price lies anywhere between $5,000 and $250,000. These costs depend on a number of factors, like project goal, the type of software, the industry, the development team, the tech stack used, and the size of the business. These numbers are unsurprising when you consider the salaries of developers (roughly $120,000 per year), the cost of infrastructure, and numerous other expenses. For large enterprises, the cost goes into millions of dollars.
Software development prices depend on a variety of factors. They are discussed in the sections below.
✅ Cost Based on Platform
Most businesses aim to launch their apps across different platforms for optimum exposure. Each platform has its own unique set of requirements, regulations, and challenges, which will be reflected in the final cost.
The table below describes the bespoke software development cost across three platforms. The price ($50 per hour) and development hours are rough estimates.
| Application Type | Platform | Time Required (hrs) | Estimated Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic Marketplace App | Web | 1150 | $57,500 |
| iOS | 850 | $42,500 | |
| Android | 830 | $41,500 | |
| Basic E-Commerce App | Web | 1534 | $76,700 |
| iOS | 1488 | $74,400 | |
| Android | 1450 | $72,500 | |
| Basic Streaming App | Web | 955 | $47,750 |
| iOS | 890 | $44,500 | |
| Android | 840 | $42,000 |
✅ Cost Based on Software Complexity
The cost to build a software application is heavily impacted by its complexity. The effort and resources required to build software with advanced AI algorithms or real-time data will be considerably higher than that of an application with basic features.
The table below discusses the based on complexity.
| Complexity | Time Required | Estimated Development Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | 2 – 3 months | $5,000 – $40,000 |
| Medium | 4 – 6 months | $45,000 – $90,000 |
| Complex | More than 6 months | Up to $300,000 |
Note that this rough estimate may go up or down based on the specifics of the software.
✅ Cost Based on Industry
The target industry also plays a role when it comes to bespoke software development costs. The industry-specific challenges and compliance requirements can increase the overall cost of building software.
For those wondering, “How much does it cost to build software in X industry?” Here’s the approximate answer.
| Industry | Industry-Specific Compliances | Estimated Development Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare |
HIAA Compliance Electronic Health Record Integration Patient Data Security Compatibility with Medical Devices |
$70,000 – $275,000 |
| Finance |
Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) Dodd-Frank Act Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) |
$45,000 – $350,000 |
| E-Commerce |
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) CCPA Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) PCI DSS Sales Tax Regulations |
$15,000 – $250,000 |
| Streaming |
Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) GDPR CCPA EU Cookie Law ADA |
$35,000 – $300,000 |
| Education |
GDPR ADA Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) WCAG Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) |
$15,000 – $125,000 |
| CRM System |
GDPR CCPA Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA) |
$40,000 – $150,000 |
✅ Cost Based on Team
Businesses have many options to develop a software application. They can create an in-house team, partner with a local development team, hire a freelancer, or seek the services of an offshore development company. Each of these options has its share of pros and cons. It’s recommended to do comprehensive research before investing in them.
But what are the available team options, and how much does it cost to develop software that meets all business requirements?
| Team Type | Estimated Cost |
|---|---|
| In-House | $275,000 |
| Local Development Team | $300,000 |
| Freelancer | $175,000 |
| Offshore Development Team | $125,000 |
✅ Cost Based on Company Size
The size of the company is also a factor when estimating the cost of building software. Smaller businesses or startups will have comparatively lower requirements and budgets when compared to enterprises, which is reflected in their software development costs.
If you’re a startup founder or a product manager of a Fortune 500 organization who’s searching for queries like “How much does it cost to create software?” or “What is the estimated custom software development cost?,” the table below answers them.
| Company Size | Estimated Development Cost |
|---|---|
| Small-Sized Businesses & Startups | $5,000 – $50,000 |
| Medium-Sized Businesses | $15,000 – $70,000 |
| Enterprises | More than $80,000 |
Tips for Minimizing Software Development Costs
To reduce software development costs, businesses must focus on partnering with an offshore development company, prioritizing the discovery phase, building an MVP, and hiring dedicated developers to work on the specific project.
These four tips are explained in detail in the sections below.
💡 Team Up With an Offshore Development Company
Partnering with an offshore development company to develop your software application is the best way to ensure cost optimization and excellent results. These service providers possess efficient infrastructure and skilled resources (developers and product managers) to handle all stages of the SDLC.
Partnering with a good offshore development company, especially one from India, is an affordable approach to developing, launching, and maintaining a high-performing software application.
💡 Focus on Extensive Research
The discovery phase is a critical part of the SDLC as a software idea takes shape here. Paying special attention to the research phase helps find and manage/eliminate elements that can be cost- or resource-intensive.
Extensive research may also discover different cost-efficient approaches to meeting a specific requirement in the SDLC.
💡 Develop an MVP
An MVP is a simpler version of a software application that is developed to test the product’s core idea, identify marketability, and collect feedback for future development. It gives businesses data on the features that must and mustn’t be included.
Building an MVP prevents businesses from exhausting their development budget on modules that the end user doesn’t require.
💡 Partner with Dedicated Developers
Hiring dedicated developers through an offshore development company helps businesses save on software development costs. This setup is ideal for businesses that want developers to exclusively work on their projects and maintain better control over the day-to-day proceedings.
Conclusion
Numerous factors play a role in the cost of building software that meets business requirements. These factors include the company size, the platform type (Android, iOS, web), the complexity of the software, the industry, and the team working on the project.
Certain approaches, like teaming up with an offshore development company, creating an MVP, and prioritizing research, may help reduce the overall cost of developing software.
The knowledge of these factors and approaches gives businesses the upper hand to make data-backed decisions that meet their growth and revenue goals.
If you’re a business owner or a startup founder looking to build a scalable software product, we, the experts at CONTUS Tech, are up for the task. We have over 16 years of experience in building robust software that’s flexible, secure, and meets industry standards. Our services have helped numerous businesses create user-friendly solutions that drive success.
