What does an MVP really cost? Where the money goes
You describe your app idea to three developers and get three quotes, one of them five times the cheapest. Nobody is necessarily lying. They are pricing different things. Here is where the money in a first version really goes, and how to keep it under control.
Why quotes for the “same” app are so different
“Users sign up, browse products and pay” sounds like one sentence. To a developer it is dozens of decisions:
- Sign up with email only, or Google and Apple too? What happens when someone forgets their password?
- Pay once, or subscribe? Refunds? Invoices with your tax details?
- Who adds the products? You will need an admin screen for that.
- What happens on a slow phone, a lost connection, a double click on “Pay”?
A cheap quote usually answers these the cheapest way, or not at all. An expensive one may include things you don’t need yet. Neither is wrong. They just aren’t comparing the same product.
Where the money goes
A first version has two halves: the part you see, and the part that keeps it working.
- The part you see: screens, the main user journey, the design.
- The part you don’t: accounts and security, payments, an admin panel, emails and notifications, hosting, backups, error monitoring, and testing.
The second half is often as big as the first, and it is the half that gets cut first when a quote needs to look small. It is also the half that decides whether your product survives its first real customers.
The costs after launch that nobody mentions
- Hosting and databases. Small at first, and they grow with your users.
- Third-party services. Email, SMS, maps, payment fees, and file storage are usually billed per use.
- AI usage. If your product calls an AI model, every request costs money. Without limits, this bill can grow faster than your revenue.
- Maintenance. Phones update, libraries get security fixes, and something always needs a small change. Budget for it every month.
Ask for an estimate of the monthly running cost at 100, 1,000 and 10,000 users before you build, not after.
How to spend less without building something fragile
Start with this number: when Pendo analysed real usage data across hundreds of software products, it found that 80% of features are rarely or never used. Most budgets don’t go wrong on the features customers love. They go wrong on the ones nobody opens.
- Cut features, not foundations. Launch with three features done properly rather than ten done halfway. Keep security, backups and payments solid.
- Start with one platform. A good mobile-friendly website is often enough to prove the idea before paying for iOS and Android apps.
- Don’t rebuild what you can rent. Payments, login and email are solved problems. Use proven services and spend your budget on what makes you different.
- Pay per milestone. Small, fixed-price steps you can see working, instead of one big bet.
Five questions to ask any developer before you sign
- What exactly is included, and what is not? Can I have it in writing?
- What will it cost per month to run, at my expected number of users?
- Who owns the code, the domain and the cloud accounts?
- How will I see progress? Is there a demo every week?
- What happens after launch, when something breaks at night?
How TechNova can help
We turn an idea into a first version you can put in front of paying customers.
- A written plan before you spend: what is included, what is not, and what it will cost to run each month.
- A fixed price per milestone, with a demo at the end of each one.
- The foundations included, not cut: security, payments, admin tools, backups and monitoring.
Book a free 30-minute call or see how we build first products for founders.
Don’t compare prices, compare what is included. Spend on the foundations, cut features instead, and know your monthly running cost before you build.
Sources
- Pendo, The 2019 Feature Adoption Report: 80% of features in the average software product are rarely or never used (usage data from 615 subscriptions).
FAQ
Can I build my MVP with AI tools alone?
You can build a convincing demo. Before real customers and real money touch it, have an engineer check security, payments and data handling.
Should I start with a website or a mobile app?
Usually a mobile-friendly website. It is faster to build, easier to change, and enough to prove that people want the product.
How long does an MVP take?
For a focused first version, our projects usually take 6 to 12 weeks, paid per milestone.
Read next: Built your app with AI? 5 things to check before real customers use it