I had an argument with a fellow software engineer recently.
He said: “Software isn’t overpriced.”
I said: “Bro… the game has changed.” 😂
Think about it. A few years ago, building a SaaS could mean weeks or months of development, expensive infrastructure, servers, databases, DevOps, and a small army of engineers arguing about whether to use tabs or spaces. Today? AI can write half your boilerplate before you finish your coffee. You have free AI tools. Free databases.Free hosting tiers. Open-source everything. Cloud platforms that let you deploy with three clicks. And with the right stack + AI agents, a solo developer can sometimes go from “I have an idea” → “here’s the MVP” in a few days — sometimes even hours.
So yes, good software still takes skill. Architecture still matters. Security still matters. Maintenance definitely matters. But the cost and time of getting software from idea to working product has fallen dramatically.
And I think that creates an uncomfortable question: If the cost of producing software keeps falling, should the price of software stay the same?
Maybe the future isn't about charging more because software is expensive to build. Maybe it's about charging for value, reliability, distribution, support, and the problems you solve. Because if two developers can build the same MVP over a weekend…“It took us 6 months to build” probably isn't the strongest sales pitch anymore. 😂
The software industry just got a massive productivity upgrade.
Now we're all trying to figure out what that does to the price tag.
hashtag#SoftwareEngineering hashtag#AI hashtag#SaaS hashtag#Startups hashtag#Programming hashtag#DevTools hashtag#ArtificialIntelligence
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