Most articles about MVP costs give you useless ranges like "anywhere from $5,000 to $500,000." That's not helpful.
I run a software house in Poland. We specialize in MVPs for funded startups. Over the past few years, we've shipped 30+ MVPs across fintech, healthtech, SaaS, marketplaces, and internal tools.
Here's what things actually cost — and why.
The three tiers of MVP development
After dozens of projects, MVPs cluster into three categories.
Tier 1: Validation MVP — £5,000 to £10,000
What you get: One core flow, functional but minimal. Enough to put in front of users and learn if your idea has legs.
Timeline: 2-4 weeks
Typical scope:
- Single user type (no admin panel)
- One core workflow
- Basic authentication
- Simple, clean UI (not custom design)
- Deployed and working
Real example: A founder came to us with a compliance checking tool idea. We built: user uploads document → AI extracts data → user reviews results. No dashboard, no team features, no billing. Total: £7,500, delivered in 3 weeks.
Who this is for: You have an idea but aren't sure it'll work. You want to test before committing £20K+.
Tier 2: Standard MVP — £10,000 to £20,000
What you get: A real product with core features needed to acquire and retain early users. This is what most people mean when they say "MVP."
Timeline: 4-8 weeks
Typical scope:
- User authentication (email, Google, magic links)
- 3-5 core features
- Basic admin panel
- Payment integration (Stripe)
- Responsive design
- Analytics setup
- CI/CD pipeline
Real example: B2B SaaS for recruitment. Sign up, connect CRM, dashboard with insights, paid upgrade. Admin panel for metrics. Total: £14,000, delivered in 6 weeks. They raised a seed round 4 months later.
Tier 3: Advanced MVP — £20,000 to £35,000+
What you get: Complex business logic, multiple user types, integrations.
Timeline: 8-12 weeks
Typical scope:
- Multiple user roles (customers, vendors, admins)
- Complex workflows
- Third-party integrations
- Real-time features (chat, notifications)
- Multi-tenant architecture
- More sophisticated UI/UX
Real example: Marketplace connecting freelancers with clients. Both sides had onboarding, profiles, search/matching, messaging, booking, payments with escrow, reviews, admin panel. Total: £28,000, delivered in 10 weeks.
What drives cost up (and down)
Things that increase cost
| Factor | Impact | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple user types | +30-50% | Each role needs own flows, permissions, UI |
| Real-time features | +20-40% | WebSockets, state sync, edge cases |
| Third-party integrations | +10-30% each | APIs are never as clean as documented |
| Custom design | +15-25% | Off-the-shelf UI is fast; bespoke isn't |
| Regulatory compliance | +20-40% | HIPAA, GDPR, PCI-DSS add overhead |
| Native mobile apps | +50-100% | Two platforms, app store review, device testing |
Things that keep cost down
| Factor | Impact | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Clear scope upfront | -10-20% | Less back-and-forth |
| Existing wireframes | -10-15% | Not starting from scratch |
| Flexible on tech stack | -5-10% | We use what's fastest |
| Prioritized feature list | -15-25% | Build what matters, cut what doesn't |
The hidden costs nobody tells you about
1. Infrastructure — £50-500/month
Hosting, database, CDN, email service, monitoring. For an MVP, usually £50-150/month.
2. Third-party services — £0-500/month
Stripe fees (2.9% + 30p per transaction), analytics, error tracking, email marketing.
3. Post-launch iteration — £2,000-5,000
Your first version will need changes after real users touch it. Budget 2-4 weeks of iteration.
4. Your time
Even with a dev team, you'll spend 5-10 hours/week on feedback, decisions, and testing.
Poland vs. UK/US: The cost difference
| Location | Standard MVP cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| US (Bay Area) | $80,000-150,000 | High salaries, expensive everything |
| UK (London) | £40,000-80,000 | Less than SF, still expensive |
| Western Europe | €35,000-70,000 | Germany, Netherlands, France |
| Poland | £10,000-20,000 | Strong talent, lower cost of living |
| India/Pakistan | £5,000-12,000 | Lower cost, often quality/communication tradeoffs |
We're not the cheapest. We're the best value for founders who want quality, direct communication with senior devs, and EU timezone overlap.
What you should actually budget
Pre-seed / Bootstrapped: £5,000-10,000
Build a Validation MVP. Test the core assumption. Don't over-build.
Seed-funded: £15,000-25,000
Build a Standard MVP that can acquire paying customers. Include analytics to prove traction.
Series A / Well-funded: £25,000-50,000+
Build for scale from day one. Invest in architecture, testing, infrastructure.
Red flags when comparing quotes
If someone quotes you significantly below these ranges, ask:
- Who's actually doing the work? (Junior devs? Outsourced further?)
- What's included? (Design? Testing? Deployment? Post-launch support?)
- What's the revision policy?
- Who owns the code? (You should. Always.)
- What happens after launch?
Cheap quotes often become expensive projects when you're rebuilding 6 months later.
How to get an accurate quote
When you reach out to a dev shop, come prepared with:
- One paragraph describing the product — What does it do? Who is it for?
- The core user flow — What's the main thing a user does?
- A rough feature list — Even bullet points help
- Your timeline — When do you need it?
- Your budget range — They'll tell you what's realistic within it
The more clarity you provide, the more accurate the estimate.
The bottom line
Building an MVP in 2026:
- Validation MVP: £5,000-10,000 (2-4 weeks)
- Standard MVP: £10,000-20,000 (4-8 weeks)
- Advanced MVP: £20,000-35,000+ (8-12 weeks)
Add 20-30% buffer for post-launch iteration and hidden costs.
Don't pay Bay Area prices for work that can be done at equal quality in Europe. Don't pay bottom-dollar rates and get code you'll have to throw away.
I'm Paweł Reszka, CTO at Inigra — a software house in Poznań, Poland. We build MVPs for startups using AI-assisted development. If you want an honest estimate, book a free discovery call.
Top comments (1)
Happy to answer any questions about MVP costs or the development process. Been building these for 6+ years now.