Estimate Build Cost and Timeline
Reality-checked cost ranges with the 2-3x multiplier surfaced, scope shaped to your budget, and a 6-week build plan with a go, caution, or no-go verdict.
Free, no setup, 2-3 minutes.
How It Works
Scope Intake
What you're building, the features, your team. If you've run earlier discovery steps, I pull the features, tech, and personas automatically — no re-asking.
Budget and Timeline Pushback
I ask for your budget and deadline, then push back on either if they don't survive contact with the scope. "No budget flex = no scope flex = no project" fires here, before any number is committed.
Raw Estimate, Then the 2-3x Multiplier
Feature-by-feature complexity (XS to XL), raw time estimate, then the adjusted range. I name the multiplier and the 16% accuracy disclaimer in chat, not the footer.
Ranges and Scope Shaping
Two versions side by side: full scope and what fits in a 6-week appetite. Hidden costs surfaced (Sentry, email, backups). Monthly operational cost after launch. What gets cut and why.
6-Week Plan and Verdict
Week-by-week deliverables, riskiest feature in week 2, demos every week. Risks with mitigations. Hiring guidance if you need a developer. Final verdict: green light, proceed with caution, or red flags — with the rationale.
Where Build Cost Sits in Discovery
Build Cost is the final step (8 of 8), after Project Scope. The capstone — pulls every earlier step forward into a defensible cost range and a plan you can hand to any developer.
Use this when: You need a defensible build number before you talk to developers.
Who it's for: Founders and operators ready to commit budget who want a sanity-checked range before sourcing a builder.
The 2-3x Multiplier, Surfaced Not Hidden
Every raw app development cost estimate gets multiplied by 2-3x before it leaves my mouth. That's not pessimism — it's the pattern. I've watched founders treat the optimistic number as the contract and run out of money in week 4. You see both numbers: the raw estimate and the adjusted range.
I Tell You the Disclaimer, Not Hide It
AI-generated build estimates land at roughly 16% accuracy. I say that out loud every time I quote a number, because founders quote AI estimates to investors as if they were bids. Treat the output as a starting estimate to size the appetite — not a fixed quote.
No Budget Flex = No Scope Flex = No Project
Fixed budget is fine. Fixed scope is fine. Fixing both is the failure mode. I shape scope to your budget, show what stays and what gets deferred, and end with a verdict — green light, proceed with caution, or red flags — plus a week-by-week plan you can hand to any developer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Public 2025 data on app development cost lines up around three bands: freelancer-led builds at $4K-$35K, single senior developer or small studio at $15K-$80K, and full agency engagements at $25K-$400K. The honest band for most founder MVPs is $15K-$50K with one senior developer on a 6-week appetite. Under $10K usually means a proof-of-concept rather than a real app. Over $80K usually means agency overhead — project management, account team, design hand-offs — riding on top of the engineering work. This tool runs a free software development cost calculator pass on your scope and lands you somewhere in that band with the 2-3x multiplier surfaced and the cuts named.
Single numbers lie. Software projects run 45% over budget on average and 35% of large custom builds get abandoned before completion. AI-generated estimates land at roughly 16% accuracy. A range plus the 2-3x multiplier reflects the actual variance — a single number invites you to plan against the optimistic case and run out of runway. The framing is from Appetite, Not Estimates.
An agency quote is a sales document — they're pricing a mental picture you haven't tightened yet, padding for project management and account overhead (30-60% on top of engineering), and they want a contract. This tool is a sanity check. You get the breakdown, the multiplier, the scope-shaped version, the week-by-week plan, and a verdict that might be "don't build this." Then you take it anywhere.
It means AI cost estimates — including this one — are right within roughly 16% of the actual build cost. That's a starting point to size your appetite, not a fixed quote. I surface it in chat every time I name a number so you don't accidentally treat it as a bid. A real bid comes from a developer who has read the PRD and committed to the scope.
Public 2025 data: AlterSquare puts freelancer MVPs at $4K-$15K, agencies at $10K-$35K, in-house teams at $25K-$150K. SoftTeco quotes $15K-$150K+. Designli ranges $10K-$400K. The honest band for most founder MVPs is $15K-$50K with one senior developer. Under $10K usually means a proof-of-concept. Over $80K usually means agency overhead.
Freelancer if your scope is tight and you can manage the relationship — $4K-$35K. Agency if you need PM, design, and engineering bundled and you're time-sensitive — $25K-$150K. A single senior developer sits in between on cost with lower coordination overhead. The tool sizes all three against your scope so you can choose with eyes open.
Yes — if scope gets shaped hard. One senior developer, core domain features only, everything generic (auth, payments, email) bought off-the-shelf. Most first builds fail from building too much, not too little. The shaping principle: Scope Shaping.
Scope shaping is the answer. I show what fits the budget. Sometimes the move is a smaller version first, validate with 10 users, invest more after. The cutting principle is Scope Shaping; the appetite framing is Appetite, Not Estimates.
Where To Next
Principles behind it:Appetite, Not Estimates, Scope Shaping, Worth Building
When you're ready to build:MVP in 6 WeeksPoC in 2 WeeksPWA in 6 Weeks
Built & Maintained by Varstatt
Varstatt is a one-person product studio run by Jurij Tokarski, product engineer since 2011. These tools are free and open — no signup, no catch.