SaaS Development Costs: What to Budget for Your SaaS Product
If you have searched for how much it costs to build a SaaS product, you have probably seen a range of $25,000 to $500,000 and closed the tab. That spread is technically true and useless for planning. It also stops at the wrong place, because the build is the first bill, not the whole bill.
I run Milo Solutions, and pricing and delivering these products is what we do. So before any number, change the question from "what does it cost to build" to "what am I funding, and for how long?"
The short version: a first real version usually runs $25,000 to $70,000 for a basic product and $200,000 to $500,000 or more for a full platform. But plan for two more things from day one. Cloud starts billing at launch, and maintenance over the product's life tends to total two to four times what you paid to build it. Here is how I frame it before we reach line items:
SaaS systems are among the top 20% most complex to build, and they are often mission-critical for the businesses that use them. You can prototype a SaaS cheaply, but not one that will scale. There is no way around having a proper budget; it's like wanting to buy a new 'cheap' Porsche. There is no "new cheap" Porsche on the market. Usually, the team that builds a SaaS has a better process for preparing the build than you, as a founder, because they have done it a few times and learned.Read more