MVP development costs in 2026 range from about $8,000 for a focused single-flow product to $100,000+ for marketplaces or AI-heavy SaaS. The real number depends on scope, integrations, and how clean the version-one feature list is. Shipkit ships fixed-price MVPs starting at $5,900 with no hourly billing, no scope creep, and full code ownership.
Step 1
Define the single user outcome the MVP must deliver
Step 2
Cut features that do not validate the core hypothesis
Step 3
Map remaining scope to a complexity tier and budget range
Step 4
Lock fixed price and milestones before any code is written
Proof point
Shipkit has shipped marketplace, SaaS, AI, and internal-tool MVPs at fixed price. The MVP cost calculator at /estimate produces a realistic budget range in under 3 minutes based on actual scope answers, not guesswork.
A simple MVP with one core flow and basic authentication typically costs $8,000–$20,000. A medium MVP with multiple user roles, integrations, and admin tools runs $25,000–$50,000. A complex MVP — marketplaces, multi-tenant SaaS, AI/RAG features — starts at $50,000 and can exceed $100,000. Shipkit offers fixed-price tiers from $5,900 for the simplest scopes and quotes custom builds individually.
Three reasons. First, scope: a 'simple SaaS' can mean 5 features or 25 features depending on the founder's vision. Second, billing model: hourly engagements have unpredictable totals while fixed-price contracts cap the cost. Third, ownership: cheaper offshore quotes often exclude code ownership, deployment, or post-launch support that you'd pay for separately later.
Aggressively scope the version-one feature list to one core user outcome. Most founders include 3-5 features that do not validate the core hypothesis — cutting these typically saves $10,000-$30,000. Use the free MVP scope builder to separate must-have launch features from nice-to-haves, then estimate from the reduced scope.
Fixed-price MVP development means you know the total before development starts. Hourly rates from US agencies typically run $150-$250/hour, so a 400-hour MVP could cost $60,000-$100,000 with scope risk on top. Shipkit's fixed-price tiers ($5,900-$14,900+) often deliver equivalent scope at lower total cost because scope is locked and milestones replace hourly billing.
Watch for hidden costs: domain and hosting ($100-$500/year), third-party APIs (Stripe, Twilio, OpenAI — $50-$500/month), design tools, post-launch bug fixes, analytics setup, and marketing site. Shipkit includes deployment, basic analytics, and first-30-day post-launch support; third-party API usage is billed to the founder's accounts directly.
Yes, but only if scope is genuinely tight. Shipkit's $5,900 Starter tier ships a landing page plus core flow in 2-3 weeks. Anything with payments, multi-role auth, or real-time features pushes you toward the $8,900+ MVP Launchpad tier. If a vendor promises a full SaaS for $3,000-$5,000, expect either offshore quality or scope cuts mid-build.
Book a free founder call. We'll help you figure out what to build first, what it'll cost, and how fast we can launch it.
Limited availability — email alex@shipkit.us or use the contact page to start the conversation.
