MVP complexity and cost-driver estimate
Pick the product type, platforms, modules and integrations to get a scope band, the workstreams involved and the questions you need answered before anyone can name an honest price. No hours or money from five fields.
Free, no sign-up
Product type
What are you planning to build? The type sets the baseline complexity.
Your draft is stored only in this browser.
How the estimate works
You choose what the product includes
Type, platforms, roles, first-version modules, integrations, data requirements, design readiness and stage.
Every choice has a relative weight
These are arbitrary units of complexity, not hours or money. All weights are in the table below.
The total falls into a scope band
Small, medium, large or very large — with an explanation of which choices mattered most.
Product type
- Options and relative weight
- Website — 2; Internal tool — 4; SaaS — 7; Mobile app — 6; Marketplace — 9
Platforms (each)
- Options and relative weight
- Web (browser) — 2; iOS — 3; Android — 3; Desktop app — 4
Roles and permissions
- Options and relative weight
- One type of user — 0; 2–3 roles — 2; Complex permissions — 5
Feature modules (each)
- Options and relative weight
- Sign-up and sign-in — 2; Account and profile — 1; Catalogue or content — 2; Search and filters — 2; Forms and enquiries — 1; Booking and scheduling — 3; Cart and orders — 3; Online payments — 3; Chat and messaging — 3; Notifications (email, push, SMS) — 2; Admin panel — 2; Reports and dashboards — 3; File and media uploads — 2; Maps and geolocation — 2; Real-time updates — 3; Approvals and workflows — 3; Data import and export — 2; Multiple languages — 1; Offline mode — 4; AI features — 4
Integrations (each)
- Options and relative weight
- Payment provider — 3; CRM, ERP or 1C — 4; Messengers (WhatsApp, Telegram) — 2; Email or SMS delivery — 1; Maps service — 1; Analytics and ads — 1; Government or banking APIs — 4; Language model APIs — 2; An in-house legacy system without docs — 5
Data and security
- Options and relative weight
- Public data only — 0; Personal data — 3; Not sure yet — 3; Sensitive data — 6
Design and spec
- Options and relative weight
- Designs and spec are ready — 0; Partly: sketches, references, a draft spec — 2; Only the idea so far — 4
Stage
- Options and relative weight
- Idea, no code yet — 0; A prototype or MVP exists — 1; A live product that needs to grow — 3
A total below 14 is small scope; 14–29 is medium scope; 30–49 is large scope; 50 and above is very large scope. If the total is within 3 units of the band’s upper edge, the result warns that the estimate may move up once details are clarified.
All weights are non-negative, so adding a module, integration or platform never lowers the band. The same answers always give the same result.
Besides the band you get the workstreams (design, frontend, backend, mobile, integrations, testing, infrastructure), a qualitative uncertainty level and the questions worth discussing before any price is calculated.
Who it is for
- Business owners who want to understand the size of an idea before talking to vendors.
- Anyone comparing proposals: the band and questions show what each vendor has assumed about scope.
- Teams deciding what goes into the first version and what can wait.
Limitations: why there is no price here
- An “account area” or “reports” module can be several times simpler or harder — the tool counts each module at a typical scope.
- Timeline, team make-up and release order change the price more than the feature list; none of them are here.
- The quality of third-party APIs only becomes clear when integrations are worked through.
- The result can’t be used as a commercial proposal: the export states that it is a preliminary estimate and lists the assumptions.
Privacy
- The estimate is calculated in your browser; the tool itself does not send your answers to a server, and they never appear in the page address.
- Your draft is stored only in this browser (localStorage); the “Reset” button deletes it.
- Analytics receives only the scope band — not the modules you picked or any other answers.
- The result reaches us only if you send a request yourself and keep the “Attach the result” box ticked — the form shows exactly what will be sent.
- No email or phone number is needed for the result. The enquiry form below is optional.
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Describe the task — no passwords, code or personal data. The first conversation is free; the cost is set after a brief and an agreed scope.
- The first short conversation is free — we choose the format
- NDA — yours or ours
- Pricing after a brief and an agreed scope