What Does an MVP Cost? An Honest 2026 Price Guide

You have an idea for a digital product, maybe even your first interested customers, and you start collecting quotes. The first one says €9,000, the second €60,000, the third gives no price at all, just an hourly rate. This article explains why that happens, what really determines the price of an MVP and how to cut the scope so your budget covers the one question that matters most.

An MVP (minimum viable product) is the smallest real version of your product that lets you test whether customers use it and pay for it. It is not a prototype for showing around, but software that real users work with every day.

Why quotes for the same idea are so far apart

Most price differences do not come from one provider being expensive and the other cheap. They come from each provider understanding your idea differently. A short description such as "a platform where businesses offer appointments and customers book them" leaves a lot open:

• Does every business need its own account with several staff members?
• Do customers pay online, and if so, with invoices and cancellations?
• Should customers install an app from the app store, or is the browser enough?
• Is there an admin area for you as the operator, with reports?

One provider prices the lean version, another the complete one. Both quotes can be fair. They only become comparable once you write the scope down: which user groups exist, what each of them can do, and what is deliberately left out for now?

A quote you can compare fairly contains at least these points:

• a list of features per user group, including the things that are explicitly not included
• the planned interim releases where you can try the software yourself
• a clear statement of who owns the source code, server accounts and domain
• the expected running costs after launch

If one of these points is missing, ask. The answer often tells you more about the future collaboration than the price does.

The five things that really drive the price

In our experience at EA Digital Solutions, it is almost always the same points that drive the effort. The number of screens is rarely the problem.

1. User roles and permissions. An application with only one type of user is much simpler than one with customers, providers, staff and administrators who each see different things.
2. Payments. As soon as money changes hands, you need invoices, refunds, failed payments and tax questions. A payment provider such as Stripe takes a lot off your plate, but the processes around it still have to be built.
3. Connections to other systems. Every link to accounting, a CRM, a calendar or industry software is a small project of its own, because other systems have their own rules.
4. Edge cases. "What happens if a customer cancels after paying?" Questions like this often take more work than the normal case.
5. Platform. A web application that runs in the browser on phones and computers is usually cheaper for an MVP than two native apps for iOS and Android.

Once you answer these five points for your idea, half of the cost estimate is done.

Prototype, MVP, full product: what you need when

Many founders ask for an MVP but actually need something else first. The stages differ in the question they answer:

• Clickable prototype: Do customers understand what your product does? Ideal for first conversations, pitches and user tests. No real data is involved.
• MVP: Do customers actually use the product, and do they pay for it? Real people work with real data.
• Full product: How do you grow? Now convenience features, automation and scaling come in.

If you commission the full product straight away, you pay for features nobody has confirmed are useful. If you only build a prototype, you still do not know whether anyone would pay. The right stage is the one that answers your biggest open question at the lowest cost.

How to cut the scope without weakening the product

The biggest lever for your budget is not a cheaper provider but a smaller, clearer scope. These questions have proven useful:

• Which single question should the MVP answer? For example: "Do businesses prefer booking appointments through us rather than by phone?" Anything that does not answer this question can wait.
• What can you do by hand at first? Invoices, account approvals or reports can often be handled manually in the first weeks. Automate what proves itself.
• Which standard services can you use? Login, payments or email delivery do not need to be reinvented.
• Do you really need an app in the app store? A well-built web application can be used on a phone just like an app.

Example: a founder plans a tutoring platform with matching, video calls, payment and reviews. For the MVP, it may be enough that tutors create a profile, parents send a request, payment happens online and the video call runs on an existing tool. Algorithmic matching and reviews come once the first hundred bookings have shown what users really want.

Running costs after launch: hosting, maintenance, further development

The budget is not used up at launch. Plan for three ongoing items from the start:

• Hosting and services: servers, database, email delivery and payment providers charge monthly or per transaction. For an MVP with few users this is usually manageable, but it grows with usage.
• Maintenance: security updates, bug fixes and adjustments when a connected interface changes.
• Further development: an MVP is meant to learn. The key insights from the first weeks need to be built in, otherwise the advantage is lost.

Ask every provider how they handle these three points and what they cost. A cheap MVP with expensive or unclear follow-up costs is not a cheap MVP in the end.

What an MVP costs at EA Digital Solutions

We publish our starting prices so you have a point of reference before the first conversation (as of October 2026):

• Smaller tools and clickable prototypes: from €6,500
• MVP for startups: typically €8,000 to €25,000, depending on roles, payments and integrations
• Extensive web apps: from €15,000
• Connection to existing systems such as accounting or a CRM (system integration): from €4,500
• AI features in the product (AI integration): from €2,500

The exact price depends on the scope we define together. You talk directly to the developer who builds your product. The source code and all accounts belong to your company. Read more about how we work with founders on our page software development for startups in Graz, and details on technology and process under custom software development.

Funding: check FFG, aws and SFG before the project starts

For startups in Austria, public funding can cover part of the development costs. Timing matters: almost all programmes require you to apply before the project starts. As of October 2026, the programme pages state:

• FFG Basisprogramm: the general programme of the Austrian Research Promotion Agency funds research and development projects with grants and loans. Startups can receive up to 70 percent of project costs, up to €3 million per project. According to the FFG, pure ideas without a prototype are usually not yet eligible.
• aws: Austria Wirtschaftsservice, the federal promotional bank, funds digitalisation and AI projects through time-limited calls. The AI calls were closed at the time of our research. Check aws.at to see which calls are currently open.
• SFG: the Styrian business promotion agency supports companies in Styria with its own programmes. Conditions and deadlines change, so it is worth checking sfg.at.

You will find an overview of the programmes on our page on AI and digitalisation funding in Austria. Whether and how much funding is granted is always decided by the funding body.

Your next step

A serious MVP price starts with a clear scope. In a free initial consultation you tell us about your idea, we go through the five cost drivers together and tell you honestly which first version answers your most important question. You then receive a quote with a clearly defined scope. Our office is in Graz, and remote collaboration works just as well.