MVP vs Prototype vs Proof of Concept
Ordering the wrong one is the most expensive mistake in early product work. Each answers a different question — and only one of them is meant to have users.
What does an MVP actually cost to build?
Ask five studios what an MVP costs and you will get five numbers between $10,000 and $190,000. None of them are lying. They are answering different questions, because "MVP" is not a size — it is a strategy, and the strategy determines the price.
This is the breakdown we use when scoping, including the parts that usually get left out of a quote until invoice three. Figures are in US dollars with pounds alongside; delivery is remote, so what you pay does not depend on where you are.
How much does an MVP cost?
In 2026, MVP builds cluster into four bands. These are total build costs, not day rates.
| Type | Typical cost | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Single-platform, 3–5 core features, no integrations beyond auth and payments | $10k – $38k (£8k – £30k) | 3–6 weeks |
| Multi-role product, light integrations (CRM, email, analytics) | $38k – $100k (£30k – £80k) | 6–12 weeks |
| Multi-platform, third-party APIs, real-time data | $90k – $190k (£70k – £150k) | 3–6 months |
| Regulated (fintech, health) with compliance overhead | $190k+ (£150k+) | 6 months+ |
Most funded early-stage startups land in the second band. If you are being quoted $190k for a two-sided marketplace with no compliance burden, something in the scope is wrong — usually because the quote is pricing the eventual product rather than the first testable version.
Why quotes differ so much by region
The same scope is priced very differently depending on where the team sits, and this is the single largest variable in any comparison you run.
- US-based agencies generally quote above the ranges here for equivalent scope, because their cost base is higher. You are paying for the office, not for different software.
- UK and Western European studios sit close to these ranges.
- Offshore-only shops quote below them, and the saving is real — but so is the coordination cost, which shows up as rework rather than as a line on the invoice.
- Remote-first teams price on the work rather than the postcode, which is why the ranges above do not change with your location.
The useful comparison is never the headline number. It is the number divided by what is actually included, which is why the exclusions list matters more than the total.
What actually moves the number
Feature count is the weakest predictor of cost. These four things matter far more:
- Number of distinct user roles. Each role is its own set of screens, permissions and edge cases. A single-role tool is dramatically cheaper than an admin/customer/supplier triangle.
- Integrations you do not control. Every third-party API is someone else's uptime, someone else's rate limits and someone else's sandbox. Two integrations can cost more than ten screens.
- Whether data has to be right. A dashboard that is roughly correct is a weekend. A billing engine that has to reconcile to the cent is not.
- Whether you already have designs. Starting from a blank page adds two to three weeks before anyone writes code.
The costs that are usually missing
Build cost is not total cost. Budget for these separately or they will surprise you:
- Discovery and scoping: $2.5k–$10k (£2k–£8k), two to four weeks. Skipping it does not save money, it defers the cost to the build at a worse exchange rate.
- Infrastructure and monitoring: typically 20–30% of build cost per year once you are live.
- The second sprint after launch. Real users find things. Reserve 15–20% of the build budget for the fortnight after go-live.
- Design, if it is not included. Ask explicitly — plenty of quotes assume you are bringing Figma files.
Fixed price or time and materials?
Fixed price is safer for you when the scope is genuinely fixed and the studio has built something similar before. It transfers risk to them, and they will price that risk in — expect a 15–30% premium over the same work on T&M.
Time and materials is cheaper when it works and unbounded when it does not. It is the right model for discovery and re-architecture, where nobody can honestly commit to a number up front.
For a first MVP with a clear hypothesis, we quote fixed scope and fixed price, because the whole point of an MVP is to have a date. A budget that can drift has no forcing function.
How to read a quote
Four questions separate a serious proposal from an optimistic one. How to choose a development company goes through the rest of the evaluation.
- What is explicitly out of scope? A quote with no exclusions list has not been thought about.
- Who owns the code and the infrastructure accounts on day one? The answer should be "you", in writing.
- What happens if it takes longer? Fixed price should mean fixed price; ask what triggers a change order.
- Can I see something running in week one? If the first demo is week six, you are buying a plan, not a product.
Does an AI-assisted build cost less?
Somewhat, and not in the way the marketing suggests. Agents have compressed implementation time materially, which shows up as a shorter timeline more than as a smaller invoice — the saving lands in weeks rather than in the hourly rate.
Where it genuinely changes the number is everything after launch. A product whose testing, deployment and first-line incident response are agent-run needs a much smaller team to keep alive, and that recurring cost usually dwarfs the build. How small a SaaS team can be works through the arithmetic.
What we charge, for reference
We build MVPs on a fixed scope and fixed price in three to four weeks, which for most products puts us in the $38k–$100k band. Discovery is separate and small. You own the code and every account from the first commit, and you see working software weekly rather than a status report.
If your idea does not fit that shape, we will say so on the call rather than quote for it anyway. Our MVP build service has the detail.
Frequently asked questions
How much does an MVP cost to build?
Most MVPs cost between $10,000 and $190,000 (£8,000–£150,000). A single-platform product with three to five features typically runs $10k–$38k; a multi-role product with light integrations is usually $38k–$100k, which is where most funded startups land. Regulated products in fintech or healthcare start around $190k because of the compliance overhead.
How much does an MVP cost in the US?
The ranges above apply: roughly $10k–$38k for a single-platform product, $38k–$100k for a multi-role product with light integrations, and $90k–$190k where third-party APIs and real-time data are involved. US-based agencies typically quote above these figures for equivalent scope because their cost base is higher, which is a difference in where the team sits rather than in what you get.
How long should an MVP take to build?
Three to twelve weeks for most products. A focused single-platform MVP can ship in three to six weeks. If a studio quotes six months for a first version, they are usually scoping version one of the full product rather than a testable minimum.
Is fixed price or time and materials better for an MVP?
Fixed price suits an MVP because it forces a date and a scope, and transfers overrun risk to the studio — expect to pay a 15–30% premium for that. Time and materials is more appropriate for discovery or re-architecture work, where the scope genuinely cannot be known in advance.
What costs are usually missing from an MVP quote?
Discovery and scoping ($2.5k–$10k), design if you are not supplying it, infrastructure and monitoring at roughly 20–30% of build cost per year, and the sprint immediately after launch. Reserve 15–20% of the build budget for changes real users force.
Keep reading
Why MVPs Break Under Real Load
Success is the failure mode. The shortcuts that got you to launch are exactly the ones that break when launch works.
Choosing a Software Development Company
Everyone claims senior engineers and agile delivery. Here is how to tell the difference, using things you can check rather than things you are told.