Custom Software Development Cost: Getting A Quick Estimate

Custom software development often faces criticism for being too expensive for startups and small businesses. While it can certainly be more expensive than working with open-source applications or off-the-shelf software, it is important to know that custom software development helps you boost your ROI.

If you plan and manage your custom software development cost well, you will not face issues throughout your project’s course, irrespective of your business’s size. Smart cost management helps you execute your project well and create an extensive budget for the same.

So, how much does custom software development cost?

There is no objective answer to this question. You and your custom software development company should consider multiple factors that dictate your project’s overall cost. Make sure you chart out all your potential expenses in advance and leave some buffer to ensure seamless project execution.

Here are a few important factors that affect your custom software development cost:

Size And Scope Of The Product

The biggest factor dictating your cost will always be your software product’s size and scope. Make sure you are well-versed in your project’s scale before start designing your custom software. Naturally, larger software products with a greater scope will cost you more than the smaller ones with a limited scope.

Your software’s size will give you a rough estimate of your development cost. While a lot of other factors come into play while deciding the final cost, this certainly gives you a good sense of direction. The size of your product also depends on the complexity of your processes. If your software streamlines smaller processes, building it won’t cost you a lot. On the other hand, automating complex processes is likely to increase your budget.

Nature Of Your Software

Along with your software’s size, scope, and complexity, its nature plays an important role in deciding its development cost. Here, it would help if you considered aspects like the number of screens, pages, automation requirements, workflows, process intertwining, independent/dependent paths, etc.

Your custom software development cost will increase with every functionality you want to add to your product through your code. This is because a more complicated software application will require more manual coding. As compared to off-the-shelf applications, custom software facilitates more flexible manual coding.

Innovative Features

Your creativity comes at a cost! If you want to disrupt the industry by building unique software with out-of-the-box tools and features, you may have to pay more for it. Adding innovative features often requires a unique coding approach, making the developers charge you more for their services.

Creating and adding unique features to your software also requires you to hire experienced designers and developers, further adding to your custom software development cost. However, make sure this does not discourage you from being creative in your approach. In an age of intense competition, creating a unique product is bound to get you more traction and let you earn more revenue.

Number Of Integrations

Software integrations are getting increasingly popular across industries. Integrating your software with a suitable third-party service or application allows you to blend the two platforms’ functionalities, data, and features. This allows end users to work on a single unified platform instead of switching between two applications.

While software integrations are easier and faster in custom software solutions, they would add to your custom software development cost. The development cost also depends on the type of integrations you want to perform. For example, integrating with a legacy platform will cost you more than integrating with a suitable API.

Team Size

As obvious as it sounds, it is important to acknowledge this factor while calculating your custom software development cost. The cost is directly proportional to the number of members in your team. If your project needs more professionals, you should be prepared to spend more than working with limited team size.

Platform And Operating Systems

Another major factor that affects your custom software development cost is the platform(s) you want your application to run on. Today, most businesses prefer building software applications for multiple operating systems, such as Android, iOS, Linux, Windows, etc. While every platform and operating system will have its own cost of deployment, making your software run on multiple platforms will automatically add to your overall development cost.

Along with the platform you want your app to run on, the technology and programming language you use will also affect your development cost. Ask your custom software development services provider like IntelliSource for the charges to work with each technology and language suitable for your project.

The Final Word

These were some of the most important factors that help you get a quick estimate of your custom software development cost. Make sure you go ahead with calculated decisions and do not rush into your project without knowing how much it will cost your company.