“What does it cost to have a SaaS built?” is the question every founder starts with, and the answer varies more than for any other kind of software project. A simple MVP can stay under €20,000, a full platform easily climbs toward six figures. The difference is not the hourly rate, but what a SaaS actually is: not a project you hand over once, but a product you keep running for years and sell to many customers at the same time. This article lays out the price the way it is really built up, by phase, by building block, and by month of keeping it live. For the wider story on process and tech, read our guide to building custom software, and for the raw numbers behind all our custom work our price guide for custom software. Still unsure whether you need a SaaS or just a web app? Start with web app vs SaaS vs custom platform.
What does it cost to build a SaaS?
Building a SaaS in 2026 costs roughly €15,000 to €35,000 for an MVP, €35,000 to €80,000 for a growth-ready platform, and €80,000 to €150,000 or more for a scalable platform with several roles and integrations. The price turns on multi-tenancy, billing and the number of modules, not on the hourly rate alone.
| SaaS type | Example | Build cost | Lead time |
|---|---|---|---|
| MVP / first version | 1 core flow, login, subscription, first customers | €15,000 to €35,000 | 6 to 10 weeks |
| Growth-ready platform | Multi-tenant, self-service onboarding, admin, 15-25 screens | €35,000 to €80,000 | 3 to 5 months |
| Scalable platform | Several roles and organizations, integrations, high reliability | €80,000 to €150,000+ | 5 to 9 months |
Pricing verified 2026-07; always request a tailored quote, because scope makes or breaks the figure. These are the build costs. What comes on top each month and year in hosting, payment fees and further development sits further down, and that part is exactly what sets a SaaS apart from a one-off software project.
What makes up the price of a SaaS?
A €50,000 quote is not a black hole. It is made of line items you can see, split and steer one by one. Always ask for that breakdown, because a studio that names only a single end figure is hiding either inexperience or a fat buffer. The indications below are for a growth-ready platform and shift with scope.
| Item | What it is | Indication |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery and scope | Scope document, screen list, data model | €2,000 to €4,000 |
| UX and product design | Wireframes and design for 15 to 25 screens | €4,000 to €10,000 |
| Multi-tenant foundation | Accounts, organizations, data separated per customer | €5,000 to €12,000 |
| Login, roles and permissions | Authentication, teams, access control | €3,000 to €7,000 |
| Subscriptions and billing | Stripe, plans, trials, invoices | €4,000 to €9,000 |
| Self-service onboarding | Sign up and activate without you in the loop | €3,000 to €7,000 |
| Core functionality | The modules customers actually pay for | €6,000 to €20,000 |
| Admin and support tools | Management dashboard, user insight | €3,000 to €7,000 |
| Testing, security and launch | QA, security baseline, deploy | €3,000 to €6,000 |
What stands out: three items a regular app does not have, the multi-tenant foundation, the billing and the self-service onboarding, together run to €12,000 to €28,000. That is not a luxury. It is precisely the part that turns an internal tool into a product you can sell to a hundred customers at once.
Why is a SaaS more expensive than a regular app or web app?
This is the question that explains the most money. A web app or mobile app is usually built for one organization: your team, your data, one login. A SaaS has to do that same work for dozens or hundreds of customers who must never see each other. That difference costs money in three places.
- Multi-tenancy. Each customer gets their own walled-off space inside the same system. Building that separation well and safely is work an app with one user simply does not have.
- Billing and subscriptions. A SaaS collects money automatically: monthly plans, trials, upgrades, failed payments, invoices. That is a whole system in itself, not a button.
- Self-service onboarding. Customers sign up and get to work without you present. That takes a well-thought-out signup flow, because every stumbling step costs you a paying user.
Add to that the fact that a SaaS has to run reliably, because when your platform is down, it is down for every customer at once. That higher bar for reliability and security is baked into nearly every line of the budget.
What does a SaaS cost per month to run?
A SaaS is a living product, not a one-time purchase. Beyond the build you pay every month for the infrastructure that keeps it live. For a starting to growing platform, budget €150 to €800 per month in fixed running costs, plus payment fees that move with your revenue.
| Cost item | What it is | Indication per month |
|---|---|---|
| Cloud hosting and database | Servers and storage, grows with usage | €100 to €600 |
| Auth service | Login, passwords, security | €0 to €250 |
| Monitoring and email | Error alerts, transactional mail | €50 to €200 |
| Payment provider (Stripe) | ~1.5% + €0.25 per European card | variable with revenue |
The payment fees are the easiest to forget and the largest over time. Stripe charges roughly 1.5 percent plus €0.25 per European card transaction (Stripe pricing); international cards run higher. At €10,000 in monthly revenue you are quickly €200 to €400 in transaction fees. That is no reason to avoid Stripe, because building a payment system yourself is far more expensive and riskier. It is a reason to price those fees into your model from day one.
Build it yourself, outsource, or start with no-code?
There are three routes, and the right one depends on how sure you are of your idea. No-code (€0 to €5,000 plus a monthly fee) is the fastest and cheapest way to validate. A studio (€15,000 to €150,000) builds a serious product with its own code. Your own team (€70,000+ per year) only pays off once the product is your business. That choice moves more money than any single feature.
| Approach | Startup cost | When it is the right choice |
|---|---|---|
| No-code MVP (Bubble, FlutterFlow) | €0 to €5,000 + monthly fee | Validating an idea, first paying customers |
| Studio / custom build | €15,000 to €150,000+ | Serious product, scale, own code |
| Build your own team | €70,000 to €100,000+ per year | The product is your business, long term |
Start with the cheapest one that answers your question. The most cited reason startups fail is that there was no market need, at around 35 percent of failures (CB Insights). A no-code version or a tight MVP proves that demand for a fraction of the price. If it works, you build custom with peace of mind. If it does not, you lost a few thousand euros instead of a hundred grand. If you outsource, watch who actually builds; software studio vs freelance developer covers what to check.
What does a SaaS cost per year after launch?
Here is the big difference with a one-off project. A SaaS is never finished. Your customers ask for new features, the market moves, and competitors force you to keep up. Budget 15 to 25 percent of the build price per year for maintenance, security and small further development, plus a separate budget for the bigger features that keep your platform selling.
A worked example makes it concrete. Say you build a growth-ready platform for €45,000. Here is what the cost looks like over 24 months.
| Cost item | Year 1 | Year 2 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-time build cost | €45,000 | €0 | Discovery, design, multi-tenant build, billing, launch |
| Hosting, database and tools | €4,800 | €7,200 | Grows with paying users |
| Maintenance and security | €7,000 | €9,000 | About 15 to 20 percent of the build price |
| Further development | €10,000 | €18,000 | New features, because a SaaS is never finished |
| Total | €66,800 | €34,200 | 24-month TCO: €101,000 |
The build cost here is about 67 percent of year one, but in year two the budget is almost entirely running and further development. Anyone steering on the build quote alone plans only half the story. So pick tech you can easily find people for later. React, TypeScript and PostgreSQL are among the most used tools among developers (Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2025), so you are not stuck with a single party who alone understands your code.
How do you keep a SaaS’s cost down?
You keep the cost down by validating first and building second, by making one core flow well instead of ten halfway, and by picking proven tech that is easy to maintain. Limit your integrations to what you need on day one, ask for a fixed price on a clear scope, and demand code ownership. That way you hit your budget without trading quality.
- Validate first, build second. Test your idea with no-code or a tight MVP and real paying customers before you invest in custom code.
- Build one core flow brilliantly. Not ten features halfway. The one thing customers pay for, you build well; the rest comes later.
- Pick proven tech. A popular stack means easy maintenance, more available developers and less lock-in risk.
- Limit your integrations. Every link costs money and upkeep. On day one, connect only what you truly need.
- Ask for a fixed price on a clear scope. Then the price risk sits with the studio, not with you.
- Demand code ownership. So you can always switch later and never pay ransom. Read why in code ownership and vendor lock-in.
How do you actually get started?
Start small and sharp. A discovery of one to two weeks costs €2,000 to €4,000 and produces a scope document and data model you can use to compare any quote on an equal footing. That document is your insurance against apples-to-pears comparisons and against hidden extras later. What that looks like in practice, you can see in our Planit case.
Book a free intake call. In thirty minutes we look at your idea, give an honest price indication, and tell you which phase fits your goal and budget. With or without working together, you walk away with a clear picture.
