INTRO
Founders want a number. Engineers want a scope. The gap is where resentment grows. I do not publish a public rate card here — markets and risk differ — but I will name the levers that move any honest quote.
The big levers
Number of distinct user roles. Number of third-party integrations. Whether offline / sync matters. Whether you need multi-tenant isolation on day one.
Design maturity: existing UI kit vs inventing a design system mid-flight. Content readiness: real copy vs “lorem until launch.”
What looks cheap but is not
“Just add payments” can mean tax, webhooks, idempotency, and failure UX. “Simple admin” can mean the entire operations model.
Brochure timelines applied to product depth create failed projects — not bargains.
How I quote
After a short discovery, I propose a first milestone with a clear done-state on staging. Follow-on phases are priced when the spine is real.
If your budget only covers a marketing site, we should label it that way and still ship something excellent.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
“Roles + integrations dominate cost.”
- 02
Mislabelled brochure work is the expensive mistake.
- 03
Milestone pricing beats fantasy fixed totals on fuzzy scopes.
CONCLUSION
Closing thought
Share budget band and success event on Contact — I will say whether we are in brochure, MVP, or “not yet” territory.
CONTINUE
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