What does custom software cost? An honest breakdown

"What does custom software cost?" is the question we hear most often — and at the same time the hardest one to answer in general terms. Here's the short answer up front, so you don't have to scroll: a first pilot with a clearly scoped feature set starts from €3,900 with us, a built-out solution with several roles and integrations from €11,900. Where we bill by effort, our rate is €79/h. Anything above or below has reasons — and those reasons are what this article is about.

Why there's no fixed price "per software"

A small internal tool that takes one repetitive task off three people's hands is something completely different from a platform where hundreds of customers work at the same time. Both are "custom software" — and yet those two worlds are easily a zero apart in budget.

At its core, the price comes down to effort: the more features, edge cases and integrations, the more development time. Across the German market, hourly rates for custom development sit roughly between €80 and €120, depending on the size of the provider and how much overhead sits between you and the person writing the code. Our rate is €79/h — we sit at the lower end deliberately, because there is no sales apparatus in between, not because less care goes into the work. For a first rough estimate, you can put together a non-binding price range using our package configurator.

The biggest cost drivers

• Scope of features: every feature that has to be thought through, built and tested costs time.
• Integrations: if your software needs to talk to other systems (inventory management, accounting, payments), the effort goes up.
• Users & roles: different permissions, login areas and multi-tenancy all add complexity.
• Design: a functional interface is cheaper than a fully designed, custom one.
• Data migration: if data has to come over from legacy systems, that's its own line item.

What it actually costs — our price anchors

So you get numbers, not just factors. These are the amounts we actually work with. All net, all starting points — the exact figure goes into the quote after the first call.

For comparison: the going hourly rate for custom development in Germany sits roughly between €80 and €120. We deliberately sit at the lower end — not because we do less, but because there is no sales apparatus and no layers in between. For a non-binding range on your specific project, use the package configurator.

Is custom software even worth it?

Not always. If an off-the-shelf solution covers 90 percent of your requirements, that's often exactly what we recommend. Custom software pays off where your processes are your competitive advantage — and where a standard product would force you into a straitjacket that costs you time and nerves every single day.

The math is simpler than most people think: if a manual process eats one hour every day, that adds up to around 250 working hours over a year. Software that automates that process often pays for itself faster than you'd expect.

Starting smart: start small

Our advice: don't invest in the do-everything solution right away. Start with one clearly scoped first step — the feature that gives you the most. That keeps your risk small, gets you a result early, and lets you decide what comes next based on real experience.

That's exactly how we approach projects: listen first, then a transparent quote, then build in manageable steps. You always know where you stand — including on budget.

Wondering whether custom software is worth it for you? Tell us about your plans — the first conversation is free and comes with no strings attached.

Frequently asked questions