Software Development Prices
As with any bespoke project, software development prices are very difficult to estimate. No two development projects are the same, and the specific requirements, development steps involved and problems to overcome for every unique project can affect the price that you pay. As such, the below should be viewed as guidance only, and for any real estimates you should request quotes from software development companies.
In general, the price of a development project will be based on the number of hours of programming required. Since computer programming is a skilled and highly specialised occupation, hourly rates can be very high, from £30-50 at the bottom end, up to hundreds of pounds per hour for experts in esoteric or obscure systems and programming languages. You should never find yourself in the position of paying an hourly rate for a particular software project; instead, having analysed your requirements, a software development company will be able to give you a fixed price for the project. While this may still be subject to some variation, particularly if major changes need to be made, or requirements change during development, such variation should not be too significant.
As a very rough guide, a typical software project which involves customising or adapting an existing system or piece of software will cost at least £2,500, rising for more complex, feature rich, or challenging solutions.
A fully bespoke software application, written from the ground up, requires a significant investment, and is worth the money to get a tailored solution for your business needs. Expect to pay at least £5,000 for a relatively simple solution. Again this price will increase as the application demands more sophisticated solutions or is integrated with existing systems.
