You’ve got an app idea and you decide to get some quotes. Three agencies respond: one says $8,000, another says $55,000, the third says $120,000. For what sounds like the same thing.
Which one is real? Which one is going to screw you?
I’ve watched this question paralyze more founders than any technical decision. The problem is you’re trying to judge something without a frame of reference. Every quote looks reasonable on its own — the only way to know is to stack them against each other and against market norms. Here’s how to do that without a CS degree.
Where the Price Range Comes From
A software quote is really four quotes bundled into one. Most of the variation comes from what’s included and what’s silently left out.
The variables are simple:
- Scope depth. Cheap ($5-15K) means surface-level features. Medium ($25-60K) covers the full feature set. High ($80K+) includes scope plus a discovery phase to figure out what you actually need.
- Discovery. Skipped entirely at the low end. Light pass at medium. Dedicated 1-2 week sprint at the high end.
- QA. Essentially none at low. Standard manual testing at medium. Automated plus manual at high.
- Project management. Nobody’s tracking it at low. Part-time PM at medium. Dedicated person at high.
- Post-launch support. On your own at low. 30 days at medium. Ongoing maintenance at high.
The $8,000 quote isn’t necessarily a scam. It just hits that number by leaving half of these unchecked. You’ll pay for them later — in change requests, delays, and rework.
Red Flags
A single line item. “Mobile app: $15,000.” Nothing else. Run.
No stated assumptions. Every estimate is a guess wrapped in experience. The assumptions — about complexity, integrations, user volume, platform — are what make that guess honest. Good quotes show them. Bad ones hide them.
No risk buffer. Software projects hit unexpected complexity. Every single one. A quote that pretends otherwise is either naive or lowballing to win the deal.
No revision limits. How many design rounds does $15,000 buy? What happens if you want to change something after launch? If the quote is silent, you’re setting yourself up for a change request bill that could double the price.
Green Flags
Itemized costs. Discovery, design, development, QA, deployment, maintenance — you can see where every dollar goes.
Choices. Core MVP here, extended scope there, full feature set over there — priced as separate options so you decide what matters.
Spelled-out assumptions. “This quote assumes email/password login. Adding OAuth would add $X.” Now you know what changes cost before you ask.
Defined change process. You agree upfront how scope changes get handled and priced. No surprises. Protects both sides.
Benchmarks Are Your Best Friend
You need a reference point. Three agencies quote $25K, $55K, and $120K for a marketplace app — where do you start?
A good benchmark tells you marketplace apps typically run $40K to $80K for a solid MVP. Suddenly it clicks: the $25K quote is missing important pieces, $55K is in normal territory, $120K might include services you don’t actually need.
Benchmarks don’t pick the winner. They just tell you what normal looks like. When you’re buying software for the first time, that’s half the battle.
A Quick Note on the Tooling
We built Apropo to fix exactly this information problem. When agencies use our tools to build proposals, clients get cost breakdowns they can actually read, real scope options with different price points, and risk buffers shown in the open instead of buried in fine print.
I started the company because I kept watching founders sign bad contracts. The gap between what the agency knows and what the buyer knows is real — and the only fix is transparency.
Questions to Ask Before You Sign
Is this quote fair? Cross-check against market benchmarks. A fair quote has a clear breakdown, stated assumptions, and transparent pricing.
All three quotes are different. Normal? Totally normal for custom software. Use the differences to figure out what each agency is including or leaving out. Ask each one why their number is what it is. Their reasoning tells you more than the price does.
Cheapest quote — always bad? Not always. But cheap quotes usually get cheap by skipping things — discovery, QA, post-launch support. Ask what’s excluded. If nothing is, get suspicious.
Questions to ask before signing? What’s in each phase? What assumptions are you making? How many revisions? What happens if scope changes? How are change requests priced? Post-launch support window? Get it in writing.
How much should a real MVP cost? Ballpark: $30K-$80K for mobile, $20K-$60K for web. If you’re way outside that range, there should be a clear reason. If there isn’t, that’s your answer.
I wrote this because I’ve seen too many good ideas killed by bad contracts. Get multiple quotes, ask hard questions, and trust your gut. — Michael, CEO at Apropo