Price is an important factor when considering software development.

Application Development Pricing / Feature Worksheet

Each year, dozens of businesses rely on Matraex to build and launch their software vision. They all ask us for quotes or estimates, and many ask questions about price during our first discovery session. We get it. Everyone wants to know about cost. You need to be sure you’re making the right decision for your business. It’s hard to provide a one-size-fits-all information guide about cost. There are just too many variables that can influence it.

Below, you’ll find realistic price ranges and estimates based on real-world scenarios and current clients.

What does the typical client spend with Matraex?

Depending on company size, needs, and desired speed of transformation, typical Matraex clients spend between $60,000 and $240,000 per year. We understand that’s a big range. We’ll cover the particulars below.

First off, it’s important to note that when most clients work with us, they fund a monthly retainer. We, in turn, provide detailed accounting for all of the work we do under that. Clients spend an average of $10,000 per month with Matraex, working with our developers and project architects who create a project roadmap. They then prioritize, and deliver the most valuable software features to you.

Matraex’s Primary Service – Building Web and Mobile Apps

Matraex builds web and mobile apps and platforms. We launch your software ideas. Most clients hire Matraex to develop a concept from an idea into launched software that helps their business or offers a service to customers.

Matraex has proven processes that lead to software project success (and avoids the pitfalls of failure-prone development processes). Our frequent feedback sessions with clients ensure that we focus on delivering the most valuable features in a way that our customers can see. Our process requires client feedback. Your feedback confirms that your software vision and the direction in which we take your software are aligned.

Our projects begin with building the initial software roadmap and setting the meeting frequency with the client. We work with our clients to set that frequency and the budget. These things will depend on the software project size and the delivery schedule.

What affects the price of building software.

Time: The primary factor in pricing an app is how much time it will take for the development team to build it. The more complex an app is and the more features it has, the longer it will take to make. The following items are worth discussing since these items are frequent areas we focus on in apps:

Size: Larger apps cost more than smaller ones. The size of an app will depend on your idea. You can get an idea of the size of your app by evaluating the following:
- How many types of users will access different areas of the application.
- How many steps are there in the processes and workflow.
- How many pages there are in the navigation.
Customization: The more configurable a web or mobile app is for its users, the more complex it will become. Enabling the user to customize their preferences and experience will add time and cost for the software.
Administrative Control: Many applications do not require administrative control by the software owner. Other software has complex rules that involve multiple steps including processes that the administrators of the site must complete. In other cases, the administrator may need to create or approve content, invite users, enable / disable functions, or report on usage. These features are often the most visible part of a software to the software founder. These types of tools require more time to build, however, and getting them “just right” can take even more time.
MVP: Matraex often focuses on delivering an MVP (minimum viable product) as soon as possible. Focusing on delivering this software allows us to deliver what MUST exist to prove to you and to your customers that the application works. On the other side, we have a “fully baked” application. This application has all of the bells and whistles that are assumed to be valuable. When building the software, we do not know whether the “bells and whistles” will actually provide value, so when possible, we encourage product owners to build an MVP instead. A fully baked application may be required in order for you to accomplish your goals, but those added features will also increase the time and cost of the application.
Timeframe: Software can be developed immediately with a large team assigned to the project, or it can be developed over a longer period of time with fewer developers. As a development team on a specific project grows beyond two to three, the diminishing law of returns applies as the collaboration overhead increases. One thing that product owners sometimes want to do when really excited about their project is to throw AS MANY DEVELOPERS as possible at it. This technique can shorten the overall time, but it can drive up the cost of the developers since you have an entire team figuring out some of the core elements of the project. A less expensive and more reliable approach is to grow the team slowly over a longer period of time.

There are many options, features, and possibilities when creating the ideal software for your company. A comprehensive list of options can be found in our app feature questionnaire and may help to guide you to determine the features that will work best in your particular situation.

One full-time developer costs $29,600 / month.

At the rate of $185 per hour, a full time developer (160 hours / month) costs $29,600. Our team then commits to providing you with 160 hours of development, equivalent to one full-time developer. We can also commit to less than 160 hours a month if it better fits your project’s needs.

In practice, we often assign two or more developers to this engagement. This ensures that your project gets full coverage during the month while providing the developers with good work / life balance. In addition, by putting two developers on the same project, your project receives the benefit of two sets of eyes that see things from different angles. This matches our core value of ALWAYS COLLABORATING, which provides robust coverage you can rely on regardless of schedules.

Our retainer minimum starts at $5,000 / month.

When a client signs on with Matraex to build their software, we build a team that will deliver on your project and deliver the work in the time agreed upon. Our clients fund a retainer of $5,000 or more at the start of their engagement. As we work with the product owner, we might determine together whether the amount of your retainer should change. We often have clients who start with a $5,000 or $10,000 a month retainer so that we can get to know each other. Once they feel comfortable with the processes and after we have the opportunity to BUILD TRUST, we look to scale the retainer to move more quickly. While most of our clients pay by retainer, there are exceptions. Our article, “What Different Payment Methods Does Matraex Use?” goes into more detail.

What if I already have a software project, and I need someone to take over?

Many of our clients are companies or founders who started a software project with another company, with a freelancer, or they hired an internal developer. Then, after some event, they find themselves looking to transition their software development to our company. This can be full of anxiety for founders and visionaries who have so much tied up in their software. If you find yourself in this space, fear not. Matraex rescues software projects from ghosting freelancers and internal developer mis-hires. You know how the forest service sends a “hot-shot” team into the middle of a forest fire? Our team does that for at-risk software projects.

We have a team of developers who are very good at evaluating and auditing existing software using the following process:

Our developers confirm access to the software project assets.
They define a roadmap of the next steps that need to happen to complete your vision.
They then conduct a gap analysis to issues that might create risk in your project.

The report we create with these items becomes a recommendation for how your project can proceed, and, if it is feasible, appropriate, and requested, we will include a proposal for how Matraex could provide you with the development services to move forward. A typical audit is $4,200, but larger software projects with more complexity may cost more. If you would like Matraex to evaluate your existing project and make a recommendation for how to proceed, contact us.

Working with Matraex

Matraex will work closely with you to give recommendations for the direction of the project but ultimately give you understanding that allows you to prioritize each step. For dedicated projects, we schedule a weekly or bi-weekly meeting to ensure high visibility and involvement of you (the product owner). Our core value of ALWAYS DELIVERING drives us to put the latest features in front of you for your feedback. Your feedback ensures that we are delivering the features that provide the highest value to you. The frequent deliveries and feedback have become The Matraex Way and lead to project success.

What clients or projects are not right for Matraex?

Matraex does not work on projects where the client doesn’t want to be involved in the frequent feedback of the project. They want to start a project with an idea, fund it, and then not look at it again until it’s done.

Matraex does not work on waterfall projects. These software projects have a high failure rate, and we graciously decline.

How much do apps cost at Matraex?