Since I’ve been developing custom business tools for companies, the first question I almost always get is the same: "How much does a custom software solution cost?" For a long time, I answered "it depends," just like everyone else. That’s no longer an acceptable answer: in October 2026, I gathered the prices listed by 14 French agencies, freelancers, and platforms on their own websites, and I keep them updated in a custom software pricing benchmark. Here’s what it shows, and where I stand within it.
In short, the price of custom software in 2026: €5,000 to €12,500 for a simple tool, €13,500 to €50,000 for a business application, over €50,000 for a platform, according to the 14 providers that publish their prices. With me, a complete management software for an SME sits between €5,000 and €15,000 as a fixed price, net.
The Three Market Price Ranges
The service providers who publish their prices almost all categorize them by project size. For each size, I took the median of the lowest prices and the median of the highest prices, so that one or two very expensive agencies don’t skew everything upward.
- A simple tool or an MVP (a scheduler, a case tracker, a customer portal, an automation): published medians range from 5,000 to 12,500 €. The lowest floor price recorded is 2,500 €, and the highest ceiling is 50,000 €.
- A full-fledged business application (multiple roles, a dashboard, quotes or invoices, one or two integrations): 13,500 to 50,000 €.
- A platform or a SaaS (customer space, payments, scalability, sometimes a mobile app): 50,000 to 150,000 €, and often more.
The most reliable source, La Fabrique du Net, does not compile price pages but rather 184 actual budgets. It finds a median cost of €30,000 for all projects combined, €20,000 for a business application, and a gap no one mentions at your first meeting: a median of €50,000 in Île-de-France versus €15,000 in the rest of France.
My pricing, to give you an idea
I fit into the table with the same rules as everyone else. A basic website starts at €1,500, automation or a small tool at €2,500, and most of the management software I create for SMEs and small businesses range between €5,000 and €15,000 as a fixed price. After that, maintenance costs between €100 and €300 per month, including hosting, backups, and minor updates. In hourly rates, it’s €400 per day.
Why cheaper than the agency median? Not because I work fast and poorly. Because a freelancer doesn’t have to fund a sales team or a project manager, talks directly with you, and delivers in stages: a first useful version in a few weeks, then the rest. Published daily rates confirm this: €400 with me, €500 to €700 for an agency according to Lonestone, and €800 to €1,000 at Sokeo.
The tools I am talking about here are B2B business applications: management software built for a company and its teams, sometimes for its customers. The details of my offer, method and timelines are on the custom business software page.
The five factors that determine the price
The sources agree on these factors. It’s their weight in each quote that varies.
1. Functional scope. A tool that handles one task costs far less than a platform that connects quotes, invoicing, inventory, and clients. Every ‘and also’ adds days.
2. Users and roles. A tool for three people is simple. As soon as there are roles, permissions, and many people using it at once, the architecture becomes complex: Nocode Factory estimates 10 to 50% more beyond 100 users.
3. Integrations. Accounting, payments, external APIs: each connection is a project in itself. A simple integration costs €2,000 to €5,000 at agencies that detail it.
4. Existing data. Importing your Excel files cleanly into the new tool takes time and is rarely included in the first quote. I include it in mine.
5. Level of polish and testing. An internal tool for three people can tolerate some rough edges. A tool your clients use must be refined and thoroughly tested. La Fabrique du Net measures the difference: a median of €25,000 for pure development, €50,000 when testing is explicitly planned.
Over five years: subscription or custom?
A subscription always seems cheaper in the first year. Over five years, the software for the four professions I compared (driving school, garage, bike workshop, equipment rental) costs €9 to €249 per month, or €540 to €14,940 in total. A custom business application with me costs €11,000 to €33,000 over the same period, including maintenance. At an agency, using published medians and maintenance costs of 15 to 25% per year, you’re looking at €23,600 to €112,500.
The real question isn’t ‘which is the cheapest’ but ‘which fits your way of working.’ If an off-the-shelf software handles 80% of your needs and you can live with the remaining 20%, take it. My tests by industry They tell you in six questions. Customization is justified when your rules, documents, or organization don’t fit into any standard category.
The traps that blow up the bill
- The scope that grows along the way. The ‘quick extra feature’ is the first cause of budget overruns. A good service provider frames the initial scope and pushes the rest to Phase 2.
- The initial ambiguity. The less clear the need is from the start, the more you pay for back-and-forth adjustments. A short framing phase saves you a lot.
- Custom development where off-the-shelf would suffice. You should only develop custom solutions for what truly differentiates you.
A concrete example
Let’s imagine Nadia, who runs a cleaning company with twelve employees. She wants a scheduling system for interventions, team check-ins via phone, and an export feature for payroll. Three screens, two user roles, one integration: it’s a complete business application, but small. For me, this project falls between 6,000 and 9,000 euros all-inclusive, delivered in two phases. In the benchmark, the median price from agencies for this size starts at 13,500 euros. It’s not that agencies are wrong: they sell a team, but Nadia only needs a developer who understands her industry.
Frequently asked questions
How much does custom software cost?
Between €5,000 and €12,500 for a simple tool and between €13,500 and €50,000 for a complete business application, according to the prices published by 14 French providers in 2026. With me, a complete management software for an SME sits between €5,000 and €15,000 as a fixed price, then €100 to €300 a month for maintenance.
How long does it take to create a first tool?
A targeted tool can be delivered in a few weeks, while a complete business application takes five to twenty weeks, delivered in stages. The first usable version arrives long before the project ends.
What about maintenance?
Agencies in the benchmark charge 10 to 25% of the initial price annually for maintenance. I charge a flat fee of 100 to 300 euros per month, and you can stop whenever you want: the code and data are yours.
Do you need to define everything before starting?
No. You should precisely define the first phase and keep the rest flexible. Trying to lock everything down upfront costs more, not less.
How to get a quote for your project?
Theestimator in three questions gives you an immediate range. Then, a free 30-minute discussion turns it into a fixed-price quote.
The right price is one you can verify.
The price of a custom software solution depends on the scope, users, integrations, and finish, but also on who responds and where they work. The price benchmark gives you the figures from 14 providers, along with a link to each, so you can compare a quote to what the market actually offers. And if you prefer to discuss your project, I’ll get back to you within 24 hours.
