MVP development: what it costs and what really belongs in it
An MVP, a minimum viable product, is the smallest version of a product that tells you whether customers really use it and pay for it. Most MVPs end up too expensive because they're meant to do too much. This article shows how to limit scope to what's needed, what an MVP realistically costs and the mistakes founders make most often.
An MVP tests a hypothesis, not a product
Before the first line of code, write down what the MVP should prove: "Trade businesses will pay €49 a month to create quotes in five minutes instead of an hour." Any feature that doesn't contribute to that proof doesn't belong in the MVP.
Also check whether code is needed at all. Sometimes a landing page with pre-orders, a form with manual processing behind the scenes or a prototype in a design tool is enough to answer the key question.
What belongs in it and what doesn't
The typical core of a software MVP:
- Sign-up and login, if users store data.
- The one central workflow customers should pay for, clean and fast.
- Payment, or at least a firm commitment, if willingness to pay is being tested.
- Measurement: which steps do test customers use, where do they drop off?
What can usually wait: admin interfaces (direct database access is enough for you at first), multiple roles, multiple languages, iOS and Android apps, automations you can do by hand for now. Security, privacy and backups can't wait, because real customers enter real data.
What an MVP costs
A web MVP with login, one central workflow, payment and simple analytics typically takes about 80 to 250 development hours. At our rate of €30 per hour that's roughly €2,400 to €7,500; we estimate every feature individually up front. Agencies with higher rates come to several times that for the same scope, so always compare hours and scope, not just totals.
Also budget for the time after launch: only feedback from the first users shows what to build next. If the whole budget goes into version one, you can't act on what you learn.
The most common mistakes
These are the mistakes we see most often in MVP projects:
- Too many features because "customers will surely expect it", without talking to customers.
- Code and access sit with the developer instead of the founder; without a contractual transfer of usage rights, the code isn't automatically yours.
- Exotic technology only one developer knows.
- No measurement, so after launch nobody knows whether the hypothesis was confirmed.
Frequently asked questions
- How long does MVP development take?
- With a clearly limited scope, usually four to ten weeks. It almost always takes longer because the scope grows during development.
- Can an MVP later become the real product?
- Yes, if it's built on widespread technology with clean code. Throwaway prototypes only make sense if planned that way from the start.
- Should we commission the MVP hourly or at a fixed price?
- A fixed price per feature combines both: you know up front what each feature costs and can re-plan after the first results.
Sources
Describe in three sentences what your product should prove and for whom. We propose an MVP scope and estimate every feature in hours.
Discuss MVP scope