The price range is very broad and there are numerous aspects that contribute to the costs of custom software development.

What Impacts the Cost of Custom Software?

Consider the following factors when determining the costs of and creating a budget for custom software development.

  •  Software Size: The more screens or pages an app has, the more work needs to be done to create an application, and the more expensive it will be to deliver. Small applications range from 10–25 screens, medium applications range from 25–40, and large applications include anything with more than 40 screens or pages.
  •  Software Complexity: Complicated logic takes more time to code and test. If a custom software application performs a lot of heavy analysis, scoring, or number crunching, or if a code has a lot of nuances and permutations, this complexity will require more focus and could increase the cost.
  •  Creative Design: Creative design in custom software development is where a customer gets to choose different fonts and color palettes, among other things. Much like when someone is designing and decorating a house, the more extravagant the design needs and wants, the more expensive the costs tend to be.
  •  Integration With Other Systems: Integrating with other systems introduces a lot of unknown variables into the final cost. Sometimes the integrations are effortless, but sometimes they are extremely difficult. Typical integrations, such as popular payment providers or credit check services, are easy to integrate. However, older or lesser-known systems may pose a challenge and increase the project cost and duration.
  •  Migration of Existing Data: If you have data in an existing system that needs to be moved into a new application, assuming it is more than someone can feasibly type in by hand, then it will require migration. Migration is nothing more than custom scripts that take data out of an old system, dust it off, and reshape it so it can fit into the new system. The steps of this process are fairly straight-forward, but there are a lot of questions and decisions that need to be made since the two systems will store the data differently. Migration is run a few times after the software is completed to make sure everything has been translated correctly and the new system is using the data as desired. The time spent on figuring out the translation rules, writing the scripts, and performing tests and adjustments will add to the project duration and costs.