Three different products are commonly called an MVP

For one buyer, an MVP is a testable core flow: one user completes one valuable task from start to finish. For another, it is a release for the first real users, which often requires authentication, a database, logging, and one integration. A third “MVP” is already a small production service with several roles and administrative tools.

A price only becomes comparable when both sides mean the same level. The scope must cover deployment, data, failure cases, and maintenance — not just visible features.

What actually drives the price?

The interface is only the visible part. The work also includes scoping, data design, permissions, integration testing, error handling, quality assurance, deployment, monitoring, and handover. A fixed-price supplier also carries estimation risk, so uncertainty appears either in the price or in later change requests.

  • The number of user groups and permission levels.
  • The number of core workflows and exceptional paths.
  • The quality and documentation of external APIs.
  • Authentication, payments, personal data, and security requirements.
  • Legacy-data migration, administration, and reporting.
  • The expected level of deployment, monitoring, documentation, and warranty.

When does a fixed €2,490 or €4,990 sprint work?

A fixed price works when one decision-maker can lock the user, problem, and primary flow before development starts. The smaller sprint can deliver an online testable version with two key views and no authentication. The larger sprint can include either authentication for one role or one pre-checked standard integration.

If the product clearly needs several roles, marketplace payments, broad administration, or multiple uncertain integrations, a paid discovery or staged proposal is more honest. Stretching a package only moves the real cost into change requests.

Reduce the budget without breaking the product

Choose one user group and one moment where the first release creates value. Replace a rarely used admin panel with a temporary manual process. Use managed authentication, a proven payment provider, and tested interface components. Move nice-to-have features, broad analytics, and unusual integrations into a later phase.

AI and reusable foundations speed up delivery, but they do not remove the need to understand the process or test the result. Use that speed for a shorter lead time and better quality, not unlimited extra features.

Questions a proposal must answer

A sound proposal specifies acceptance criteria, included and excluded work, feedback rounds, client responsibilities, third-party costs, source-code ownership, warranty, and the continuation model. If the supplier promises a refund at an interim review, the proposal must state the exact review point, decision period, refunded amount, and whether unfinished work may be used. Without these details, the lowest headline number does not reveal the final project cost.

Frequently asked questions

Can a real MVP be built for less than €4,000?

Yes, when it is limited to one user group and one core flow, uses production-ready building blocks, and does not depend on uncertain integrations. A broad commercial service rarely fits the same boundary.

Should an MVP use hourly or fixed pricing?

Fixed pricing fits a clearly bounded delivery. Hourly work or a separate discovery phase is fairer when the goal or technical risks remain uncertain.

Are ongoing cloud costs included?

Usually not. Cloud, AI, email, payment, and other usage-based services should be opened in the client’s own accounts and approved before launch.

How does our 8-hour money-back promise work?

The promise applies once per client group to a new business client’s first fixed-price MVP or Launch Sprint. The sprint pauses after eight cumulative development person-hours to review the agreed interim result and continues only after written approval. If the client stops, the initial payment is refunded, the balance is not invoiced, and no right to use the unfinished work transfers to the client. The detailed terms are included in the offer.