How to Calculate the Cost to Build a SaaS App in 2024?

How much will it cost to build a SaaS app? If you decide to follow the latest trends and invest in SaaS development, this question is relevant more than ever.

Therefore, this article will help you clear up this matter. In this piece, we will cover in detail the main factors that define the final cost of building a SaaS product. They include the project scope and timeline, API integration, and the required functionality.

What is included in the cost of building a SaaS product?

To understand how the cost to build a SaaS app is calculated, let’s discuss a few key stages and aspects of the SaaS development process. Altogether, they form a pricing for a product, yet the final price may differ if you decide to avoid certain functionalities.

The scope of your SaaS project

To start with, decide what kind of SaaS product you are going to create. Will it be a dedicated SaaS platform or a tool? These kinds of software-as-a-service systems have different scopes, which means the cost to build a SaaS application will also be different. In general, SaaS tools have a narrow scope, aiming to tackle one or two issues, and are expected to perform only a few functions.

A classic example of such a tool is Trello, which is a project management tool built to manage tasks in the working environment. Overall, the tool is simple and intuitive, perfectly performing task management.

SaaS platforms, in turn, often comprise several tools. Owing to this structure, their functionality is expanded greatly, influencing the cost of SaaS. Thus, users get access to features that are unavailable in similar SaaS instruments.

One of the top SaaS platform examples is Facebook. Needless to mention, how many features it has. Nowadays, it combines messaging, social media functions, and even a marketplace.

If you are new to the SaaS business and you are building your first SaaS product, you should keep it simple. Start with a tool and then scale it by adding new features. In this case, you will not have to worry that building a SaaS app will be too expensive.

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The implemented functionality

After you’ve decided on the scope of the solution, it’s time to consider other aspects. SaaS development costs also depend on the complexity of your project. The more features your product has, the higher the price you will have to pay. For this reason, choose the required functions wisely.

Draw a clear line between must-have functionality and desirable but not essential features. This way, you can avoid overpaying for unnecessary options in SaaS application development. To make a choice, however, product discovery services would be of great help.

So, what features should your SaaS application have? The key functionality hinges on the particular issue it is designed to solve.

At the same time, the following features are common for all types of SaaS products:

• Role-based access. It enables admins to set different permissions within a team. For example, they can restrict the level of access to sensitive information for some members.
• Analytical dashboard. Itallows users to see graphs, charts, and metrics. The dashboard also provides users with reports and shows real-time changes. When you have access to analytics, you can see which business metrics should be improved.
• User management. It encompasses log-in and log-out functionality, profile editing, and password management. You might also consider choosing a single sign-on. With this option, customers no longer need to log into every application they use. Instead, they apply single credentials to access multiple services.
• Customer relationship management (CRM). It helps organize communication with customers and prospects. CRM enables tracking sales and interactions, managing documents and quotes, etc. Salesforce is a prominent example of a CRM. Thanks to the tools and display of customer behavior, the service facilitates business marketing.
• Infrastructure. The number of users of your product varies as time goes by. So, your solution should be able to scale up and down depending on the loads.
• Audit trail. With this feature, you can track the activities of the account users. This way, it will help you prevent suspicious activity and spot vulnerabilities early on.
• Customer analytics. This feature enables you to analyze customer behavior. By analyzing the dynamics, you can optimize users’ experience in your SaaS solution.
• Enhanced security features. They protect sensitive information against the most common security vulnerabilities. It is particularly useful in a complex SaaS system that stores the sensitive data of all its users.

If your SaaS app solves a narrow problem, you only need the essential functionality. Expanding your solution requires more effort and, hence, additional SaaS software development costs.

API integration

Like any other app, your SaaS product needs backend functionality. The question is how it will be implemented. You can either build it from scratch or via API integrations.

The second option is cheaper regarding the SaaS app development cost while creating a product from scratch can turn out quite expensive.

If you use API, you can scale your business fast. Besides, it allows SaaS companies to skip many development steps they would have to follow if they developed the backend of their app from scratch.

In today’s highly competitive market, you need to think of better ways to use your budget than reinventing the architecture of existing SaaS solutions. It will reduce the cost of your SaaS app.

SaaS development platform

There are two main types of SaaS development platforms: desktop and mobile. Mobile platforms are suitable for giving users enhanced accessibility and speed. For example, Mention and Buffer offer exceptional user experiences in their mobile versions.

On the other hand, for most business-to-business (B2B) solutions, a SaaS without emphasis on the mobile version is preferable, as employees work with desktop versions. For example, Dropbox and Slack allow easy handling of files in their desktop versions for businesses.

Building your product for both is favorable, but you must add it to your SaaS cost structure. Adapting a solution for mobile users can turn out to be very expensive. Therefore, creating a SaaS system for one platform is advisable, which you will expand in the future.

As Deskera exemplifies, both versions have pros and cons. The mobile SaaS version is helpful for quickly reviewing a short piece of information or sending a message. Meanwhile, users prefer a desktop version to view spreadsheets and more complicated documents. That is why Deskera offers mobile devices and desktops with cloud-based business software.

At Codica, we offer full-cycle development services. These are as follows:

Conducting a product discovery. In this regard, you can count on the hourly pricing of $80 in the US and $50 in Eastern Europe. This stage involves checking the feasibility of your idea and market research. Analyzing your idea’s market fit will help you develop a product your customers need and love.

UX/UI design services and prototyping. At this step, the design team creates layouts for your solution. It’s vital to consider the discovery answers to choose the right flow and palette for the SaaS app. The design should include intuitive UX and attractive UI. It should clearly show your users the key purpose of your solution.

Minimum viable product development service. Creating a solution as a minimum viable product includes the core value for your customers. It allows you to test your SaaS system with early users and discover if it is profitable. Since your SaaS product MVP includes only the key features, you’ll need less time and cost to build it.

Scaling your SaaS to a fully-fledged product. Evolving your MVP into a top-notch product is impossible without the use of proven technologies. A company with reliable expertise chooses such tools to deliver robust and secure SaaS solutions. The aspects typically involved in SaaS product development include frontend and backend development, database management, and hosting handling.

Quality assurance. Testing helps refine the code and avoid errors, ensuring proper work is done for your solution. Quality assurance services allow testing of the critical aspects during SaaS application development. They include performance, user experience, compatibility, and security.

Maintenance and support. After your SaaS app is deployed, the developer will support you as your product changes. This involves updating without downtime to streamline the user experience. Shortly after launch, you’ll need to make improvements frequently and check them based on customers’ feedback. So, there should be a developer team to support you.

At Codica, we are sure all these stages are vital for building a successful product. Our team develops SaaS applications with backup and recovery strategies in mind. This ensures the required level of usability and security.

Overhead costs

It would be a great mistake to think that all your expenses will be over after the launch of your SaaS application. There are different overhead costs for a SaaS release you need to consider.

First off, you need to figure out how to attract users to your application. That means significant spendings on promotional strategies and marketing, which raises the cost of SaaS.

Besides, do not forget about legal costs. These include compliance with federal and local legislation. This is particularly important if you build a SaaS application for strictly regulated industries like healthcare or finance.

Speaking about the total cost of ownership, we should mention the following expenses:

• Licensing;
• Subscription;
• Updates;
• Technical support/training.

All these also add up to the cost of building a SaaS product.

Choosing a development team

If you don't have an in-house development team and need to hire the right specialists for your SaaS product, you have two options: turn to a team of freelancers or partner with a SaaS app development company. Each variant has peculiarities that can influence the cost of building a SaaS app.

Finding a freelance team

Hiring freelancers will cost less than partnering with software companies. The price gap is explained by the fact that self-employed professionals usually set lower rates, which could reduce SaaS software development costs. On the other hand, the quality of services they provide may differ from one to another, as the skill range can be huge. Therefore, you risk getting a low-grade product.

At the same time, end-to-end SaaS companies cherish their business reputation. Therefore, they emphasize quality over everything, delivering robust and performant products.

Partnering with a software development agency

However, a partnership with a software development agency will raise the cost of SaaS. Although it is usually worth the effort and cost, be careful when making a choice. Make sure your partner has experience in the niche, has previously built similar products, and has a professional team behind it.

When it comes to exact rates, everything depends on the location and experience of a development team. For clarity, below are the average hourly rates of software developers in different geographic regions. The stats cover the US and Canada, Central and Eastern Europe.

Our team provides the necessary services to deliver your product based on your requirements and business needs. For example, we implemented blockchain technology in an insurance platform. This approach secures the users’ personal and e-wallet data.

How much does it cost to build a SaaS product?

SaaS apps differ by goals, scope, and functionality. As the cost of building a SaaS depends on many parameters and variations, estimating a unified relevant price is challenging. SaaS software development costs vary widely. The price for a SaaS app starts from $50,000. The cost of a fully-fledged SaaS product can reach $700,000 and beyond.

However, before you invest your time and money, it’s important to know what budget you might need for a SaaS MVP, at least approximately.

So, we’ve prepared a table with estimates of the cost for a minimum viable product of typical SaaS solutions.

Please note that the above costs are mentioned for reference. Only your development partner will be able to provide you with the final estimate.

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How can Codica help you build a SaaS app?

Our in-house expertise allowed us to create successful SaaS products for a number of domains, including finance, travel, automotive, and insurance. Our experience allows us to reduce the total cost of building a SaaS app and helps you save time and budget.

Do you need a custom software-as-a-service solution? Our professional team will build a SaaS product for you from scratch. It will take into account all your specific business requirements and needs.

As mentioned, the Codica team has a long history of building custom software products, including SaaS. One notable example of SaaS products we built was CakerHQ. It is a SaaS-based platform for cake makers.

It aims to facilitate interactions between customers and cake makers, making the order and purchase process easier. Therefore, CakerHQ provides a dedicated platform where people can connect all over Australia.

The platform offers a convenient search system so that customers can find the perfect cake for their celebration. To make it even more reliable, we implemented a secure payment system, handy planning functionality, and Google Maps integration.

Conclusion

So, how much will it cost to build a SaaS app? As you can see, there is no unified answer to this question. Every SaaS project is unique, and so is the cost.

We have covered the main aspects of SaaS development that influence the total price of a SaaS product. Nonetheless, as you have seen from the table, there are many aspects that can change and therefore, alter the final price.

Contact us if you are looking for a reliable SaaS app development company to help you create a secure, scalable, and reliable cloud solution. We will happily take on your project and help your business grow.