Cost Guide
What Decides the Cost of a Web App, B2B Portal or D2C Store
Six things decide what a web app, B2B portal or D2C store costs to build: what it has to do, the systems it connects to, whether you build or rent the platform, how custom the design is, how much data moves across and how secure it has to be. Scope moves the number most.
We don’t publish prices because no two projects need the same work. This guide explains what pushes the cost up or down, how long each kind of project takes and what to send us for an accurate quote. Quotes are free and come in writing after a scoping call.
By Zubin Souza, Founder & CEO
Last reviewed
The Six Things That Decide the Cost
These apply to every web project, from an internal tool to a portal for your dealers or a store for your customers. Each one adds design, build and testing time. Time is what a project costs.
Scope: what it has to do
The number of user types, screens and workflows. A portal where customers order, managers approve and your warehouse dispatches is three apps in one. Every extra role brings its own screens, permissions and tests.
Integrations: what it connects to
Each system it talks to (your ERP, CRM, accounting software, payment gateway, shipping or WhatsApp) has to be mapped, built against and tested with real data. Older systems without a modern API take longest.
Platform: build or rent
Rented platforms such as Shopify for a store or ZunderFlow for dealer ordering cost less upfront and launch sooner. A custom build costs more upfront and fits your process exactly, with no platform fees.
Design: how custom it looks
A clean interface built from proven patterns is quicker than a custom design system with its own illustrations and animation. Most business software needs the first. Most D2C brands need some of the second.
Data: what moves across
Products, customers, price lists and order history from an old system or spreadsheets have to be cleaned, mapped and imported. Messy data is the cost people most often forget.
Security and scale: who uses it and how much
Logins with different permissions, payments, personal data and traffic peaks all need extra engineering and testing before launch. A tool for ten staff needs less of it than a store open to everyone.
What Changes the Cost of Each Kind of Project
The six drivers weigh differently depending on what you’re building. This is where the cost usually goes in each case and where you can save.
| Project | What adds the most cost | What keeps it down |
|---|---|---|
| Web app or SaaS product | Many user roles, real-time features, reporting and integrations with the tools your customers already use | A first release that does one core workflow well, with features added once real users ask for them |
| B2B portal for dealers or trade customers | Prices and discounts per customer, credit limits, approval steps and a two-way sync with your ERP | A ready-made ordering platform when your process is standard (a custom portal only when it isn’t) |
| D2C store | A custom checkout, subscriptions, bundles, several currencies or warehouses and a fully custom design | Shopify for the standard store and checkout, with custom work only where your brand needs it |
How Long Each Kind of Project Takes
Time is the biggest part of the cost. The timeline is a good guide to the size of the bill. These are typical for our projects. The scoping call turns them into a dated plan for yours.
| Project | Typical timeline | What drives it |
|---|---|---|
| Web app or SaaS product (first release) | 8–12 weeks or more | User roles, custom features, integrations and data migration |
| Custom B2B or dealer portal (first release) | 8–12 weeks or more | Pricing rules, the ERP integration and how many customers and products move across |
| Dealer ordering on ZunderFlow instead of a custom build | Live in 72 hours | Your customer list, your price lists and the connection to your ERP or accounting software |
| Custom D2C store | 8–12 weeks or more | The checkout, subscriptions, integrations and how custom the design is |
| D2C store on Shopify | Sooner than any custom build | Theme changes, the apps you add and how many products move across |
How the Way You Work With Us Changes the Bill
A fixed-scope project has one agreed price for a defined piece of work. Changes along the way become a new piece of work with its own price. A dedicated team costs what the team’s time costs. You decide what it works on. We recommend a model after the first call.
| Model | How it works | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed-scope project | A defined first release, scoped and delivered for an agreed price | A new product or tool with a clear brief |
| Dedicated team | Engineers who work only on your product, on your roadmap, for as long as you need them | Products that keep growing after launch |
| Staff augmentation | Engineers who join your existing team and its process | Teams that need extra capacity or a missing skill |
What It Costs to Run After Launch
The build isn’t the whole bill. Plan for these from the start and ask for them to be listed in any quote you get.
Hosting
Servers, databases, storage and backups grow with your traffic and data. An internal tool costs little to host. A busy store or portal needs more.
Platform and service fees
Shopify plans and apps, payment gateway fees, email and SMS services, maps and other paid APIs, billed by each provider at its own rates.
Maintenance and security updates
Frameworks, libraries and the systems you connect to keep changing. Software nobody updates gets slower, less secure and harder to change.
New features
Most products keep growing once people use them. Set aside a budget for the features your users ask for after launch.
Ways to Keep the Cost Down
Launch a first release, not the whole wish list
Pick the workflow that matters most, launch it and let real usage decide what comes next.
Rent what’s standard, build what’s yours
Use Shopify, a ready-made ordering platform or a SaaS tool for the parts that work the same everywhere. Spend on the parts that set you apart.
Get your data ready early
Clean up product, customer and price lists before the project starts. Cleanup done halfway through uses build time.
Make decisions quickly
Name one person who can answer questions and approve screens within a day or two. Waiting slows a fixed-scope project and costs time on a dedicated team.
How to Get an Accurate Quote
We quote each project in writing after a scoping call. Quotes are free. The more of this you can tell us, the closer the quote gets to the final bill.
Who will use it
The kinds of users and roughly how many of each.
What they need to do
The main workflows, from logging in to getting the result. A rough sketch or a list is enough.
What it connects to
The systems it has to talk to and whether they have an API.
Where the data is today
Spreadsheets, an old system or nowhere yet.
Your deadline and the reason for it
A trade show, a busy season or a funding round changes how we plan the first release.
What already exists
Designs, brand guidelines, an old app or a competitor’s product you like.
Client results
Our case studies
What software earns back matters as much as what it costs. The ordering apps we built for a distributor grew its revenue 30%. A new brand website tripled a manufacturer’s orders via the website.
See the projects behind these resultsFrequently Asked Questions
It depends on the six things in this guide. Scope moves the number most. We don’t publish prices because no two projects need the same work. Tell us what you need and we’ll send a written quote after a scoping call. Quotes are free.
A price list would be wrong for most projects. Two portals with the same number of screens can need very different work once their pricing rules, integrations and data are on the table. A written quote based on your scope is more useful than a range that doesn’t fit.
Scope that grows halfway through, integrations that turn out harder than they looked and data that has to be cleaned before it can move. We map your users, workflows, data and integrations before we quote, which takes most of the guesswork out of all three.
It usually costs less to launch because the checkout, payments and hosting already exist. You then pay a monthly plan and app fees for as long as you use it, within the limits the platform sets. A custom store costs more upfront, has no platform fees and fits any workflow.
If your customers order from their own price lists with discounts, credit limits and delivery tracking, a ready-made ordering platform such as ZunderFlow already does that and can be live in 72 hours. A custom portal is worth it when your process is genuinely different. We build both and can tell you which fits.
The first release of a web app, portal or dashboard typically takes 8–12 weeks or more, depending on its scope and integrations. A Shopify store launches sooner than any custom build.
Three things: hosting, fees for the platforms and services it uses (payment gateways, email, maps or paid apps) and maintenance to keep it secure and up to date. Ask for all three to be listed in any quote you get.
You do. Full ownership and the source code are handed over at launch.
Want a Quote for Your Project?
Tell us who will use it, what it has to do and what it connects to. We’ll set up a scoping call, then send a written quote.