{"id":16710,"date":"2019-11-25T11:43:25","date_gmt":"2019-11-25T11:43:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/engineerbabu.com\/blog\/?p=16710"},"modified":"2025-11-10T10:53:14","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T10:53:14","slug":"cost-to-develop-a-saas-product","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/engineerbabu.com\/blog\/cost-to-develop-a-saas-product\/","title":{"rendered":"How Much Does It Cost To Develop A SaaS Product?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the digital age of today, everything practically runs on the internet. This comes as good news for entrepreneurs in the field of software engineering, as developing a SaaS product comes as an excellent opportunity to make a big debut in the market. However, just like all the other specialisations, building a SaaS product does have a lot of aspects which one must look into. Those looking to buy the right SaaS product also need to analyse things.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The most crucial of these factors, other than the technologies in use, is the cost of building a SaaS product. Keep reading, and as you proceed through the article, you will get a clearer idea of the different costs that are involved in building one and how you can make it a cost-effective activity.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Quick Tip: <strong>Never compromise<\/strong> on the quality for the cost<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Very often, entrepreneurs try to take a shortcut and opt for the cheapest ways in which they can <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/engineerbabu.com\/blog\/how-to-build-a-saas-product-by-outsourcing\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">develop their SaaS-based project<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The result of this is quite simple to anticipate- unsatisfactory! Therefore, it ends up becoming a nightmare as the product would not yield the same features or have the same productivity if you compromise on the cost. Look for cost-effective ways, but don&#8217;t compromise on the quality aspect while doing so.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>The Various Cost-impacting Things To Keep In Mind<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Diving right in is not such a great idea. Therefore, before you begin developing, it is better to analyse and predict the different costs that you are going to incur while developing your SaaS product.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-16724\" src=\"https:\/\/engineerbabu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Saas-Product-Development.jpg\" alt=\"Cost affecting factors of Saas\" width=\"2501\" height=\"1314\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<h3>1. A ready SaaS product does not imply you are done with it<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The foremost thing to remember is that once you have developed your SaaS product, your job does not end there. The product is going to need some maintenance, too. Or at least regular checks to ensure that it is working perfectly fine and delivering the results it is supposed to. Here are the things that are going to cost you for maintaining your SaaS product:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>A phone line: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A small team of knowledgeable executives is necessary to handle the customers&#8217; aspect. Also, you will need a network within the office where the SaaS product is being used.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Hosting service provider: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The application is going to require a hosting service to support its functionalities.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Insurance cover: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Especially for grand products, insurance cover is essential to protect yourself from certain obstructions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Software costs: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Specialised software is essential for building quality SaaS products. The costs of this software are one of the vital things to consider.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Ongoing development procedures: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Every industrial product needs regular development. This is because there are changing trends and updates which need to be incorporated periodically.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>The working staff: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Simply building a product is not the only thing. You need the right team to develop the features and then appropriate staff to handle its working of it too.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>2. The scope of your SaaS product<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here\u2019s another crucial factor that you need to consider- what is going to be the scope of the product you develop? Is it going to be a tool or a platform? Determination of the system is one of the initial steps, as all the further steps of development are dependent on it. Tools are fit for the type of products that need only a limited scope, that is, one or two functionalities only. Platforms, on the other hand, are a more comprehensive approach and require more capital.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To make it cost-effective, it is always better to initially go with a \u2018Minimum Viable Product\u2019 or MVP. Later on, after developing a base product that can function and get you some capital, you can utilise it to enhance the developed product.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>3. The value of time has a cost, too<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is no denying that time is money. There are going to be costs for the amount of time that is spent on building the SaaS product, also. Here are a few things to consider in this aspect:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Validation: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This process is a series of activities that takes around 10-50 hours. This involves finding the right clients, looking for potential competitors, managing customers, etc.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Planning: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The projects that are planned well turn out to be better in functionality. Therefore, spending more time on planning to ensure quality and precision is better. This would take 30-200 hours, depending on the scope of the product.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>UX design: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Working on the aesthetics to create a stellar design attractive for the buyers of the SaaS product is essential. This takes about 25-200 hours.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Project management: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Managing the different phases of the development is as essential as the development of it. This takes about 20 per cent of the time.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Each of these activities needs to be accounted for when calculating the costs of building the SaaS product.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>4. System-specific costs involved<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are a few system-specific factors essential for consideration while determining the costs of building the SaaS product:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Coding and development: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is one of the most cost-consuming parts of developing a SaaS product. This is the part where the actual creation and implementation of the product is carried out.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Building tests: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A testing system needs to be built to check if the developed product is working fine in different conditions and delivering the desired results.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Alpha and Beta tests: <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Alpha and Beta testing is also critical step. This helps you get the required feedback from potential customers as to how they find the product. Their feedback can be valued and implemented to deliver a better product.<\/span><\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Release and marketing: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Marketing the release of the final SaaS product is one of the final steps in the development process that needs proper attention.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All these system-specific tasks are costly and vital at the same time. Therefore, they can\u2019t be neglected.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>The Dilemma: Hiring Freelancers vs a Development Agency For Your SaaS Product<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is the final thing to look into while developing a SaaS product. It is essential to know if you would be hiring a freelancer for developing your product or an agency. For instance, a freelance developer in the US charges around $60 per hour for the job. Thus, approximately, it might cost you around $30,000 to build a fully-functional and valuable SaaS product.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An agency, on the other hand, will charge more as there are more employees involved. Estimating all the costs, they will charge around $100,000 for the final product. This would be a better pick if you need something extensive and have a big picture in mind.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The cost of the final SaaS product is going to depend on a multitude of factors, and each of these factors might cost different businessmen differently. Therefore, sit with an expert, think and analyse the requirements for your business and make the most cost-effective pick.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>To Sum Up\u2026<\/h3>\n<p>For the development of a SaaS product or service, there are 3 most crucial resources: time, money and energy. SaaS software or products are sure to witness a rise in the coming years.<\/p>\n<p>Today, there exist various tools and applications for the efficient project management of your development process overseas. For instance: with Skype, Google Hangouts, Jira and various others, you can manage the offshore development of your SaaS product.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/engineerbabu.com\/\">EngineerBabu<\/a> integrates tools like Everhour, DeskTime, Basecamp, Time Doctor, Skype and Whatsapp Web for efficient communication. By dividing the tasks into meaningful and easy-to-achieve goals for our team members, we&#8217;ve provided our overseas development services to a number of clients.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Also Read:<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/engineerbabu.com\/blog\/mobile-app-development-cost\/\">How Much Does Mobile App Development Cost?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/engineerbabu.com\/blog\/set-up-an-offshore-development-center-in-india\/\">How To Set Up An Offshore Development Center In India?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the digital age of today, everything practically runs on the internet. This comes as good news for entrepreneurs in the field of software engineering, as developing a SaaS product comes as an excellent opportunity to make a big debut in the market. However, just like all the other specialisations, building a SaaS product does [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16723,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1258],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16710","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-app-development"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/engineerbabu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16710","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/engineerbabu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/engineerbabu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engineerbabu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engineerbabu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16710"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/engineerbabu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16710\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21080,"href":"https:\/\/engineerbabu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16710\/revisions\/21080"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engineerbabu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/engineerbabu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engineerbabu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engineerbabu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}