What Does It Actually Cost to Build a SaaS in 2025?
The most common question founders ask: how much does a SaaS MVP cost? The honest answer depends on scope, but this guide gives you real numbers based on projects shipped in 2025.
MVP Budget Ranges
- Agency team: $15,000, $40,000
- Offshore team (quality agency): $8,000, $20,000
- Solo founder + AI tools: $2,000, $5,000 (your time is the cost)
Monthly Infrastructure Costs
At MVP scale: Vercel $20, database $19, OpenAI API $50, 200, auth $25, email $20, monitoring $26. Total: ~$160, 360/month to run a real AI SaaS.
Developer Rates by Region (2025)
- US/Canada: $150, 250/hr
- Western Europe: $100, 175/hr
- Eastern Europe: $50, 90/hr
- Pakistan/India: $25, 60/hr
A quality offshore team delivers US-grade code at 3, 5x lower cost, the key is vetting the agency, not just hiring the cheapest freelancer.
How to Reduce Costs Without Cutting Corners
- Use managed services (Vercel, Supabase) instead of self-hosting
- Start monolithic, not microservices
- Use shadcn/ui and Clerk instead of building UI/auth from scratch
- Mock AI during development to save API costs
Need accurate project estimates? Contact Devs & Logics for a free scoping session.