SaaS Development: Cost, Timeline & Common Mistakes

Many SaaS founders fail to make an accurate cost and time estimate to build a reliable platform. Consequently, projects often run over budget, and marketing strategies are also delayed, affecting the proposed plans. 

As much as 29% of startups fail due to running out of cash. Similarly,  42% fail due to a lack of market needs. Gaining an accurate understanding of the cost factors, development stages, and common mistakes can ensure you move in the direction of success.

SaaS development cost lies between the range of £30,000 to £300,000+. The precise cost and timeline of the bespoke software development project depend on the scope, tech stack, and go-to-market plans. Recognising the exact numbers early helps founders design a SaaS model that scales sustainably.

Global SaaS market landscape

A clear view of the global market can help you position the SaaS product, anticipate competition, and plan investment sensibly. The past few years have shown remarkable momentum for SaaS. 

Between 2023 and 2025, the SaaS industry expanded by more than £60 billion in annual revenue. This is a clear reflection of the widespread adoption of SaaS products and cloud-based tools among businesses worldwide. 

Analysts estimate that the SaaS market will surpass £1.13 trillion by 2032. SaaS is likely to reinforce its position as one of the most resilient and rapidly evolving segments of the software industry. 

A Practical way to estimate SaaS development cost

You don’t need a lengthy proposal to form an early view of your SaaS development budget. Although precise figures require a proper discovery phase. However, a simple formula can help you analyze the required budget. You can typically use it to calculate the budget before approaching an agency for software development services.

SaaS Cost Estimation Framework

Cost = Total Development Hours × Devloper Hourly Rate × (1 + Contingency %)

Here’s how each element works:

1. Total development hours

The timeline for launching the SaaS product depends entirely on the complexity and ambition of the product. The estimated number of hours rises as you move from:

• A lightweight minimum viable product development  with core features
• To a mid-range platform with third-party integrations
• To a full-fledged software as a services product  

A SaaS product with a broader feature set requires higher engineering hours.

2. Developer’s hourly rate

The hourly rate reflects the level of engineering expertise required to launch your SaaS product. Various factors like the developer’s skills/specialisation, the chosen technology stack, and the overall delivery model play a vital role in deciding the budget.

3. Contingency allowance

Small shifts in scope and unexpected technical adjustments are common in all projects. Estimating SaaS development cost with the contingency buffer helps to smoothly handle such unplanned changes. It keeps you well prepared for product refinement, additional QA cycles, and others.

Need clarity before investing in your SaaS product? 

We’ll help you understand the scope and provide a roadmap with an accurate estimate.

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How we estimate and plan SaaS projects at Coding Sprint

1. Discovery & product understanding

We begin with a structured discussion to explore your idea, the problem it solves, and the users it serves. Together, we identify the essential features for launch and outline enhancements that can come later. We share a complete project roadmap with accurate SaaS development cost estimate.

What we need from you: A clear description of your product vision and targetted users. You can also share any sketches, references, or examples.

Benefit: Alignment at this stage avoids unclear expectations, prevents scope creep, and ensures the project starts on the right footing.

2. Technical architecture & planning

Once the vision is clear, we design the technical foundation. This includes choosing the appropriate tech stack and identifying key integrations. We focus on planning a scalable system structure that supports long-term growth.

What we need from you: Any preferences for technologies and compliance requirements. We also discuss whether you want to integrate third-party APIs into your SaaS app.

Benefit: A robust architecture makes your application secure, maintainable, and adaptable as your user base expands.

3. Work breakdown & estimation

We follow an agile software development methodology to ensure greater flexibility to changes in the vision or needs. We divide the product into smaller, clearly defined modules. Each module receives its own effort estimate and indicative timeline. We also combine these module timelines into a clear project roadmap. This gives you full visibility of the sequence of delivery and the expected launch window.

What we need from you: Decisions on what must be included in the initial release versus features that can be moved to future phases.

Benefit: Prioritisation helps manage costs and achieve a faster time-to-market.

4. Review & validation

We walk you through the full plan to confirm that estimates and expectations match your goals. We also make refinements or adjustments as per your feedback before development begins.

What we need from you: Feedback, stakeholder alignment, and approval to proceed.

Benefit: Validation prevents surprises once the build begins.

5. Delivery & iterative development

Our team works in structured cycles and we share progress on a weekly basis. You will receive clear updates and demos of completed work. It helps to ensure 100% visibility and transparency into upcoming tasks.

What we need from you: Prompt responses to questions and review of complete modules.

Benefit: Consistent communication ensures the project moves smoothly. It eliminates delays and ensures the product is delivered as per your vision. 

6. Launch and continuous improvement

Post SaaS launch, we continue to support you with bug fixes, optimisation, and more. Our dedicated developers can roll out improvements to align the software with user feedback.

What we need from you: User feedback, system observations, and direction on future improvements.

Benefit: Post-launch attention ensures your SaaS performs reliably. It helps to ensure the product adapts to real-world usage and remains competitive over time.

5 Common mistakes to avoid in SaaS development

Even well-planned projects can run into issues that slow delivery and tend to inflate the budget. Understanding where things typically go wrong paves the way to build a more stable and user-centric product.

1. Neglecting user research: Engaging potential customers early ensures the product solves real-world problems. Lack of user research also leads to poor prioritisation of features and functionalities in your SaaS MVP.
2. Lacking security measures: Building a SaaS product with weak access control or insecure APIs is a costly mistake. Achieving a higher level of security with 2FA, data encryption, role-based access control, etc., helps to protect users’ data and build credibility.
3. Poor updates: SaaS products must evolve constantly based on the user demands and emerging technology trends. For example, legacy SaaS products like Microsoft 365 added Copilot and Salesforce integrated Einstein AI to empower customers with Gen AI capabilities.
4. Inefficient QA: Rushed testing results in recurring bugs and frustrates users. Adding scope for automated and scenario-based tests helps to build a reliable SaaS product
5. Overlooking integrations and automation: Modern SaaS platforms rely heavily on APIs and external services. Failing to automate workflows and lacking the right integrations affects UX.

Conclusion

Building a successful SaaS product requires careful planning with well-defined priorities. You must navigate the common pitfalls that slow teams down and inflate budgets. Focussing on real user needs and adopting agile development models helps reduce risks and control SaaS development cost.