For a web or mobile MVP with one core user flow, authentication, a database-backed dashboard, and basic admin, fixed-scope pricing generally starts around $2,500 for a 4-5 week build with a small senior team. Add payments, third-party integrations, or real-time features and the price moves up from there — but a well-scoped MVP shouldn't require a six-month timeline before you get user feedback.
Three models cover most engagements: a fixed-scope project for a defined MVP or feature set (priced and timed upfront), a monthly retainer for ongoing product work after launch, or staff augmentation where an engineer works inside your existing sprint process. Open-ended hourly billing with no defined deliverable is the model most likely to run over budget and over timeline.
Scope creep during the build and requirements that get rewritten mid-sprint are bigger timeline risks than the tech stack itself. A written scope and timeline agreed before work starts — and weekly staging links instead of status decks — is the clearest way to keep a US-based team's project on schedule with an offshore engineering partner.
