How much does an MVP cost in Europe in 2026, and what drives the price?

As of 11 October 2026. The figures below come from published guides and official pages on that date. They are not our prices and not an offer.

The short answer

There is no independent price index for MVPs. What exists are guides written by development companies, each based on its own projects. For the UK, the 2026 guides cluster around £10,000–£30,000 for a simple, single-platform first version and £30,000–£60,000 for the scope most funded startups actually build. Native apps on iOS and Android, regulated data or heavy integrations push the figure past £60,000.

Those ranges help you spot a quote that is far out of line. They won’t tell you what your product should cost. The rest of this guide explains what sits behind the numbers.

What the published sources say

Source	Date	What it prices	Range	How the figures were produced
Guide by a UK custom software firm	30 Jul 2026	single-platform web MVP, 3–5 core features	£15,000–£30,000 excl. VAT	the publisher’s synthesis of day rates and published agency ranges; it sells custom builds
		typical funded UK startup MVP	£30,000–£60,000 excl. VAT
		web plus native mobile, real-time, regulated data	£60,000–£150,000+
Guide by a UK app development firm	5 Aug 2026	MVP on iOS and Android, one core journey	£10,000–£25,000	12 anonymised UK project estimates from 2026; it sells app development
		production app with backend and admin	£25,000–£60,000
Guide by a large European software house	updated 5 Aug 2026	single-platform MVP, core features	$25,000–$60,000	the company’s own data from 200+ apps, at agency rates of $80–$150 an hour
		median cross-platform MVP (login, API integration, 8–12 screens)	$76,000

Three things to keep in mind:

• Every source sells development. That doesn’t make the numbers wrong, but each reflects one company’s pricing and projects.
• The guides disagree with themselves. The app development firm’s FAQ quotes a median UK app project of £60,000–£120,000, higher than its own main table. The software house gives two different maintenance ranges in the same article.
• “MVP” means different things. For one firm it is a single web flow. For another it is two native apps with payments. Compare scope, not labels.

We describe these companies without names or links, because they sell development, as we do.

We found no comparable dated guide for Ireland that explains its method, so we don’t quote Irish ranges here.

The most verifiable number: day rates

Most of an MVP budget is people’s time. That makes contractor day rates the most independent anchor available.

ITJobsWatch, which tracks rates in UK job adverts, shows a median of £500 a day for full stack developer contracts in the six months to 11 October 2026, unchanged from a year earlier. The London median was £513.

A rough way to sanity-check a quote: estimate how many people work on the project and for how many weeks. A small team of two developers plus part-time design and project management for eight to twelve weeks adds up quickly. Agency rates are higher than contractor rates because they include design, testing, management and the agency’s risk.

What actually drives the price

Scope: one core journey

The biggest cost is features that didn’t need to be in the first version. A good MVP does one thing well: books, orders, calculates, matches. Around it sits only what the product can’t work without, such as sign-up, payments if needed, an admin panel and analytics. Everything else goes on the “after launch” list.

The number of user roles matters too. A product with only customers is simpler than one with customers, providers and admins, each with different permissions.

Platforms: web, iOS, Android

A web app runs in the browser on desktop and phone. Native apps mean separate builds for iOS and Android, even when they share code, plus the app stores:

• the Apple Developer Program costs $99 a year;
• a Google Play developer account is a one-time $25 fee.

Every store release goes through review. On the web, a fix goes live immediately. That is why many first versions start as web apps and add native apps once the product needs phone features such as background notifications or offline use.

Integrations

Payments, invoicing, calendars, maps, single sign-on, SMS, a customer’s existing system. Each connection means set-up, error handling and testing. The cost depends on how good the other side’s API and test environment are. Integrations also bring running costs: payment fees, SMS charges, API calls.

AI features

AI has two costs. The first is building it: preparing data, instructions, a set of test questions and limits. The second is model usage, paid per conversation or request. The second one is easy to miss, because it is tiny in a demo and can become one of the largest lines at scale. Ask for a measured cost per conversation on real data before launch. In the EU, Article 50 of the AI Act has required since 2 August 2026 that people are told when they are talking to an AI system.

Compliance and data

Health, finance and children’s products carry extra requirements from day one. Even a simple product needs secure login, backups, sensible permissions and GDPR-compliant handling of personal data. These are not “phase two” items.

Who is on your side

Slow decisions, missing content and scope that grows mid-build cost more than any technology choice. A founder who answers questions within a day or two saves weeks.

Running costs after launch

The guides above put annual maintenance at roughly 15–25% of the build cost. That usually covers updates to libraries and operating systems, bug fixes, monitoring and backups. On top of that you pay for:

• hosting and databases;
• third-party services such as email delivery, payments and maps;
• AI model usage, if the product uses it;
• the app store fees above.

Plan these before launch. They grow with your user numbers, which is good news, but only if the budget expects it.

How MVPs are priced

There are two common models:

• Fixed price for a defined scope. The builder takes the risk if it takes longer. Changes to scope are priced separately. This only works if the scope is written down first, which is why it usually starts with a short paid scoping phase.
• Time and materials. You pay for the hours actually worked. Changes are easier mid-build, the final figure is harder to predict.

Whichever model you choose, ask for the scope in writing and for a weekly demo of working software.

Public funding: what exists and what it fits

This is general information, not financial advice. Rules change, so always read the programme’s own pages.

• EIC Accelerator (EU). Grants below €2.5 million for innovation activities at technology readiness levels 6–8, plus optional equity of €1–10 million. Start-ups and SMEs can apply; UK applicants can apply for the grant-only scheme. In practice it fits companies past their first MVP.
• New Frontiers (Ireland). Enterprise Ireland’s programme for early-stage founders offers community, training and a support package it values at over €40,000, without taking equity.
• Local and national schemes. Many countries and regions run smaller start-up grants and vouchers. Check eligibility, timing and whether you must get approval before spending.

No builder can promise you a grant. If one does, treat it as a warning sign.

Before you ask for quotes

You’ll get more accurate and comparable quotes if you prepare:

1. one sentence on who uses the product and what they do in it;
2. the list of user roles;
3. features split into “needed at launch” and “after launch”;
4. integrations, with service names if you know them;
5. whether you need native apps or a web app will do;
6. what you have learned so far: interviews, a prototype, a waiting list.

Send the same document to every builder. Two quotes against the same written scope can be compared. Two quotes against a conversation can’t.

How we work at MEZA Startups

We don’t publish MVP prices, because they depend on scope. Each step is a separate contract with a fixed price, so you decide after each one whether to continue:

• a clickable prototype, if the idea needs testing first;
• a web app MVP, with a scoping week before the fixed build price;
• an AI MVP, starting with a demo on your own data.

You’ll get a quote for the first step within 24 hours, weekends and public holidays included. Code written for you is yours once the stage is paid for, and the domain, repository and accounts are registered to you. See the whole path on the MEZA Startups page.