Project Cost Estimator
Pick your app type, set the screen count and developer region, and compare building from scratch vs starting with a production-ready thefrontkit template. See hours saved, cost savings, and ROI instantly.
Step 1
What are you building?
How it works
1. Pick your app type
Choose from 11 app archetypes — SaaS, CRM, e-commerce, AI chat, and more. Each has calibrated hours-per-screen estimates.
2. Configure project
Set your screen count (5–60) and developer region. The region determines the hourly rate used in the calculation.
3. Compare & export
See a side-by-side cost comparison: from scratch vs with a template. Copy or download the estimate to share with your team.
100% client-side. Your project details never leave your browser.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about how we estimate project costs and template savings.
How much does it cost to build a web app?
The cost of building a web application from scratch varies wildly — from $5,000 for a simple MVP with an offshore team to $500,000+ for a full-featured SaaS product with a US-based team. The biggest factors are the number of screens, the developer hourly rate, and the complexity of each screen.
Starting with a production-ready template can cut 60–75% of the cost by eliminating the commodity screens every app needs: authentication, dashboards, settings, billing, data tables, and user management. Instead of building those from scratch, you customize what already exists and focus your budget on the unique 25–40% that differentiates your product.
This calculator helps agencies, founders, and CTOs scope the build vs buy decision in under a minute. Pair it with our SaaS MVP Screen Calculator to get a screen-by-screen breakdown of what your MVP actually needs.
Skip the scaffolding
Every thefrontkit starter kit ships with auth, dashboards, data tables, settings, and billing already wired up. Drop in your brand tokens and ship the part that actually matters.