Cost guide

How much does custom software cost in Austria?

Custom software in Austria ranges from a few thousand euros for a scoped Discovery sprint to six figures for a full production build, driven by scope, team seniority, integrations, and compliance. Most founders should not price the full build first. Start with a Discovery sprint (from EUR 3,500) to fix the scope, then decide between a fixed-price Werkvertrag and a weekly cancellable retainer. The cheapest hourly rate is the most expensive way to find out you scoped the wrong thing.

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Short answer

Cost is set by scope, seniority, integrations, and compliance. De-risk it with a Discovery sprint before you commit to a build budget.

Best for

  • Founders who want a fixed scope before a fixed price
  • Products with real integration or compliance requirements
  • Teams that need senior people, not the cheapest hands
  • MVPs that have to be investor-demo-ready fast

Not for

  • Buyers shopping purely on hourly rate
  • Throwaway internal scripts a freelancer can finish in days
  • Projects with no decision-maker available for Discovery
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Compare the options

Three ways to start, depending on how much you already know.

What you are buying Discovery sprint MVP / full build
Goal

Fix the scope, plan, and risks

Ship working software

Starting cost

From EUR 3,500

Quoted from Discovery output

Timeline

Days to a week or two

Weeks for an MVP, longer for full build

Output

Scoped plan, estimate, architecture

Production or pilot-ready product

Best when

Scope still uncertain

Scope is clear and signed off

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Where Wavect lands on this

Most quotes founders receive are guesses dressed as numbers. Nobody can price what nobody has scoped. That is why we sell Discovery first: a small fixed cost to turn your idea into a concrete plan with a real estimate.

Once scope is clear, you pick the contract that matches your certainty. If the scope is locked, take the fixed-price Werkvertrag: we sign a Statement of Work and are legally bound to deliver it. If the product is still moving, take a weekly retainer you can cancel any week.

The cheapest hourly rate is a trap. Junior hours stack up, rework eats the savings, and you pay twice. We staff senior people who get it right the first time.

// 03

Cost, risk and timeline

Discovery start From EUR 3,500Fixed cost to scope and de-risk before any build
MVP timeline Weeks, not quartersWe have taken products 0 to launch in 6 weeks
Biggest cost risk Wrong scopeBuilding the right thing beats building cheaply
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Where this usually goes wrong

  • Asking for a full-build price before anyone has scoped the build
  • Choosing the lowest hourly rate and paying for rework later
  • Skipping compliance and integration questions until late in the build
  • Signing a fixed price against a scope that is still changing
  • No internal decision-maker available to answer Discovery questions
  • Treating the MVP as the final product instead of the first version
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The checklist

Before you ask for a price, get these in order.

  • Write down the one outcome the software must achieve
  • List every system it has to integrate with
  • Note any compliance or data-residency requirements
  • Decide whether scope is locked or still moving
  • Run a Discovery sprint to turn the idea into an estimate
  • Pick fixed-price Werkvertrag if scope is locked, retainer if not
  • Confirm senior people will do the work, not just sell it
  • Plan for a handover so your team can run the code later
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What this looks like in our work

These products show what a scoped, senior-led build delivers on a real timeline.

PromptID

Live
6 weeks 0 to Production

AI-native assessment platform, 0→production in 6 weeks under compressed market pressure.

NestJS NextJS LangChain
AI 2026

Twinsoft AI

Live
2 weeks To Sellable MVP

Took a vibe-coded prototype to enterprise pilot-ready, no shortcuts.

Python / Flask LLMs Terraform
AI 2026

LivLive

Live
+1,000 Concurrent Users

AR-RWA platform: $2M+ raised through the product, 1,000+ concurrent users, six weeks flat.

Solidity Typescript React
BLOCKCHAIN 2025
// 07

When this fits, and when it does not

// 01

When Wavect is the right fit

  • You want scope fixed before you commit a budget
  • The product has real integration or compliance weight
  • You need senior people and a clear handover
  • You want a contract that matches your certainty
// 02

When we are not the fit

  • You are buying purely on the lowest hourly rate
  • The job is a throwaway script or quick fix
  • Nobody internal can answer Discovery questions

Once you understand cost drivers, the next question is who you hire to do the work.

// 08

Related services & reading

// 09

FAQs

It depends on scope, but the honest first step is a Discovery sprint from EUR 3,500 to fix scope and produce a real estimate. Pricing an MVP before scoping it is guesswork.
Low hourly rates usually mean junior hours, more rework, and a longer timeline. You pay twice. Senior people who get it right the first time cost less in total.
It is a short, fixed-cost engagement that turns your idea into a scoped plan, architecture, and estimate. It de-risks the build so you commit a budget to a known scope, not a guess.
Fixed-price Werkvertrag if your scope is locked. We sign a Statement of Work and are legally bound to deliver it. A weekly cancellable retainer if the product is still moving.
Scope, team seniority, the number of integrations, and compliance requirements. Compliance and integrations are the costs founders most often forget to plan for.
Last reviewed: byKevin Riedl wiki ↗
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