What a realistic MVP budget looks like in 2026
The line items that decide the cost of a first release, and the ones founders usually leave out.
Product engineering
Product engineering
from MVP to scale.
One team for product design, engineering and releases, for founders and product teams launching or scaling a SaaS or mobile product.
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What we build
Six kinds of product work we take on most
Most products need several of these in the first year. An MVP grows into a platform, and a web app often gains a mobile companion.
01
MVPs for funded teams
A first version scoped around the riskiest assumption, built on code you keep after launch.
For exampleA B2B SaaS MVP ready for a pilot with three customers
02
SaaS platforms
Multi-tenant apps with sign-up, roles, subscription billing, onboarding and an admin panel.
For exampleTeam accounts and Stripe billing on an existing product
03
Mobile products
iOS and Android apps from one codebase, sharing the back end and accounts with your web product.
For exampleA React Native consumer app with offline mode
04
Product design and UX
User research, flows and a design system, so new features look and behave consistently.
For exampleA Figma design system shared by design and engineering
05
Analytics and release management
Event tracking, feature flags and staged rollouts, so every release is measured.
For exampleFeature flags and a fortnightly release train
06
Performance and scaling
Profiling, caching and infrastructure work for when usage grows faster than the code.
For exampleMoving slow reports and imports to background queues
Why Leapstrat
Why founders choose a Leapstrat product team
Hiring in-house compared with a Leapstrat product team. Many clients do both: we build the first releases while they hire, then hand over.
Compare
Hiring in-house
Leapstrat product team
Time to start3 to 6 months to hire a full teamA team in place in about two weeks
Skills coveredOne hire per skillDesign, engineering, QA and DevOps together
CostSalaries, benefits and recruiting feesFixed price per release or one monthly rate
Changing team sizeSlow and costlyAdjust between releases
Product knowledgeStays inside your companyDocumented and handed over when you hire
Who owns itYouYou: code, repos and accounts in your name
01
A founder on every project
One of our two founders joins the workshop and stays on the project as your point of escalation.
02
Hours that overlap yours
Engineers on shift 09:00–23:00 IST: 4.5 hours with US Eastern, a full working day with the UK and Europe.
03
Handover planned from day one
Code, docs and the release process are kept ready for your own team to take over.
Hiring your own team later? We document as we go and can help you interview.
How a handover works →How a project runs
MVP live in 10 to 14 weeks
You test a prototype with real users before build starts, and see working software every two weeks after that. The bar shows a typical MVP, week by week.
01About 1 week
Product workshop
We agree on the users, the problem and the smallest release that proves it, then rank features by risk.
You get: MVP scope, roadmap and estimate02About 2 weeks
Design and prototype
A clickable prototype of the core flows, tested with a handful of real users before any code is written.
You get: Tested prototype and design system038–10 weeks
Build the MVP
Two-week sprints with a demo at the end of each. Analytics and crash reporting go in from the first sprint.
You get: Working builds every two weeks04About 1 week
Launch
Production setup, monitoring, app store submission and a planned go-live, with engineers on hand.
You get: Live product and launch checklist05Ongoing
Growth releases
The roadmap is reviewed against usage data, with fixes and new features shipped every sprint.
You get: A release every sprint
Every sprint:
A demo call with the engineers
A test build or staging link
Release notes and usage numbers
An updated estimate if scope changes
Ways to work with us
Pick how the product is built
Most founders start with a fixed scope MVP, then move to a dedicated pod for the releases after launch. You can switch between releases.
Fixed scope projectAn MVP with a launch dateMost MVPs
Dedicated podA product team after launch
Staff augmentationEngineers inside your team
Best for
MVPs and first releases
Live products with a roadmap
Teams with a CTO or product lead
Pricing
Fixed price per release
Monthly rate for the whole pod
Flat monthly rate per engineer
Led by
Our delivery lead, against milestones
Our delivery lead, reporting to you
Your own engineering lead
Team
Designer, engineers and QA, set by the scope
Lead, engineers, QA, design as needed
From one engineer, month to month
How it works →
How it works →
How it works →
Fixed scope project
An MVP with a launch date
Most MVPs- Best for
- MVPs and first releases
- Pricing
- Fixed price per release
- Led by
- Our delivery lead, against milestones
- Team
- Designer, engineers and QA, set by the scope
Dedicated pod
A product team after launch
- Best for
- Live products with a roadmap
- Pricing
- Monthly rate for the whole pod
- Led by
- Our delivery lead, reporting to you
- Team
- Lead, engineers, QA, design as needed
Staff augmentation
Engineers inside your team
- Best for
- Teams with a CTO or product lead
- Pricing
- Flat monthly rate per engineer
- Led by
- Your own engineering lead
- Team
- From one engineer, month to month
Client result · Consumer mobile · United Kingdom
45k
Users onboarded in the first three months
A consumer app, launched and scaled in one quarter
ChallengeTri-Ant Technologies needed its consumer app live before a funded marketing push.
ApproachA one-week workshop, a cross-platform MVP in sprints, then a release every sprint after launch.
Result45,000 users onboarded in the first three months, on a stack their own team now extends.
React NativeNode.jsFirebaseFigma
See all client results →
Not sure what your MVP should include?
Bring the idea or the pitch deck. On a 30-minute call we will suggest what to build first, what to leave out and what it should cost.
Industries and technologies
Products shipped across seven sectors, on stacks your future team can maintain
The sector sets the rules for data, payments and app store review. We use well-supported technology so the engineers you hire later can pick the code up quickly.
Industries
SaaS and B2BFintechHealthcareConsumer appsRetail and ecommerceLogisticsTravel Sector not listed? Book a call →
WebReact · Next.js · TypeScript · Vue.js · Tailwind CSS
MobileReact Native · Flutter · Swift · Kotlin
Back end and dataNode.js · Python · PostgreSQL · Firebase · GraphQL
Product and deliveryFigma · Mixpanel · Feature flags · AWS · CI/CD
Security and ownership
✓ NDA signed before discovery✓ Code, repos and cloud accounts in your name✓ IP assigned to you in the contract✓ Code review on every change
FAQ
Questions about product engineering
Cost, ownership and life after launch. Anything else, ask on the call.
Most MVPs fall between $40k–$90k. It depends on the number of platforms, integrations and team size. After a 30-minute call we send a written estimate within one working day. It lists the team, the timeline, the assumptions and what is excluded.
Yes. Many clients have a technical co-founder or an in-house designer. We fit around them, work in your repositories and tools, and agree who owns which decisions in the first week.
You do, from the first commit. Repositories, cloud accounts, app store listings and design files sit in your name, and IP is assigned to you in the contract.
Most clients keep a dedicated pod for growth releases: fixes, monitoring and new features every sprint, prioritised against usage data. You can scale the team up or down between releases.
Yes. We start with a two-week codebase audit covering architecture, tests, security and release process, then send a fix-first list before taking on new features.
Yes, and we plan for it. We document as we go, can help you interview, and hand over the code, the docs and the release process when your team is ready.
Insights
All product engineering articles →
Read before you launch
Hiring
Dedicated team or fixed-price project: how to choose for your next build
Most software engagements fail the brief before anyone writes code, because the commercial model does not match how the work will actually change. A dedicated team and a fixed-price project are both valid. They answer different questions. Choose a dedicated team when the roadmap will move A dedicated team is the right shape when you […]
Engineering
Shipping an MVP in 12 weeks with a distributed team
Twelve weeks is enough to put a product in front of real users. It is not enough to build the version you will be embarrassed to throw away later if the first month is spent negotiating the backlog. Week 0 is a decision, not a workshop Before the first sprint, name the user, the job […]
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