# How much should I budget for a first version of my app?

URL: https://wonderful.so/blog/budget-for-app
Markdown URL: https://wonderful.so/blog/budget-for-app.md
Content type: Question and answer
Published: 2025-08-14
Updated: 2025-08-14
Author: Rulian at Wonderful
Asked by: Anonymous
Tags: Pricing, Getting Started

## Question

How much should I budget for a first version of my app?

## Answer

A better question is:

> "What is the least I need to do or spend to know if my idea will work?"

Budgets are hard to talk about because ideas vary so much, but the math itself isn't complicated. I charge $150 an hour, and that covers everything: coding, planning, talking through decisions, thinking, fixing, and the invisible work you don't see on a timeline.

## How I Structure Pricing

I don't give "your project will cost X" promises. Instead, we break your idea into parts. I price part 1 clearly, and if we work well together, we move on to part 2. This removes risk for both of us, because you're never locked into a giant unknown.

Fixed cost per phase works well because we both know what we're committing to. The tradeoff is zero scope creep — changes go into the next phase. Otherwise things become open-ended and nobody wins.

If you want to feel the math yourself, play with my [MVP cost calculator](/tools/mvp-cost). Your budget becomes a box, and you get to decide which pieces fit.