Last updated: 27 September 2026
UK agency guides published in 2026 put a simple MVP at £8,000 to £30,000 (Red Eagle Tech) or £10,000 to £25,000 (Magora), a mid-size production app at £30,000 to £80,000 (Red Eagle Tech) or £25,000 to £60,000 (Magora), and a complex, regulated or integration-heavy app at £80,000 to £300,000+ (Red Eagle Tech) or £80,000 to £120,000 (Magora). Two MVP-focused guides, from Foundry 5 and Peachr, both put a typical UK MVP at £15,000 to £80,000.
Each of those ranges belongs to the agency that published it. We have not averaged them, because each guide defines "MVP" and "complex" differently. This guide sets out what each range covers, what UK developers charge per day, what moves the price, and how a SEIS-sized raise shapes your first phase.
What UK guides say an MVP costs in 2026
Here are the published ranges side by side, in the words each source uses.
| Source | Simple / MVP | Mid-size / standard | Complex |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Eagle Tech (April 2026) | £8k to £30k, 8 to 12 weeks | £30k to £80k, 12 to 24 weeks | £80k to £300k+, 6 to 12+ months |
| Magora (August 2026) | £10,000 to £25,000, 6 to 8 weeks (iOS and Android, one core journey) | £25,000 to £60,000, 3 to 5 months (iOS and Android, backend, admin) | £80,000 to £120,000, 5 to 8 months (regulated or integration-heavy) |
| Foundry 5 (July 2026) | A simple web-first product "can start near £8,000" | Most MVPs £15,000 to £80,000; funded startups typically £30,000 to £60,000 | London agency, complex or regulated builds: £60,000 to £150,000 |
| Peachr (June 2026) | Simple web app MVP £10,000 to £25,000 | SaaS MVP £25,000 to £60,000; mobile MVP on iOS and Android £40,000 to £80,000 | Healthtech or regulated MVP £50,000 to £150,000+ |
What each tier includes
Red Eagle Tech gives the clearest definitions. Its simple tier is a "single-workflow MVP" with 3 to 6 screens, basic login, simple data display and minimal integrations. Its standard tier is a production app with 5 to 15 screens, user accounts, payments or one or two third-party integrations, push notifications and analytics. Its complex tier covers multiple integrations, real-time features, regulated data, multi-role admin portals and AI features.
The assumptions differ between guides, which explains much of the spread:
- Platforms. Red Eagle Tech assumes one platform or a cross-platform build. Magora's ranges already include iOS and Android.
- Team. Magora says its figures are "UK agency rates with senior talent and AI development practices". Peachr says its ranges "assume a UK-based or near-shore team".
- Who builds it. Foundry 5 splits its ranges by supplier, shown below.
| Who builds it (Foundry 5) | Published MVP range |
|---|---|
| UK freelancer | £8,000 to £25,000 |
| Nearshore team | £20,000 to £55,000 |
| Regional UK agency | £30,000 to £80,000 |
| London agency | £60,000 to £150,000 |
UK day rates: agencies and freelancers
Day rates help explain the spread in quotes. Agency rates below are self-reported by agencies. We found no government or ONS dataset on agency day rates. The two most independent sources are ITJobsWatch and YunoJuno, which publish market data rather than their own prices.
| Source | Who | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Red Eagle Tech | UK agency, blended team rate | £600 to £1.2k per day |
| Foundry 5 | London agency, per developer | £600 to £900 per day |
| Foundry 5 | Regional UK team, per developer | £350 to £550 per day |
| Red Eagle Tech, citing Clutch | London agency | £100 to £150 per hour |
| Red Eagle Tech | UK freelancer or contractor | £300 to £800 per day |
| ITJobsWatch | UK Software Developer contract, median | £525 per day (6 months to 26 September 2026) |
| YunoJuno 2026 report | Software engineering freelancer, average | £533 per day (2025 platform data) |
Red Eagle Tech's blended rate covers "a mixed team (senior, mid, junior, plus some QA and PM time absorbed)". Foundry 5 notes that on the London versus regional choice alone, "the same scope can almost double in price".
ITJobsWatch puts the UK Software Developer contract median at £525 a day for the six months to 26 September 2026, up from £500 a year earlier. Its 10th percentile is £366 and its 90th percentile is £606.
The YunoJuno 2026 Contractor Rates Report gives a software engineering average of £533 a day on 2025 data, against £524 in 2024. By level it shows midweight £476, senior £604 and lead £609. Mobile engineers average £463 and full-stack developers £460. One caution: the report splits rates by discipline, and summaries of the report have quoted a different figure for its "Developer" label. The numbers here are the software engineering figures on the live page. Check which label matches the role you are hiring for.
Magora lists hourly rates by supplier type: offshore freelancers £15 to £30, offshore agencies with UK-fronted project management £25 to £50, London product-engineering houses £45 to £90, boutique London digital agencies £60 to £140, and tier-1 consultancies £120 to £250.
What drives the cost
Across the UK guides, the same few levers come up.
Scope: screens, journeys and integrations
Red Eagle Tech's tiers show how scope drives price: they move from "minimal integrations" to "1-2 third-party integrations" to "multiple integrations".
Platforms
Red Eagle Tech says to "expect roughly +50-70% for a second native platform". It also says cross-platform "saves 25-40% vs dual-native on comparable scope". That is an agency estimate, not an independent study, but it is one reason to consider starting on one codebase.
Design
Red Eagle Tech puts design at £3k to £15k for a simple app, £10k to £30k for a standard app and £25k to £75k+ for a complex app.
AI features
Red Eagle Tech says adding one or two AI features "typically adds £15k-£45k to the build and £500-£2.5k/month to running costs". The monthly cost matters as much as the build cost.
Regulation
Regulated sectors sit in their own tier. Magora prices fintech, health and logistics builds at £80,000 to £120,000. Peachr puts a healthtech or regulated MVP at £50,000 to £150,000+.
Who builds it and where
Location changes the day rate, and the day rate changes the total. Foundry 5's regional agency range (£30,000 to £80,000) sits well below its London range (£60,000 to £150,000).
Running costs after launch
The build is not the whole bill. The guides give these figures for what comes after:
- Red Eagle Tech: maintenance "runs 15-25% of initial build per year", so "a £50k app needs £7.5k-£12.5k annually just to stay current".
- Magora: annual run cost after launch of 15 to 25% of build.
- Foundry 5: "A £40,000 MVP carries something like £8,000 to £12,000 of annual running cost".
- Peachr: £500 to £2,000 per month, depending on complexity.
Budgeting phase 1 with a SEIS-sized raise
This is general information, not tax or financial advice. Speak to a registered adviser about your situation.
If you are raising through the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS), its limit caps what you can raise under the scheme, which shapes your first budget. At the time of writing (September 2026), gov.uk says a company can raise a maximum of £250,000 through SEIS, and the money must be spent within 3 years of the share issue on a qualifying trade, on preparing for one, or on research and development expected to lead to one.
That money has to cover more than the product, including salaries, marketing and legal costs, and it has to last. So the useful question is not "what can £250,000 build?" but "what is the smallest build that tests the idea, with money left to learn from it?"
- Scope phase 1 to one core journey. Red Eagle Tech's simple tier and Magora's MVP tier are both built around a single workflow.
- Start on one codebase unless you have a clear reason to go native on two platforms.
- Hold back money for year one. Using Foundry 5's example, a £40,000 MVP means budgeting around £8,000 to £12,000 a year to run it.
- Keep a reserve for changes once real users arrive. Your second release is usually shaped by what the first one teaches you.
Our guide to SEIS and EIS for funding your MVP covers the limits, advance assurance, and what gov.uk does and does not say about paying overseas contractors with SEIS or EIS money.
UK versus offshore builds
DevForge is an offshore studio based in India, so read this with that in mind. The published figures show a real price gap: Magora lists offshore agencies with UK-fronted project management at £25 to £50 an hour, against £60 to £140 for boutique London agencies, and Foundry 5 puts a nearshore MVP at £20,000 to £55,000 against £60,000 to £150,000 for a London agency (it gives no separate offshore figure). Offshore can stretch a seed budget further. The trade-offs are real too. You work across a time zone gap, you need clear written specifications, in-person workshops are harder, and you must check that your contract gives you full ownership of the code. For SEIS and EIS money, no gov.uk page we found clearly allows or forbids paying overseas contractors, so you need your adviser to confirm your plan. A UK team gives you shared working hours, easy face-to-face sessions and no questions of that kind, but at UK day rates the same budget buys less scope. Neither route is right for every founder.
How DevForge can help
DevForge is a founder-led studio that takes products from idea to MVP in 4 to 8 weeks, and you own 100% of the code and IP. We work with UK founders under NDA. After a free 30-minute call, we give you a fixed estimate for phase 1, so you can compare it with the ranges above. Book a free 30-minute call.
See how we approach MVP development for UK founders, read our guide to SEIS and EIS funding, or visit our UK page.
Sources
- Red Eagle Tech, "How much does app development cost in the UK? (2026 guide)", https://redeagle.tech/blog/app-development-cost-uk, published 17 April 2026, updated 19 April 2026
- Magora, "App Development Cost UK 2026: Real Ranges and What Moves Them", https://magora-systems.com/app-development-cost-uk/, published 5 August 2026
- Foundry 5, "MVP Development Cost UK 2026: Real Numbers", https://foundry-5.com/resources/mvp-build-cost-uk/, published 29 June 2026, updated 24 July 2026
- Peachr, "How Much Does It Cost to Build an MVP in the UK? (2026 Guide)", https://www.peachr.co.uk/blog/cost-to-build-an-mvp-in-the-uk-2026, 2 June 2026
- ITJobsWatch, "Software Developer" UK contracts, https://www.itjobswatch.co.uk/contracts/uk/software%20developer.do, period 6 months to 26 September 2026
- YunoJuno, "2026 Contractor Rates Report: Developer", https://www.yunojuno.com/freelancer-rates-report/developer, 2026 report based on 2024 to 2025 platform data
- gov.uk (HMRC), "Apply to use the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme to raise money for your company", https://www.gov.uk/guidance/venture-capital-schemes-apply-to-use-the-seed-enterprise-investment-scheme, last updated 25 May 2023
