"How much does software cost?" is a question with no single-number answer. Projects that look similar on the surface can vary by 10x in price depending on several factors.
This article breaks down the 7 key cost factors and gives you the ranges you need to know before requesting a quote.
Why Do Software Prices Vary So Much?
Unlike physical products with defined material costs, software pricing is driven by time required and skill level needed — both of which depend on project complexity.
Factor 1: Scope and Feature Complexity
This is the single biggest variable. More features and more complexity means higher cost.
Example comparisons:
| Project | Core Features | Price Range (THB) |
|---|---|---|
| Company website + CMS | 5–8 pages, blog, contact | 30,000–80,000 |
| Business booking system | Calendar, payment, notifications | 150,000–350,000 |
| Mid-size CRM | Leads, pipeline, reporting, email | 400,000–900,000 |
| SME ERP system | Inventory, HR, finance, procurement | 800,000–2,500,000+ |
Ranges are estimates and vary by vendor and tech stack.
Factor 2: Number of Integrations and Third-Party APIs
Connecting to external systems adds significant cost — development time, testing, and edge case handling all multiply.
Common APIs and their cost impact:
- Payment gateway (Omise, PromptPay, Stripe) → +30,000–80,000 THB
- LINE Messaging API → +20,000–50,000 THB
- Google Maps / Location services → +15,000–40,000 THB
- Legacy ERP/accounting system → +50,000–200,000 THB (complexity-dependent)
- Government/regulatory APIs → +50,000–150,000 THB
Factor 3: Platform Requirements
| Platform | Cost Impact |
|---|---|
| Web application only | Baseline |
| Web + mobile (iOS or Android) | +40–70% |
| Web + iOS + Android | +70–120% |
| Cross-platform mobile (Flutter/React Native) | +40–60% (cheaper than native) |
Tip: Start with a web application. If most users are on mobile, build a Progressive Web App (PWA) before committing to native apps.
Factor 4: Development Team (Location and Seniority)
| Team Type | Average Rate |
|---|---|
| Freelance junior (Thailand) | 400–800 THB/hr |
| Freelance senior (Thailand) | 800–2,000 THB/hr |
| Software house (Thailand) | 1,000–2,500 THB/hr |
| Software house (India) | 500–1,500 THB/hr |
| Software house (Europe/US) | 5,000–15,000 THB/hr |
Thai software houses offer the best balance of quality, communication, and cost for Thai businesses.
Factor 5: Design Complexity
Good design takes time and skill.
- Template-based design (adapting off-the-shelf themes) → cheapest
- Custom design from wireframes → mid-range
- UX research + custom design system → most expensive
Animations, micro-interactions, and custom illustration add 20–40% to design costs.
Factor 6: Security and Compliance Requirements
High-security or regulated projects require additional investment:
- Payment systems → PCI-DSS compliance
- Healthcare systems → PDPA data privacy
- Financial systems → BOT / SEC compliance
- Government systems → Government security standards
Each compliance level adds 15–40% to costs depending on scope.
Factor 7: Timeline — Urgency Has a Price
Delivering faster than a standard timeline typically means:
- Adding team members (higher cost)
- Overtime (possible premium)
- Reducing scope to meet the deadline
General rule: Cutting the timeline by 50% often increases cost by 30–50%.
Costs People Forget to Count
Beyond the main development fee:
- Hosting and infrastructure — cloud servers, database, CDN: 2,000–50,000 THB/month
- Domain and SSL certificate — 500–3,000 THB/year
- Third-party service subscriptions — SMS, email service, Maps API
- Annual maintenance — 15–25% of development cost
- Training — admin/user training: 5,000–30,000 THB
How to Control Your Budget
- Build MVP first — cut non-essential features
- Phase development — spread investment across phases instead of paying everything upfront
- Choose template UI instead of custom design for Phase 1
- Use managed cloud services instead of building from scratch (auth, email, storage)
- Enforce strict scope — "scope creep" is the number-one cause of budget overruns
Summary
Software pricing is driven by scope + complexity + timeline + team quality — not just page count or feature count.
Before requesting a quote, prepare:
- Feature list (Must Have, Should Have, Nice to Have)
- Target go-live date
- Rough budget range
- Platform requirements
This information ensures you receive accurate, comparable quotes.
Want a transparent quote with a clearly defined scope? Contact Adowbig to schedule a free discovery session.
