Is that software quote reasonable?
When one vendor quotes $10,000, another $40,000 and a third $120,000 for the same idea, price alone tells you nothing. We estimate the work independently — effort, team, hours, infrastructure and timeline — so you can judge any quotation against an objective benchmark instead of a sales pitch.
“Is that software quote reasonable?”
The decisions this engagement is built to resolve.
- What should this software realistically cost?
- How many development hours should it genuinely require?
- Is a specific vendor's quotation reasonable — high, low, or fair?
- What hidden complexity is missing from the numbers you've been given?
Inside the engagement.
The areas we examine and the ground we cover on your behalf.
Effort estimation
A bottom-up estimate of the work, independent of who might do it.
Role & team estimation
The mix of roles and seniority the work actually needs, not the team a vendor wants to bill.
Development hours
A defensible view of the hours involved, so day-rate maths can be checked.
Expected timeline
How long delivery should take at a healthy pace, with and without parallelisation.
Infrastructure estimates
Hosting, environments and running costs that quotations routinely leave out.
Reasonable budget ranges
A defensible range for the whole engagement, framed for decision-makers.
Hidden complexity
The integrations, edge cases and non-functional work that quietly inflate real cost.
Quote benchmarking
Your actual quotations measured against our independent estimate, line by line.
Deliverables
- Independent effort and cost estimate
- Role, team and development-hours breakdown
- Realistic budget range for the engagement
- Infrastructure and running-cost view
- Benchmark of your vendor quotations against our estimate
- Flagged gaps, omissions and hidden complexity
Outcomes
- 01You can tell an over-quote from a lowball that will balloon later.
- 02You negotiate from evidence rather than instinct.
- 03You budget for the real cost, including what vendors leave out.
Further reading
Why Software Development Quotes Vary So Dramatically
The same brief can return a $10,000 quote and a $120,000 quote. Here is what that spread is actually telling you.
Fixed Price vs Dedicated Team: Which Delivery Model Protects You?
The delivery model decides who carries the risk when reality diverges from the plan. Choose it deliberately.
How to Compare Software Development Proposals
Vendors rarely make their proposals comparable. A disciplined buyer makes them comparable anyway.
Other ways we help
Bring an independent advisor into this decision.
Tell us where your project stands. We’ll show you exactly how an independent view would change the outcome.