There is no single price list for custom software in an SME. Cost depends on what the system must do, who uses it, and how it connects to tools you already run. In practice, a focused first release (MVP) for a European SME often lands between €15,000 and €60,000. A fuller product — more roles, reporting, integrations and proper testing — commonly sits in the €80,000–€180,000 range. Multi-site or heavily regulated work goes higher.

The useful question is not “how much does software cost”. It is “how much to fix this process, for these users, on this timeline”. Without that scope, a quote is a guess.

What actually moves the number

A large share of the budget is analysis, prototypes, testing, go-live and training, not typing code. The levers that matter:

  • Functional scope. Three screens and one linear flow cost less than an operations system with stock, invoicing, permissions and history. Every process exception becomes a rule to model.
  • Users and roles. Five people in an office is one project; the same logic exposed to customers or suppliers needs stronger access control, audit and error handling.
  • Integrations. Wiring CRM, ERP, ecommerce, banking or a warehouse system can cost as much as the rest of the product. Stable, documented APIs reduce cost; spreadsheets and manual exports raise it.
  • Data quality. Migrating from spreadsheets, cleaning duplicate accounts, bringing history across: invisible work, but the new system starts in debt without it.
  • Constraints. GDPR, traceability, signing, backups, separate test and production environments are not optional if you handle customer data or depend on the system every day.
  • Run cost. The real number is the total over 24–36 months: hosting, updates, fixes, small evolutions. A quote that skips this is incomplete.

MVP versus a finished product

Many SMEs compare the price of a “complete” system with a monthly SaaS fee and stop there. It is more useful to split the decision.

An MVP attacks a measurable bottleneck: quotes stuck in email, orders copied by hand, reports that only exist at month-end. You ship in weeks or a few months, measure, then decide what deserves the next step. The first cheque stays smaller and you avoid paying for features nobody uses.

A fuller product makes sense once the process is clear, people have used version one, and you know which exceptions are real. The budget is higher then, but waste is lower.

Custom software or a SaaS subscription?

SaaS wins when the process is standard and you can adapt to the tool. Custom wins when the process is your advantage, when data must stay joined to existing systems, or when three subscriptions plus a homemade integration cost more than one coherent system over a couple of years.

This is not a technical pride contest. It is arithmetic: operator time, typing errors, duplicate records, reports you cannot run. Those costs remain even when the SaaS licence looks cheap.

How to get a quote you can compare

A useful estimate needs a business goal (not a screen list), who will use the system, which systems to connect, time constraints and a budget band. With that, we can say whether you are in MVP territory, a mid-size product or a longer programme — and what is out of scope.

If you want a realistic range for your case, write to DPH: goal, timeline and current systems. You get a clear proposal, not a generic price list.