“How much will it cost?” is the first question on every software project, and the honest answer is “it depends.” This guide explains what actually drives the price of custom software in Canada, gives realistic ranges, and shows how to get an estimate you can trust.
The ranges below are indicative figures for planning, in Canadian dollars. Your real number depends on scope, integrations, design depth and timeline — a proper discovery phase turns these ranges into a firm estimate.
Typical cost ranges
| Project type | Typical range (CAD) | Typical timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing website / simple web portal | $8,000 – $30,000 | 4–8 weeks |
| Custom web application (MVP) | $40,000 – $120,000 | 3–5 months |
| Mobile app (iOS and Android) | $50,000 – $150,000 | 3–6 months |
| Enterprise software / ERP-style system | $150,000 – $500,000+ | 6–18 months |
| AI agent or workflow automation | $20,000 – $120,000 | 1–4 months |
What drives the price
1. Scope and complexity
Every feature, user role, report and workflow adds design, development and testing time. The single best way to control cost is to define a focused first release and add features once real users have tried it.
2. Integrations
Connecting to payment gateways, ERP and CRM systems, accounting software or legacy databases often costs more than building the feature itself, because each system has its own quirks.
3. Design and user experience
A clean, branded interface with research and prototypes costs more than a template-based one, but it usually pays back through adoption and fewer support requests.
4. Security and compliance
Handling health, financial or personal data means extra work for access controls, audit logs, encryption and privacy-law compliance such as PIPEDA.
5. Team and location
Rates differ widely by region and seniority. Canadian agencies commonly charge roughly $100–$200 per hour; teams with a blended onshore/offshore model — like ours, with offices in Toronto and Ahmedabad — can deliver senior expertise at a more competitive blended rate.
Hidden costs to budget for
- Hosting and infrastructure — cloud services are an ongoing monthly cost.
- Maintenance — plan roughly 15–20% of the build cost per year for updates, security patches and fixes.
- Third-party licences — maps, SMS, email, analytics and AI APIs usually bill by usage.
- Data migration — cleaning and moving data from old systems takes real effort.
Fixed price or time and materials?
Fixed-price works for well-defined projects but leaves little room for change. Time-and-materials suits evolving products and keeps you in control of priorities. A common compromise is a fixed-price discovery phase followed by sprint-based delivery with a capped budget per phase.
How to get an accurate estimate
- Write down the problem, the users and the top five outcomes you need.
- List the systems the software must connect to.
- Decide your must-haves versus nice-to-haves.
- Ask for a discovery phase that produces a scope, timeline and prioritized backlog.
Want a realistic number for your project? Book a free consultation and we will walk through your goals and send a clear scope and estimate. You can also read how to measure the ROI of custom software before you decide.