The short version: Custom software development in India costs about USD 25 to USD 49 an hour, against USD 50 to USD 99 in the US, according to Clutch's 2026 pricing data from verified client reviews. Your total is that rate times the hours your scope needs, plus running costs after launch. Our own projects typically cost USD 5,000 to USD 200,000 and take around two months.
Updated 4 November 2026.
How much custom software costs depends on two numbers: the hours your project needs and the rate of the team that builds it. This guide gives the published hourly rates for India and the US, what to expect when you buy from the UAE, what a quote usually includes and leaves out, and how to compare quotes from teams in different countries fairly.
The hourly rates come from Clutch's custom software development pricing page, checked on 4 November 2026. Clutch builds it from first-party reviews by verified clients, so treat the figures as averages, not quotes.
We are FNA Technology, a custom software development company with our team in Mumbai, India. We work with clients in India and the GCC remotely. If you want a price for your own project, see our custom software development service.
How much does custom software development cost in India?
Clutch's 2026 pricing page lists custom software development in India at USD 25 to USD 49 an hour. The same page lists the US at USD 50 to USD 99.
| Where the team is | Average hourly rate (Clutch, 2026) |
|---|---|
| India | USD 25 to USD 49 |
| United States | USD 50 to USD 99 |
| UAE | Not listed by Clutch |
An hourly rate only becomes a budget when you know the hours. The table below is arithmetic on Clutch's India rate, not a survey of project prices. The hours are examples to show the scale, not typical sizes for a type of software.
| Hours of work (example) | At USD 25 an hour | At USD 49 an hour |
|---|---|---|
| 400 hours | USD 10,000 | USD 19,600 |
| 1,000 hours | USD 25,000 | USD 49,000 |
| 2,500 hours | USD 62,500 | USD 122,500 |
Across all countries, Clutch also says the custom software projects reviewed on its site most often cost USD 10,000 to USD 49,999. If you budget in rupees, convert at the day's exchange rate, and ask whether GST is included in the quote.
Two projects with the same number of screens can need very different hours. The hours move most with the number of user roles and workflows, each integration, moving existing data, security or compliance requirements, web plus mobile instead of web only, and how much support you want after launch. If you are building the first release of a SaaS product, see our guide to SaaS MVP development cost.
Custom software cost in India, the UAE and the US compared
The rate is only one line. What each market's quotes usually include, and what they leave out, matters as much.
| India | UAE | US | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hourly rate | USD 25 to USD 49 (Clutch) | No public average we could verify | USD 50 to USD 99 (Clutch) |
| Time difference | None for clients in India | Mumbai is 1 hour 30 minutes ahead of the UAE | Mumbai is 9 hours 30 to 10 hours 30 minutes ahead of US Eastern time |
| What to check in the quote | Discovery, design, testing, deployment and support after launch, and whether GST is included | The same, plus whether VAT is included and whether you need someone on site | The same, plus the hours a team in another time zone can join your calls |
| Usually left out | Hosting, third-party subscriptions, maintenance, unscoped data migration | The same | The same |
For a UAE business, the choice is usually between a local firm that can meet on site and a remote team that works over video calls. We serve Dubai and UAE businesses remotely from Mumbai and do not work on site; see custom software development for Dubai businesses. For India-based clients, see custom software development in Mumbai.
What a custom software project costs with FNA
Our projects typically cost between USD 5,000 and USD 200,000, depending on size. That is about AED 18,400 to AED 734,500 at the dirham's fixed rate of 3.6725 to the US dollar. We quote clients in India in INR, with GST, and clients outside India in USD or AED, depending on where they are.
| Step | What you get | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Demo or proof of concept | A working demo of your problem, so you can decide whether to work with us before you commit | One day |
| Scope | The user roles, workflows, screens and integrations in the first release, the milestones and the project price | After a discovery call |
| Build | The first release, built to the dated plan from discovery | Around two months for most projects |
On a fixed-scope project you get the price after scoping, before development starts, and any change to the scope is priced before it is built. When requirements will keep changing, we work on time and materials, and for long-running product work we provide a dedicated team. You own the source code.
An account manager is your point of contact throughout. Each project also has a project manager, and the engineers working on it join your meetings when needed. We arrange call times to suit your time zone, including for clients in the US.
The costs a quote often leaves out
The build price is not the year's total. Ask every company for these in its proposal, not after launch:
- Hosting and cloud services.
- Third-party subscriptions and usage fees, such as maps, SMS, email or payment fees.
- Maintenance and security updates.
- Data migration that was not in the scope. Old data in spreadsheets or an old system is rarely as clean as it looks.
- Changes that come up once people use the software.
- Your own team's time on decisions and testing.
Ask for an estimate of the first year's running costs next to the build price.
How to compare custom software prices from teams in different countries
A low hourly rate is not a low price if the quote leaves work out or the team needs more of your time. Compare quotes on the same evidence:
- Give every company the same brief: the problem, the users and their roles, the must-have features, the integrations, the data to move and your budget.
- Ask what is included and what is not: discovery, design, testing, deployment and support after launch, with the assumptions and exclusions in writing.
- Put every quote in one currency, at the same day's exchange rate, and ask whether tax such as GST or VAT is included.
- Ask who will build it: the people on your project and their seniority, not the size of the company.
- Agree how calls work: who your contact is, how often you see working software, and the call and reply times across the time difference.
- Ask who will own the source code, the repository, the hosting and cloud accounts and the third-party subscriptions when the project ends.
- Ask how changes are priced, and what happens after launch.
- Compare the first year's total cost, not the build price alone.
If one quote is much lower than the others, ask which of these it leaves out.
Fixed price, time and materials or a dedicated team
Choose a fixed price when the first release can be clearly defined. Choose time and materials when you expect the requirements to change as you learn, and agree a budget cap that you review often. A dedicated team suits long-running product work. Do not set a fixed-price total next to a time-and-materials budget cap as if they cover the same work: line up the scope first.
When custom software is the wrong choice
Custom software is the wrong choice when an existing tool already covers most of what you need at a fair price, when you need something working next week, when nobody inside the business owns the requirements, or when there is no budget to maintain it after launch. Projects move fastest when one person on your side owns the requirements and can approve work within a day or two.
Get Your Custom Software Built
Custom Software Development
Internal platforms, customer portals, workflow systems and first versions of new products, with the scope, terms and ownership agreed before development starts.
Custom Software Development in Dubai
Operations systems, portals, dashboards and integrations for Dubai and UAE businesses, built remotely from Mumbai.
SaaS Development
Multi-tenant SaaS products, API integrations and the infrastructure to run them, from the first version.
Frequently Asked Questions
Get a price for your project
Custom software cost comes down to the hours your scope needs, the rate of the team and the running costs after launch. Write down the problem, the must-have features, the users, the integrations and your budget, then ask every company to quote the same brief. To get ours, tell us what you want to build.
