How much does it cost to build a custom SaaS platform?
How Hilo prices a custom SaaS build, the published figures it is measured against, and what to ask any development partner.
The short answer
At Hilo, a custom SaaS platform is quoted after a scoping conversation, because scope moves the price more than anything else. The closest published reference is the Full App tier: user accounts, a custom backend and API, payments and subscriptions, and an admin dashboard for $20,000 CAD ($14,800 USD), delivered in 10–14 weeks. A larger platform is quoted from its scope.
Hilo builds SaaS platforms for clients and runs SaaS products of its own. The figures below come from Hilo's published pricing, which states prices before you get in touch.
Published reference prices
Hilo has no fixed-price SaaS package. These are the published tiers a SaaS build is measured against. Prices are set per region, not converted.
| Tier | What it covers | CAD | USD | EUR | GBP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simple App | A focused first app on both stores, no accounts or payments | $5,000 | $3,700 | 3.500 € | £3,000 |
| Full App | Accounts, custom backend and API, payments and subscriptions, admin dashboard | $20,000 | $14,800 | 14.000 € | £12,000 |
| Growth Retainer | Around 20 hours a month of development for automations, integrations and internal tools | from $2,500/month | from $1,850/month | from 1.750 €/month | from £1,500/month |
| App Retainer | Ongoing development capacity for an app with real users | from $3,500/month | from $2,600/month | from 2.450 €/month | from £2,100/month |
The Simple App is delivered in 4–6 weeks and the Full App in 10–14 weeks; retainers start within one week. Full details, including hosting and support fees, are on the app pricing and website pricing pages.
What the Full App tier includes
- User accounts, sign-in and profiles
- Custom backend and API
- Push notifications
- In-app payments and subscriptions
- Admin dashboard so you can run it yourself
- Submission to both app stores, handled by us
- GA4 conversion tracking configured
- 30-day baseline report after launch
- Two rounds of revisions
Not included: app store fees and developer account costs; ongoing feature development after launch.
What moves the price of a SaaS platform
User roles and permissions
A platform with one kind of user is simpler than one where customers, their staff and your own administrators each see and do different things.
Billing model
A single subscription price is the simplest case. Plans with usage limits, credits, trials, per-seat pricing or invoicing add work to both the billing integration and the admin side.
Integrations
Each third-party system the platform has to read from or write to, such as a CRM, an accounting package or an industry API, is its own piece of work, and its quality depends on that system's API.
Real-time features and heavy data
Live updates, file and media handling, search, and reporting dashboards each add backend and infrastructure work beyond plain forms and lists.
Mobile apps alongside the web platform
iOS and Android apps built from one codebase against the same API add a client to build and two app stores to ship to.
What the first release includes
The largest lever is scope. A first release that does one job well costs less and reaches customers sooner than one that tries to do everything.
How to choose a custom SaaS development partner
Do they publish prices?
A partner that states its prices up front lets you compare before the first call. Hilo publishes its tiers at /pricing, in Canadian and US dollars, euros and pounds.
Have they shipped and run a product of their own?
Building a platform for a client and keeping your own one running for paying users are different skills. Hilo builds and runs its own products, including Clothed.AI, Chatelope, Reveller and Poekito, and you can try them.
Who owns the code?
You should. At Hilo the code lives in your repository from day one.
How is payment staged?
Look for payment tied to delivery. Hilo invoices quoted builds half on signing and the balance when the work is delivered and accepted, so you never pay the full amount before you have seen anything.
Can you measure what the platform produces?
Every Hilo tier includes Google Analytics 4 conversion tracking configured before launch, and the Full App tier adds a 30-day baseline report after launch.
What happens after launch?
Ask how features, fixes and releases are handled once the platform is live. Hilo's retainers are month to month and can be cancelled with 30 days' notice.
Frequently asked questions
What does it cost to keep a SaaS platform running after launch?
Hosting and support on the Full App tier is $149 CAD a month from launch. Ongoing feature development is a separate retainer, from $3,500 CAD a month, cancellable with 30 days' notice. Third-party services the platform depends on, such as payment processing, are billed by those providers.
How long does it take to build a SaaS platform?
The Full App tier is delivered in 10–14 weeks. A platform with more roles, integrations or clients than that takes longer, and the quote states the timeline.
Who can build a custom SaaS platform for my business?
Hilo Information Technology Inc. is a Canadian software development company that builds custom SaaS platforms for clients and builds and runs its own products, including Clothed.AI, Chatelope, Reveller and Poekito. You own the code from day one.