What Determines SI Outsourcing Development Costs?

Software outsourcing costs are not simply determined by "number of pages." Here are the 7 key variables that actually affect your quotation.

1. Number of Screens (Pages) and Complexity

Simple information display screens and complex dashboards or admin panels differ by 5 to 10 times in effort. Costs vary significantly depending on whether each screen requires full "create/read/update/delete" functionality.

2. User Permission Structure

A two-tier structure of "admin/regular user" is straightforward, but five or more tiers such as "super admin/manager/team lead/regular/guest" significantly increase the effort required for permission design and testing.

3. Number of External System Integrations

Each integration point -- payment gateway (PG), SMS, email, maps, social login, external APIs -- adds 1 to 3 days of additional effort.

4. Design Scope

Costs differ by 30 to 50% depending on whether design is handled separately or bundled with planning and development at the same vendor.

5. Server and Infrastructure Architecture

Initial setup costs vary depending on infrastructure requirements: single-server deployment versus high availability (HA), auto scaling, CDN, and monitoring configurations.

6. Security and Authentication Requirements

SSL is baseline, but effort increases as security requirements escalate to include 2FA, IP restrictions, audit logs, and personal data encryption.

7. Maintenance and Operations Scope

The total contract value changes depending on whether 6-month or 12-month post-launch maintenance is included, as well as the incident response SLA level.

MVP (Minimum Viable Product)

Simple web app (5-15 screens): $4K-$12K

Medium complexity (with admin panel): $12K-$25K

Estimated timeline: 4-8 weeks

Production-Grade

Full-featured web service: $25K-$55K

Large-scale system (ERP/platform): $55K-$160K+

Estimated timeline: 3-6+ months

These figures are based on quotations derived from planning documents. Without planning documents, an additional 10-30% in costs may arise during the scope definition process.

1. Document Your Requirements

Verbal explanations alone inevitably lead to scope discrepancies. At minimum, create a table outlining what screens are needed and what users can do on each screen.

2. Provide Reference Services

Saying "Build it like Service A, but remove Feature B and add Feature C" with reference examples significantly reduces communication overhead.

3. Prioritize Features

Distinguishing between "Must-have" and "Nice-to-have" features enables phased development that fits your budget.

4. Request Milestone-Based Quotations

Do not just look at the total amount. Request itemized quotations broken down by phase: planning/design/frontend/backend/QA/deployment.

Preparing and sharing the following items will significantly improve quotation accuracy.

When you receive a quotation, make sure the following items are clearly specified.

Scope of Work: Which phases are included -- planning/design/frontend/backend/QA/deployment?

Deliverables List: What will you receive -- source code, database, API documentation, user manual, etc.?

Change Request Handling: How are additional costs calculated when features are added or modified during development?

Acceptance Criteria: What defines "complete" -- what tests must pass for the project to be considered finished?

Payment Terms: What are the deposit/progress payment/final payment ratios and due dates?

Intellectual Property Rights: Who owns the source code and deliverables?