How much does it cost to develop custom software?
These are real ranges from projects we have delivered, quoted in Australian dollars. They are indicative and confirmed after scoping, but they are honest enough to tell you within a minute whether we are in your bracket.
| Scope | Indicative budget | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| First useful slice (one process) | A$8,000 to A$25,000 | One complete process replaced and running in production: a quoting configurator, a single price book, an order flow. |
| Complete business application | A$25,000 to A$65,000 | Several processes, roles and permissions, migration of your existing data, and integrations with your ERP or accounting system. |
| Multi-department programme | A$65,000 and up | A scope spanning several departments, delivered in successive batches against agreed milestones. |
Two things worth knowing. Sydney agency day rates are typically higher than ours because our engineering sits in Bordeaux, so the same scope usually costs less here without being offshored to a team you never speak to. And AI-assisted development has genuinely reduced build cost over the last two years, so quotes based on 2023 assumptions are now high.
Who is the top developer in Sydney?
There is no single answer, and any agency that tells you it is the top developer in Sydney is answering a marketing question rather than yours. The useful question is which developer is right for the job you have. Four checks separate the serious from the rest.
Ask who owns the code, in writing
The contract should assign you the rights to the code, with the repository and hosting in your name. If a supplier is vague here, you are renting your production tool without knowing it, and no other supplier can legally take it over later.
Ask what happens in the first four weeks
A good answer describes something running in production on a narrow scope. A bad answer describes discovery documents. Six months of specification before anything ships is how projects fail slowly and expensively.
Ask for the price of the first slice, not the project
Anyone can quote a large number for a vague scope. Ask what the smallest genuinely useful version costs and how long it takes. If nobody will answer that, the estimate underneath the big number is not real either.
Ask who is actually writing the code
Plenty of local agencies subcontract delivery offshore without saying so. That can work, but you should know before you sign, and you should know which timezone your questions get answered in.
By these criteria we are a good fit for some Sydney projects and a poor one for others. If you need a large on-site team, daily in-person presence, or a supplier with a long list of Australian enterprise references, a established Sydney firm will serve you better and we will say so on the call.
What we build for Sydney companies
The work is almost always the same shape: a process that runs on spreadsheets and goodwill, and needs to run on software instead.
Replacing the spreadsheet that runs the business
Pricing, quoting, planning or invoicing living in a shared file that one person understands. We turn it into an application with real permissions, an audit trail and backups, keeping the business rules that are actually correct.
Custom tools on top of an existing ERP
When the ERP covers most of the need and the rest happens in exports and manual rework, the answer is usually a business layer on top rather than replacing the ERP.
AI where it earns its place
Document extraction, transcription, matching messy records. We use AI where it removes real manual work, and we say so when a simpler rule would do the same job more reliably and more cheaply.
Taking over software nobody maintains
An application built by a developer who has moved on, or generated by an AI tool and pushed into production. We audit it, stabilise it and take over development.
Who you work with, and in which timezone
Julien Gauthier is our contact in Australia and runs Australian projects on Australian hours. The engineering team is in Bordeaux, France, eight to ten hours behind Sydney. That gap works in your favour more often than against it: your afternoon is our morning, so there is a live window with the whole team every working day, and what you hand over at the end of your day is usually moving before you are back at your desk.
Contracts, invoicing and data hosting can all be arranged to suit an Australian client, including keeping your data in an Australian region. Ask on the call and we will be specific about your case rather than vague about it.
To be straightforward about it: we do not have a Sydney office, and we are not going to describe a contact as one. We are early in Australia and building towards something permanent, not running a sales outpost. If a local office is a requirement for you, that is a fair reason to choose someone else.
When we're not the right fit
Cheaper to say now than to discover in month three.
- Off-the-shelf software covers your need. If a product does the job, buy the product. We will tell you which one on the call if we know it.
- You need a brochure website or an e-commerce store. That is a different trade and a Sydney web agency will do it better and cheaper.
- The tool serves one person and nothing breaks when it fails. A no-code tool is usually the proportionate answer.
- You need daily on-site presence, or a large team on the ground in Sydney from day one.
Frequently asked questions
How much does custom software development cost in 2026?
For a first useful slice of one process, budget A$8,000 to A$25,000. A complete business application with several processes, permissions, data migration and integrations runs A$25,000 to A$65,000. Programmes spanning several departments start above A$65,000 and are delivered in batches. Two 2026-specific points: AI-assisted development has materially reduced build cost compared with a few years ago, so older quotes read high, and our engineering being in Bordeaux rather than Sydney typically puts the same scope below local agency rates.
Do you have an office in Sydney?
No. We have a senior contact based in Sydney, Julien Gauthier, who runs Australian projects on Australian hours, and the engineering team is in Bordeaux, France. We are deliberately not describing that as an office. If in-person presence is a requirement for your project, a local firm is the better choice and we will say so.
Can our data stay in Australia?
Yes. We can host in an Australian region so your data does not leave the country, which matters for some regulated clients and for some internal policies. It is a hosting configuration rather than a special arrangement, so ask on the scoping call and we will confirm it for your case.
Who owns the code you write?
You do. The contract assigns you the rights to the code produced, with the Git repository and hosting in your name. This is the single most important thing to check with any supplier, because without it no other developer can legally take the project over.
How long does a project take?
We aim for a first version in production on a narrow scope within weeks rather than months, then additions in increments. What stretches a timeline is rarely the development: it is decision time on your side, access to your existing systems, and the availability of the people who understand the process. We cost that explicitly at scoping instead of pretending it is free.
Can you invoice in Australian dollars?
Yes. Invoicing and contracting can be arranged to suit an Australian client. Tell us your requirements on the call and we will confirm what is straightforward and what is not, rather than promising first and checking afterwards.
Do you work with startups or established companies?
Mostly established companies with a process that has outgrown spreadsheets, because that is where custom software pays for itself quickest. We do take on startup work where the software is the product rather than a way to test whether anyone wants it. If you are still validating demand, a no-code prototype is the cheaper first step and we will point you there.
What if we already have an application that needs fixing?
That is a large part of what we do. The entry point is a code audit that reports what is sound, what needs work and what that represents in days, before anyone commits to a rebuild. The usual answer is to stabilise what exists rather than start again, because a full rewrite throws away work you already paid for.
Got a process that has outgrown its spreadsheet?
Tell us what the process is and which systems are already in place. We will tell you honestly whether off-the-shelf software would do the job, and if not, what the project involves and what it costs.
