The freelancer route (€3,000–15,000)
A good freelancer is the cheapest way to real custom code — if you can judge what "good" looks like. That's the catch: non-technical founders can't inspect code quality, so you're betting the project on a review profile. Timelines stretch because you're one of four clients, and when the freelancer moves on, you own a codebase nobody else has seen. Budget for a second freelancer to fix or finish the first one's work; it happens more often than anyone admits.
The classic agency route (€30,000–150,000+)
Traditional dev shops deliver — eventually. You'll get project managers, sprint ceremonies, and a polished handover. You'll also pay for all of it, and the meter starts before the first line of code (discovery workshops, spec documents, design phases). For a validated business buying its v2, that overhead can be worth it. For an unvalidated idea that needs market contact in weeks, it's a slow, expensive way to learn what you should have built.
The no-code route (€0–500/month, plus your evenings)
Bubble, Glide, Softr and friends are real options in 2026 — for internal tools, directories, and simple marketplaces. The honest limits: performance ceilings, platform lock-in (you can't export working code), per-user pricing that scales badly, and a learning curve nobody mentions — expect 100+ hours before your "weekend build" takes payments correctly. If your product is the software (not just a form on top of a spreadsheet), you'll likely rebuild later.
The fourth door: an AI-accelerated MVP factory
This is the model we run at ConceptZone, and it exists because the three doors above all leak money or time for the same person: the non-technical founder with a real business idea. Fixed price (€10,000), fixed window (2–4 weeks), real deployed code you own 100% — plus training so you can run the product without paying a retainer forever. AI-assisted development is what makes the price possible: we move 3–5x faster than 2020-era agency workflows and pass the difference to you.
If you want the underlying numbers, we broke them down approach by approach in how much it costs to build an MVP in 2026.
Which door is yours?
- Validated business, complex product, €50k+ budget → a classic agency is fine.
- Simple internal tool, no external users → no-code, this weekend.
- You can technically vet a stranger's code → a freelancer can work.
- Unvalidated idea, real ambition, weeks not quarters → that's who we built ConceptZone for.
Book a free 30-minute call and we'll tell you honestly if your idea fits in a 4-week build — or point you to the cheaper door if it doesn't.
Frequently asked questions
Is €10,000 really all-in? Yes — build, deploy, handover training, 30 days post-launch support. Hosting (~€20–50/mo) is the only running cost, paid by you directly so you own the accounts.
What if my MVP needs more than 4 weeks? Then we say so on the discovery call before you pay anything. Roughly a third of ideas need scoping down first; we help with that too.
Can I move from no-code to ConceptZone later? Yes, and it's common — your no-code version becomes the spec. Nothing is wasted; it's the cheapest product research you can do.
Not sure which door is yours?
Book a free 30-minute discovery call. We'll tell you honestly whether your idea fits a 4-week build — or point you to the cheaper door if it doesn't. No pitch, no pressure.
Book a free discovery call