Softpiper Solutions

How we price

Priced for your market, your team and your scope.

There's no rate card and no published minimum. Every engagement is priced for where you are, who you are, what it needs to do and how soon you need it. Get a tailored range in about two minutes, then a fixed price in the team's written proposal after a short scoping call.

Get your range
Where you are
Priced for your market
Who you are
Startup to enterprise
What it does
Scope and complexity
How soon
Flexible, standard or urgent

What moves the number

Four things shape every price.

The estimator and Pip weigh the same four factors, so the range you see here is the one Pip starts from.

  • Where you are

    Each market has its own range and billing currency, so a team in Pune and a team in London each get a fair number for their market.

    • US & Canada
    • UK & Europe
    • GCC
    • Australia, NZ & Singapore
    • India
    • Rest of APAC, LatAm & Africa

  • Who you are

    A founder testing an idea, a growing business and an enterprise with procurement and security reviews need different things from us, and are priced for it.

  • What it needs to do

    Features, the systems it connects to, the state of your data, design depth and any compliance needs. Complexity moves the number more than anything else.

  • How soon you need it

    A flexible start lets us plan around other work and keeps the cost down; an urgent deadline needs a larger pod working in parallel.

Estimator

Describe the build. Watch the range move.

Choose what you're building, what it needs to do, your market and how soon you need it. The range, timeline and team update as you go. Nothing is sent anywhere until you choose to.

What are you building?

Pick the closest fit. If it spans several, start with the biggest part.

What should it do?

Each capability adds scope and time. Add your own if it isn't listed.

How demanding is it?

Be honest: this moves the number more than anything else.

Which systems should it connect to?

Assumes documented APIs. Legacy or undocumented systems are scoped on the call.

Where you are, who you are and how soon

These tailor the range to your market and situation, the same way Pip does.

Your market

Each market has its own range and billing currency.

Your organisation

An established business with a small team.

How soon you need it

The plan a senior pod runs comfortably.

How that number breaks down

The phases, pod and assumptions you would see in a proposal, sized for the scope above.

Phases

  1. Discovery and data audit1–2 weeks
  2. Prototype and evals2–3 weeks
  3. Build and integrate4–6 weeks
  4. Guardrails, evals and hardening1–2 weeks
  5. Launch, monitoring and handover1 week

A working demo every week, in a staging environment you can use.

Your senior pod

  • Engagement lead and solution architect50%
  • AI engineer100%
  • Full-stack engineer100%
  • QA and evals engineer25%

One accountable lead. Allocation is the share of a working week.

What this assumes

  • USD range for a medium-complexity AI agents and automation scope, tailored to your market (US & Canada) and a small or medium business client.
  • Covers 2 named features: Customer-facing chat assistant, Answers from your documents.
  • Third-party costs (Claude or Gemini model usage, hosting, app and licence fees) are billed at cost to your own accounts and are not part of our fee.
  • The payment structure is agreed per project and set out in the proposal: usually milestones for a project and monthly billing for a retainer, shaped around your cash flow.
  • Taxes (GST in India, VAT in the UAE and elsewhere) are added where applicable.
  • Proposals are valid for 14 days once issued.

Work is governed by a signed Master Services Agreement (MSA) and a Statement of Work (SOW).

Negotiation and phasing

From a range to a price that fits.

We'd rather change the shape of the work than cut corners. The quality bar doesn't move; the scope, phasing, team and payment structure can.
  1. A tailored rangeFrom the estimator below or from Pip, in minutes, for your market, organisation and scope.
  2. A short scoping conversationA call or an email exchange with Pip and the team to pin down scope, risks and how you'd like to work.
  3. A fixed price, in writingScope, team, timeline, price and payment structure in a proposal that holds for 14 days.
  4. Shaped togetherIf it doesn't fit your budget or timing, Pip reshapes it with you. Nothing changes without your sign-off.

Ways to make it fit

  1. Phase the scopeAgree phase one now and price the next phase when the first one lands.
  2. Start with an MVPShip the smallest version that proves the idea, then extend it with real usage to guide you.
  3. Adjust the team mixKeep the senior lead and architect, and shape the rest of the pod around the work that's left.
  4. Commit for longerA multi-phase programme or a longer engagement earns a better overall rate.
  5. Pay more upfrontPaying a larger share at the start can earn a small saving.
  6. Move to a retainerA reserved monthly pod for ongoing work, with capacity you can plan around.

How we engage

Three ways to work together. One set of terms.

Pip recommends the model that fits your goal, budget and timing, and can mix them: an MVP project, then a phased programme or a retainer.

Fixed-price project

A defined outcome, a fixed price and a timeline, delivered in sprints with a working demo every week.

  • Scope, deliverables, team, timeline and price are fixed in the statement of work.
  • Changes in scope are agreed in writing before they're built.
  • Paid in milestones agreed in the proposal.

Best for

  • New products and MVPs
  • Websites and storefronts
  • AI pilots with clear success measures

Phased programme

A larger goal split into phases, each with its own fixed price, so you commit one phase at a time.

  • Phase one is usually an MVP or a discovery and architecture sprint.
  • Each later phase is priced when the previous one lands, using what you've learned.
  • Longer programmes earn a better overall rate.

Best for

  • Platforms and AI products
  • Uncertain or evolving scope
  • Budgets released in stages

Retainer pod

A reserved senior pod each month for ongoing product work, support and improvement.

  • Monthly capacity and priorities agreed in advance and reviewed every month.
  • Response times written into the agreement.
  • Billed monthly; scale the pod up or down with notice.

Best for

  • Continuous product development
  • Running and improving live systems
  • E-commerce operations

Payment structure

Agreed in your proposal to suit the work and your cash flow. We invoice in USD, INR or AED.

Milestones
For projects: payments tied to milestones such as kickoff, a midpoint and launch, with the split agreed in the proposal.
Phase by phase
For phased programmes: each phase has its own milestones, so you commit one phase at a time.
Monthly
For retainers: billed monthly for the agreed capacity.
More upfront
If it suits you, paying a larger share at the start can earn a small saving.
Fixed price, in writing
Once the scope is agreed, the proposal and statement of work fix the price, deliverables, team and timeline.
Valid for 14 days
Proposals hold their price for two weeks from the date we send them.
Taxes extra
Taxes (GST in India, VAT in the UAE and elsewhere) are added where applicable.
Your accounts, at cost
Third-party costs (Claude or Gemini model usage, hosting, app and licence fees) are billed at cost to your own accounts and are not part of our fee.
You own what you pay for
Once invoices are paid, you own the custom code, designs and content we create for you. Open-source components stay under their own licences, and pre-existing Softpiper tooling is licensed to you.
4 to 52 weeks
The range a single statement of work covers. Longer programmes are split into phases.

Work is governed by a signed Master Services Agreement (MSA) and a Statement of Work (SOW). Read our website terms for how this site and Pip's estimates may be used.

Questions

Straight answers on pricing.

Anything else, ask Pip. It can give you a range, explain what moves it and talk through your options.

Next step

Turn your range into a fixed price.

A short scoping conversation with Pip and a senior member of the team. You leave with a clear next step, whether or not it's us.

Book a scoping call