Price is not a direct function of screen count
Two systems with the same number of screens can have radically different engineering cost. The expensive parts are often behind the interface: business rules, integrations, permissions, audit requirements, migrations, concurrency, failure recovery, and production operations.
A proposal that prices only visible screens can hide the work that determines whether the system is safe to run.
MVP does not mean poorly built
An MVP should reduce scope, not remove the engineering needed to operate the chosen scope. A small production slice still needs appropriate security, data integrity, deployment, and observability.
The best MVP proves the riskiest assumption with the least code that can still produce real evidence.
How to compare two proposals
Compare what each proposal includes for discovery, architecture, testing, environments, deployment, documentation, source-code ownership, monitoring, warranty/support, integrations, and change management.
Also compare what is explicitly excluded. A low number with vague exclusions can become expensive through change requests later.
Cost continues after deployment
Production software has hosting, monitoring, backups, security updates, vendor/API changes, incident response, and ongoing product work. A design that is cheap to build but expensive to operate can be a bad trade.
Ownership cost should be part of architecture decisions from the beginning.
Fixed price or hourly?
Fixed scope works well when the outcome and boundaries are clear. Hourly or monthly work is better when the system is already in production, uncertainty is high, or priorities are expected to change as evidence appears.
A hybrid model is common: a short discovery or proof of concept first, then a scoped delivery or ongoing engineering plan.
Frequently asked questions
Can you give a price before seeing the project?
Support rates can be published, but a new custom build needs at least enough discovery to define the first outcome, integrations, and major risks.
Is fixed price always safer for the client?
Not necessarily. Fixed price can shift uncertainty into exclusions and change requests. It works best when scope is genuinely stable.