The verdict in three sentences
In London in 2026, a solid SaaS MVP costs between GBP 40,000 and 90,000 excl. VAT and ships in 8 to 12 weeks when scope is limited to one core feature, an onboarding flow and billing. For a non-technical founder preparing a pre-seed or seed round, a fixed-price studio is less risky than hiring a CTO before the market is validated. R&D tax relief under the merged UK scheme can recover a meaningful share of qualifying development costs, provided the project is documented from day one.
What GBP 40,000 to 90,000 actually buys
An MVP means a product real customers pay for, well beyond a clickable mock-up. The budget spreads across items investors will examine during due diligence. These are 2026 ballpark figures for a London studio charging a day rate of GBP 700 to 1,000.
| Item | Estimated days | Cost excl. VAT (2026 ballpark) |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery, workshops, user stories | 4 to 6 days | GBP 3,000 to 6,000 |
| UX/UI design of key screens | 8 to 14 days | GBP 5,500 to 14,000 |
| Authentication, accounts, teams | 5 to 9 days | GBP 3,500 to 9,000 |
| Core product feature | 20 to 38 days | GBP 14,000 to 38,000 |
| Stripe Billing subscriptions, trials, invoices | 5 to 7 days | GBP 3,500 to 7,000 |
| Admin back office | 4 to 7 days | GBP 2,800 to 7,000 |
| Testing, deployment, monitoring | 5 to 8 days | GBP 3,500 to 8,000 |
| Total | 51 to 89 days | GBP 40,000 to 90,000 |
The core feature accounts for 35 to 45% of the budget. That is where your trade-offs belong: one promise delivered properly beats five half-finished modules. PDF exports, third-party integrations and a native mobile app can wait for version 2.
Studio, freelancer or salaried CTO: 12-month cost comparison
The decision that weighs most is the cost of your technical team over the first year, while you iterate with early customers.
| Option | 12-month cost | Time to first release | Main risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed-price studio + maintenance | GBP 55,000 to 120,000 | 8 to 12 weeks | Lock-in if code is undocumented |
| Senior freelancer alone | GBP 60,000 to 100,000 (GBP 500 to 750 a day) | 10 to 16 weeks | Availability, no designer |
| Salaried CTO | GBP 110,000 to 140,000 loaded + 2 to 4 months hiring | 5 to 7 months | Wrong hire before product market fit |
| Co-founder CTO | GBP 0 to 40,000 + 10 to 25% equity | Variable | Dilution, misalignment |
| No-code (Bubble, Glide) | GBP 3,000 to 15,000 + subscriptions | 3 to 6 weeks | Technical ceiling, costly migration |
The most common path for London startups raising in 2026: MVP built by a studio, source code and documentation handed to the founder, then a CTO hired after the round, joining a product already in production.
Recurring costs founders forget
The build budget is only half the story. A SaaS in production generates monthly costs from the first customer.
- Hosting and database: GBP 40 to 250 a month for an MVP on managed infrastructure in the UK or EU.
- Stripe Billing: 0.7% of billed volume, on top of Stripe card fees of about 1.5% + 20p per UK card transaction.
- Transactional email and monitoring: GBP 25 to 100 a month.
- Maintenance and small changes: GBP 1,000 to 3,500 a month depending on iteration pace.
- Product tools (analytics, support, CRM): GBP 80 to 350 a month.
For a SaaS billing GBP 20,000 a month, Stripe Billing amounts to GBP 140 monthly: small at first, but it belongs in the gross margin of the business plan you show investors.
Mini case study
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Priya, founder of an HR tech startup in London, wants to launch a SaaS that schedules annual reviews for companies with 50 to 300 staff. She has 12 pilot customers ready to pay GBP 150 a month.
- Studio MVP: 70 days x GBP 850 = GBP 59,500 excl. VAT.
- Estimated R&D tax relief on qualifying costs: around 15 to 20%, or roughly GBP 10,000, recovered after the accounting year.
- Recurring costs: hosting GBP 120 + tools GBP 180 + maintenance GBP 1,800 = GBP 2,100 a month.
- Revenue from 12 pilots: 12 x GBP 150 = GBP 1,800 a month from month three.
- Fundraising target: 40 paying customers, or GBP 6,000 in monthly recurring revenue, reached in 7 months on her plan.
Compared with hiring a CTO at about GBP 120,000 loaded, Priya saves roughly GBP 60,000 in year one and meets investors with a product that is used and billed.
FAQ
What is a realistic timeline for a SaaS MVP?
Allow 8 to 12 weeks for a scope centred on one core feature, plus 2 weeks of discovery. Beyond 16 weeks, scope usually exceeds what the market needs to validate.
Can R&D tax relief cover studio fees?
Subcontracted development can qualify in part when it resolves genuine technical uncertainty, with relief usually landing at 15 to 20% of qualifying spend for profitable or loss-making SMEs depending on the scheme. Keep technical notes and timesheets from the first sprint, as HMRC checks have tightened.
Should the MVP be multi-tenant from the start?
Yes for a B2B SaaS: separating data per customer account from day one costs 3 to 6 days, against several weeks of rework later. It is also checked during pre-investment technical audits.
Who owns the code the studio delivers?
The contract must assign all intellectual property and require handover of the repository at each milestone. Without that clause, investors may question your valuation in due diligence.
How many people work on a studio MVP?
Usually 2 to 3: a full-stack developer, a second developer or a designer, and a project lead at 20%. This size ships in 8 to 12 weeks without coordination overhead.
Let's scope your project. Share your core feature, pilot customers and fundraising timeline, and we will scope an MVP delivered in short increments. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
