The verdict in three sentences
After go-live, budget application maintenance and support at 12 to 20% of development cost per year for a web application in 2026. A corrective + evolutive contract runs between 3,000 and 9,000 MAD/month (approx. 275-830 EUR), plus 800 to 2,500 MAD/month for hosting and monitoring. The real differentiator is not the headline price but the SLA: a 4-hour response time does not cost the same as a 24-hour one.
What maintenance costs in 2026
An unmaintained application degrades: security holes, obsolete dependencies, accumulating bugs. Here are 2026 references (order of magnitude).
| Line item | 2026 range (MAD/month) | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Corrective-only contract | 1,500 - 4,000 | monthly |
| Corrective + evolutive contract | 3,000 - 9,000 | monthly |
| Hosting + monitoring | 800 - 2,500 | monthly |
| Security updates | included | quarterly |
| Backup + supervision | included | daily |
| Extra enhancement hours | 450 - 750 /hour | on demand |
As a rule of thumb, an application developed for 300,000 MAD generates maintenance of about 36,000 to 60,000 MAD/year, i.e. 3,000 to 5,000 MAD/month, hosting included.
Maintenance plans and SLA levels
| Plan | Corrective | Evolutive | SLA (response) | Target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essential | Yes | No | 24 h | Stable app, low criticality |
| Standard | Yes | 2-4 hrs/mo | 8-12 h | SME, daily use |
| Premium | Yes | 6-10 hrs/mo | 4 business hrs | Critical app, revenue at stake |
The SLA defines the maximum time to take on an incident. For an app that carries billing or orders, a 4-business-hour SLA prevents an outage from blocking the business for a whole day. That is what justifies the price gap between plans.
Mini case study
Yassine, director of a services company in Casablanca, has just launched a case-management application costing 420,000 MAD. Without a contract, the first blocking bug during a billing period cost him a full day of activity for 30 staff. He subscribes to a Standard plan at 5,500 MAD/month (corrective + 3 hrs evolutive, 8 h SLA) plus 1,500 MAD/month of monitored hosting, i.e. 84,000 MAD/year. That is 20% of the dev cost, but it secures a tool that supports 30 people: a single avoided day of downtime (estimated at 15,000 MAD) repays two months of contract.
FAQ
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Why does maintenance cost 12 to 20% of dev every year?
Because an application is alive: browsers evolve, security flaws appear, dependencies need updating, small business changes accumulate. This ratio is a 2026 standard to keep the tool reliable and secure.
What is the difference between corrective and evolutive?
Corrective fixes what breaks (bugs, security). Evolutive adds or improves features. A corrective+evolutive contract includes a monthly pool of hours for small requests.
What happens without a maintenance contract?
The application keeps running for a while, then accumulates technical debt and vulnerabilities. An out-of-contract emergency fix costs more (450-750 MAD/hr) with no guaranteed timeframe.
Is the SLA worth the extra cost?
For a critical application (billing, orders, production), yes: the cost of a day of downtime often exceeds several months of contract. For a secondary tool, a 24-hour SLA is enough.
Can we switch providers for maintenance?
Yes, if you own the source code and documentation is provided. Verify this in the development contract to avoid any lock-in.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your application's development cost, its criticality and the SLA you need, and we will propose the right maintenance plan. 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.
