Compare your in-house and agency build costs
Use your own team costs and a like-for-like agency quote. The starting numbers are an illustrative scenario, not salary benchmarks or a project estimate. The $12,000 example is Kraydl's published complete MVP package for an agreed scope.
Include engineering, design, QA, benefits, and management time.
Compare the same deliverables over this period.
Recruiting, equipment, and setup costs for this build.
Replace the example with a quote for the same scope.
Add oversight, excluded work, and handoff for this period.
- In-house build budget
- $30,000
- Agency build budget
- $12,000
Agency is $18,000 lower under these assumptions.
In-house = monthly team cost × months + one-time costs. Agency = quote + costs outside the quote. Add hosting, API use, and ongoing maintenance to both options where applicable. This compares entered build budgets, not ROI, delivery quality, or future revenue. Values stay in this page.
Get a quote for your actual release scope →Dev shop vs in-house engineering team: what changes?
Compare the people and deliverables available for your release. An existing internal team may start quickly; a new hiring plan depends on recruiting and onboarding. Agency availability and the roles included must be confirmed in the proposal.
| Decision | In-house | Agency | Hybrid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scope | Prioritized within an ongoing roadmap | Defined project or retained capacity | Internal ownership with an external delivery scope |
| Cost | Team costs across the build period | Quote plus exclusions and oversight | Internal team plus agency scope |
| Ownership | Confirm employee IP and account access | Confirm IP transfer, repository and cloud access | Define one owner for each system |
| Continuity | Depends on retention and documentation | Depends on support and handoff terms | Depends on shared standards and clear handoffs |
| Useful when | You have continuing work and management capacity | You need an agreed release or specialist capability | Your team needs temporary help or a transition |
When an in-house team makes sense
Consider in-house delivery when product priorities change frequently, domain knowledge is central to the work, and you can support engineering management, design, QA, and operations. Include recruiting and onboarding in the plan if those roles are not already available.
When a development agency makes sense
Consider an agency for a defined release, a specialist integration, or a gap in your existing team's capacity. Before signing, confirm the assigned roles, availability, acceptance criteria, review schedule, and ownership of the code and infrastructure.
Plan a handoff before choosing a hybrid model
A hybrid engagement can pair an internal product owner or technical lead with an external delivery team. Agree coding standards, pull-request reviews, documentation, deployment access, and knowledge-transfer sessions at the start. Put the handoff deliverables in the proposal.
Compare total cost for the same first release
For an in-house plan, add recruiting, salary and employer costs over the build period, design and QA coverage, infrastructure, and management time. For an agency plan, add the quoted scope, work excluded from the proposal, third-party costs, maintenance, and any later handoff.
Kraydl's published starting points are a $4,000 focused sprint and a $12,000 complete MVP with an agreed scope. They are examples of Kraydl offers, not a market-wide cost benchmark or a promise that every product fits those budgets. Compare the same deliverables and time horizon before deciding which option costs less.
- Who owns the repository, infrastructure accounts, and intellectual property?
- Which user journeys and integrations are included in the price?
- What testing, documentation, and deployment work is included?
- How are changes approved and priced?
- What does handoff to an in-house team include?
Get a scope and quote for your project
Tell us who the product is for and the workflow you want to build. We will review your brief and discuss the scope, budget, and next steps.
Helpful References
Kraydl pages
Authority sources
FAQ
Is an agency cheaper than an in-house team?
It depends on the same scope and time period. An existing team can have a different cost from a new hiring plan. Compare fully loaded team costs, recruiting and setup against the agency quote, excluded work, oversight, and handoff. The calculator lets you enter these assumptions.
Does the calculator predict ROI?
No. It compares the build budgets you enter. Revenue, delivery quality, time to market, and ongoing product value need separate assumptions and measurement.
What does Kraydl's $12,000 MVP include?
The Complete MVP Package covers an agreed first release with discovery, UI/UX, full-stack development, agreed integrations, deployment, and analytics. Typical delivery is 6–8 weeks after scope and dependencies are agreed. Complex products require a separate estimate.
Can the product move to our in-house team later?
Yes. Define repository access, IP ownership, infrastructure accounts, documentation, and knowledge transfer in the agreement so the incoming team has a clear handoff.
Build the right version first.
Bring Kraydl the workflow, launch goal, risk constraints, and timeline. We will help turn it into a scoped product plan and a build path founders can actually use.