krafter | studio dev

MVP development.

Krafter builds the MVP of your mobile app or SaaS: a real product online, in front of your first users, with usage tracking in place. From €6,000 excl. VAT for a defined need, in 4 to 8 weeks of development.

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Ship small. Learn fast.

Definition

What is an MVP?

An MVP (minimum viable product) is the smallest version of a product that actually works: one core feature, real accounts, real data, put in front of real users. Its goal is not to impress, it is to learn: do these users come back, and will they pay? Krafter delivers this MVP in production, as an iOS and Android mobile app or a web SaaS, with usage tracking already in place and code that holds up for version two.

Entry price
€6,000 excl. VAT for an already defined need. Up to €25,000 for mobile, €30,000 for SaaS.
Timeline
4 to 8 weeks of development. For mobile, 8 to 12 weeks to the stores.
Platforms
iOS and Android in Flutter, from a single codebase. Web for a SaaS.
Code ownership
Everything is put in your name at the end of the project: Git repository, store and cloud accounts, access.

Budget

How much does an MVP cost?

An MVP costs €6,000 to €30,000 excl. VAT at Krafter: €6,000 to €25,000 for a mobile app, €6,000 to €30,000 for a SaaS. Here is what each tier gets you, for an already defined need.

BudgetWhat you getTimelineWho it is for
€6,000 excl. VATOne core feature end to end, a single user profile, secure login, go-live and usage tracking.About 4 weeks of developmentYou know exactly what you want: processes, business rules and screens already set.
€15,000 excl. VATThe core feature and its supporting screens, two user profiles (customer and admin, for example), a back office and notifications.5 to 6 weeks of developmentA product that serves two audiences from launch, on a defined need.
€30,000 excl. VATSeveral roles and access rights, a full back office, guided onboarding, automated emails and usage dashboards. Mobile cap: €25,000 excl. VAT.6 to 8 weeks of developmentIdentified early customers waiting for the product, and a launch that must hold from day one.

These tiers are benchmarks: the precise quote is set on your scope, before any commitment. For mobile, allow 8 to 12 weeks in total to reach the stores.

The full grid, from MVP to maintenance, is on our pricing page.

The defined-need rule

These prices apply when you come with your processes, business rules and screens: development starts right away. If the thinking still needs doing, a discovery phase does it with you before the first line of code. To prepare on your own, start from our app specification template.

What gets added, if needed

  • Discovery, if the need has to be shaped: €3,000 to €6,000 excl. VAT.
  • Payment: €2,000 to €5,000 excl. VAT for one-off payments, €4,000 to €10,000 excl. VAT for subscriptions.
  • Connection to an existing tool: €2,000 to €15,000 excl. VAT per connection.
  • Store accounts, for a mobile app: $99 a year at Apple, a one-time $25 at Google.

Mobile MVP

€6,000 to €25,000 excl. VAT, 4 to 8 weeks of development, 8 to 12 weeks to the App Store and Google Play. One Flutter codebase for iOS and Android: one budget, one app to maintain.

Read more: mobile app development and why Flutter.

SaaS MVP

€6,000 to €30,000 excl. VAT, 4 to 8 weeks of development. A web application online, with accounts, customer spaces and administration. A mobile app can be added, at the price of a mobile MVP.

Read more: custom SaaS development, from MVP to full platform.

Your range in 8 questions, no email required.

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The floor

Why can an MVP start at €6,000 excl. VAT?

Because your MVP does not start from scratch. It runs on our open source foundation, proven on our own products in production. The foundations are not billed again on every project: your budget goes to what makes your product unique.

Because two senior partners do all the work. Fabien Maquin and François Pluchino scope, design and code themselves. AI writes a large share of the code, and every line is reviewed and tested by one of them before it reaches production.

Because there is no sales layer. No project manager rephrasing, no salesperson to pay. In return, the floor assumes a defined need: if the thinking has to be done with you, discovery is added.

Comparison

Mockup, prototype, POC or MVP: which one?

The right tool depends on the question to settle. A mockup tests understanding, a prototype the journey, a POC technical feasibility. Only the MVP tests the market: real users who come back.

ToolGoalWhat you can testTimelineIndicative cost
MockupShow what the product will look likeUnderstanding: does a newcomer get what the product does?A few daysLow: a few days of design
PrototypeSimulate the journey, screen by screenScreen flow, onboarding, a key screen1 to 2 weeksModerate: design work, no real development
POCProve that a technical point worksAn integration, an algorithm, a performance constraintA few days to a few weeksVaries with the technical hurdle
MVPPut a real product in front of real usersUsage, retention, willingness to pay4 to 8 weeks of development€6,000 to €30,000 excl. VAT, €6,000 to €25,000 on mobile

At Krafter, the clickable mockup is a step in designing the MVP, never the final deliverable.

Scope

What an MVP must include, and what it leaves for version two.

An MVP includes one excellent core feature, what it needs around it to be usable, and usage tracking. Everything else waits for version two. Small in scope, never in quality.

Disciplined scope

Every feature must serve the validation of the hypothesis. The rest leaves the scope and goes on a written list for version two. A successful MVP starts with a list of noes.

One excellent core feature

Minimum does not mean sloppy. The feature that justifies the product must be fast, clear and reliable from day one: it is what your users judge you on.

Measure from the start

Signups, activation, retention, onboarding drop-off: the metrics are set before launch. Without them, an MVP produces impressions, not decisions.

In the MVP

  • The core feature, end to end
  • User accounts and secure login
  • A simple back office to run the product
  • Usage tracking, from go-live
  • Reviewed, tested, automatically deployed code

For version two

  • Advanced roles and settings
  • Dashboards for every edge case
  • Integrations built “just in case”
  • Automating tasks that are still rare
  • Features requested by a single prospect

Conviction

“A low-cost MVP whose architecture collapses at the first evolution isn’t an MVP, it’s debt. The first version of a product must already hold up for what comes next.”
François Pluchino

François Pluchino

Co-founder & CTO, Krafter

Method

Building an MVP, step by step.

A short method, built to cut early, ship fast and measure from go-live. You see the product move forward every cycle, not at the end.

Discovery

if the need has to be shaped

The core problem, priority use cases, what leaves the scope. Skipped if your need is already defined.

The output: a quoted scope, a written list of what waits for version two, and a go-live date. Allow €3,000 to €6,000 excl. VAT.

Mockups

The user journey screen by screen, validated with you before the first line of code.

Throwing away a mockup costs less than throwing away a development cycle: key screens are click-tested on real usage scenarios.

Development in short cycles

4 to 8 weeks

A testable version every cycle. Your feedback drives what comes next, with no tunnel effect.

AI writes a large share of the code; every line is reviewed and tested by a senior partner before it reaches production.

Launch

The product goes into production: online for a SaaS, published on the App Store and Google Play for a mobile app.

Store listings, submission and review follow-up are included. On Melimelo, Apple review usually takes 1 to 2 days. Accounts are opened in your name.

Measurement and version two

from day one

Usage metrics speak. Version two is decided on facts, not hunches.

If the hypothesis holds, version two builds on the same foundations, without starting over. If not, you pivot with data, on a controlled budget.

See the method in detail

After the MVP

After the MVP, the product grows on the same foundations.

After the MVP, three paths follow or combine: version two, maintenance and, for some founders, dev for equity. In every case, everything is in your name: Git repository, store and cloud accounts, access.

Version two

If usage validates the hypothesis, version two picks up the list written at discovery and builds on the MVP code, without a rewrite. As a benchmark, a complete mobile app runs €25,000 to €60,000 excl. VAT, a complete SaaS platform €40,000 to €80,000 excl. VAT.

Maintenance, in two tiers

First, upkeep: security, updates, compatibility with each new iOS and Android version, for 8 to 12% of the development cost per year. Then new features, on time spent at €700 to €1,100 excl. VAT per day, or as prepaid time credit.

Dev for equity

For a founder whose cash is blocking the launch, Krafter can take a stake: 20% or more, with a reduced invoice depending on the deal. Reserved for projects that convince us, and only a few per year.

Understand dev for equity

Why Krafter

Krafter runs its own products, every day.

Melimelo, our Flutter household organization app, is rated 4.7/5 on the App Store (421 ratings) and 4.6/5 on Google Play (306 reviews) as of October 2026. More than 50 versions published. It carries most of the 25,000 people who use our products every day.

Trottr, our field service management SaaS, is sold by subscription with per-user licenses, and used by Engie among others. It runs as a PWA, installed on technicians’ phones without going through the stores.

What these products teach us feeds straight into your MVP: what to cut, what to measure, what breaks after go-live. The studio is based near Lyon and works remotely with founders and SMEs across France.

Discover Melimelo, available on the App Store and on Google Play.

Further reading

FAQ

A mobile app or SaaS idea? 30 minutes on a call to understand the problem, the market and what it takes to launch.

Discuss my project

Before launching your MVP.

An MVP, or minimum viable product, is the smallest version of a product that actually works and is put in front of real users. It tests a market hypothesis: do people use it, come back, and would they pay? At Krafter, an MVP goes live with real accounts and usage tracking, from €6,000 excl. VAT for a defined need.

At Krafter, an MVP costs €6,000 to €25,000 excl. VAT for a mobile app and €6,000 to €30,000 excl. VAT for a SaaS. The entry price applies when the need is defined: processes, business rules and screens already set. Discovery is added if needed, at €3,000 to €6,000 excl. VAT, and so is online payment.

Allow 4 to 8 weeks of development, for mobile and SaaS alike. A SaaS is live as soon as development ends. A mobile app takes 8 to 12 weeks in total to reach the App Store and Google Play. If the need still has to be shaped, discovery comes before development.

€6,000 to €25,000 excl. VAT, App Store and Google Play publication included. The app is built in Flutter: one codebase for iOS and Android, so one budget. Add the developer accounts, opened in your name: $99 a year at Apple and a one-time $25 at Google.

€6,000 to €30,000 excl. VAT, for 4 to 8 weeks of development. The low end covers one core feature on a defined need; the high end, several roles, a full back office and guided onboarding. Subscription billing adds €4,000 to €10,000 excl. VAT, one-off payments €2,000 to €5,000 excl. VAT.

A prototype simulates the journey: screens link together on click, but nothing really works. It takes 1 to 2 weeks and tests the experience. An MVP is a real product, in production, with real users and real data. It takes 4 to 8 weeks of development and tests the market.

A POC, or proof of concept, checks that a technical point is feasible: an integration, an algorithm, a performance constraint. It is not aimed at users. The POC answers “is it possible?”, the MVP answers “is it useful?”. At Krafter, an MVP costs €6,000 to €30,000 excl. VAT.

One excellent core feature, user accounts, a simple back office and usage tracking from day one. Anything that does not help validate the hypothesis leaves the scope and goes on a written list for version two. That discipline is what keeps development within 4 to 8 weeks.

No, but a well-defined need lowers the price. An MVP starts at €6,000 excl. VAT when processes, business rules and screens are already defined, which is exactly what a clear specification provides. Without one, a discovery phase at €3,000 to €6,000 excl. VAT sets them with you before development.

You do. At the end of the project, everything is put in your name: Git repository, App Store and Google Play accounts, cloud accounts and access. Only the open source stack the product runs on stays under its own license. You can take the code back, hand it to another provider or hire an in-house team.

If usage validates the hypothesis, version two is built on the same code, without a rewrite. Maintenance comes in two tiers: upkeep, at 8 to 12% of the development cost per year, then new features billed on time spent, at €700 to €1,100 excl. VAT per day, or as prepaid time credit.

Yes, that is dev for equity. On projects that convince us, Krafter takes 20% or more of the capital in exchange for a reduced invoice, depending on the deal. The studio then commits to the product for the long run. Split and governance are set in a shareholders’ agreement before the first line of code.

A live MVP carries more weight than a pitch deck: signups, retention and user feedback are proof, not projections. The code matters too, since fundraising often involves a technical audit. Reviewed, tested and documented code, in a Git repository in your name, holds up without a prior rewrite.

Let’s build a product people → actually use

A 30-minute call with a founder. Answer within 24/48h. Pitch deck optional.

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