Free AI Project Cost Estimator
Describe your project in one step and get an instant, AI-generated budget range — with a phase-by-phase cost breakdown, project risks, and a recommended tech stack. Free, no sign-up.
This free software development cost calculator is tuned for .NET, Blazor Server, ASP.NET Core, WPF, and modern web projects — including AI integrations. Estimates are based on real solo-contractor rates, so the numbers reflect what a project actually costs to build.
Describe your project once — the AI does the research, your estimate appears on screen and a PDF copy lands in your inbox
Tell me about your project
One form, everything in your own words — no technical jargon required
Features, goals, users, timeline, integrations — the more detail, the sharper the estimate.
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The estimate will be checked against it.
Your PDF estimate is delivered here. No spam, ever.
How the Cost Estimator Works
Describe your project
Write everything in one go — what you're building, key features, timeline, plus an optional tech stack and budget. Plain English is fine; the AI works out the rest.
AI scopes the hours
The AI estimates working hours per phase against calibration anchors from real projects. It never picks a price — the cost is calculated from a fixed rate card afterwards, so the number is grounded, not guessed.
Get the full breakdown
See your cost range, hours, delivery timeline, phase-by-phase breakdown, assumptions, risks, and recommended stack on screen — and receive the same estimate as a PDF by email.
How the Estimate Is Calculated
Unlike generic calculators that multiply a single hourly rate by a guess, every estimate here follows the same methodology I use to quote real client projects.
Hours first, never a guessed price
The AI estimates one thing: the working hours each phase needs, calibrated against real projects with known hour counts. It never picks a price and never does the arithmetic — every figure is calculated from my actual rate card afterwards.
That is the difference between an estimate and a plausible-looking number: a language model guessing hours and rates compounds two errors into one total. Your estimate shows the exact rate applied to each phase.
Six delivery phases
Every project is split into Discovery & Planning, UI/UX Design, Core Development, Integrations & APIs, Testing & QA, and Deployment & Handover. Each phase gets its own hours and rate, and the phase cost is exactly hours × rate — so you can see where the money goes.
A vague brief gets questions, not a number
If your description could describe a two-week build or a six-month one, the estimator says so and asks the five questions that would actually narrow it — instead of quietly assuming a bigger project and returning an inflated total.
A range that reflects what you told me
The low end is the exact sum of all phase costs. The high end adds a contingency for scope creep and revisions — 15% on a detailed brief, 25% on a thinner one. Add detail and the range tightens, because it should. Phases that don't apply are zeroed out rather than padded.
Hours, timeline, and two ways to engage
Because everything is derived from hours, you also get a calendar timeline — how long the build takes at full-time versus part-time pace. Longer projects come with a monthly engagement option alongside the hourly figure, priced at a lower effective rate in exchange for committed capacity. Both appear in your estimate and in the PDF.
Sample Estimate: Blazor Booking Web App
A typical output for a Blazor Server appointment-booking app with authentication, Stripe payments, and automated email reminders.
| Phase | Hours | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery & Planning | 12 | $360 |
| UI/UX Design | 24 | $720 |
| Core Development | 90 | $2,700 |
| Integrations & APIs | 30 | $1,350 |
| Testing & QA | 24 | $720 |
| Deployment & Handover | 10 | $300 |
| Estimated rangeincl. 15% contingency | 190–218 | $6,150 – $7,072 |
Indicative timeline: 5 weeks full-time, or 10–11 weeks part-time. Your own estimate shows the rate applied to each phase.
Software Project Cost FAQ
How much does custom software development cost?
Cost follows effort, so the honest unit is hours. With a solo senior contractor: a single-purpose internal tool runs 60–90 hours, a mid-size web application 150–450 hours, and a multi-tenant or multi-module platform 400–600 hours and up. This estimator scopes the hours for your specific project and turns them into a cost range, instead of quoting you a generic bracket.
How accurate is an AI-generated cost estimate?
It is a planning-stage ballpark, not a binding quote. Its accuracy comes from what the AI is and isn't asked to do: it estimates working hours against calibration anchors from real projects, and never picks a price or does the arithmetic — every figure is calculated afterwards from a fixed rate card. It also tells you what it assumed to get there, so a wrong assumption is visible instead of buried in the total. A precise quote always follows a scope conversation.
Is this project cost estimator really free?
Yes — completely free, no sign-up and no credit card. You describe your project in a single step, see the full breakdown on screen, and receive the same estimate as a PDF in your inbox.
How much does .NET or Blazor development cost?
It varies with modules, integrations, and timeline more than with the framework itself — a single-purpose internal tool and a multi-tenant Blazor platform are not comparable numbers. Describe your project above and the estimator returns a range specific to it, broken down by delivery phase, in about a minute.
What information do I need to provide?
One description in your own words — what you want built, the features or problem to solve, and anything you already know about users, timeline, or integrations. Optionally add your preferred tech stack and any budget you have in mind. Aim for a couple of real sentences: if the brief is too thin to scope, the estimator asks you five specific questions rather than inventing a number. One step, about a minute — no technical knowledge required.
Does the estimate include design, testing, and deployment?
Yes. Every estimate is broken into six phases: Discovery & Planning, UI/UX Design, Core Development, Integrations & APIs, Testing & QA, and Deployment & Handover — each with its own hours, rate, and cost. Phases your project doesn't need are zeroed out rather than padded.
How long will my project take to build?
Every estimate includes an indicative timeline derived from the same hours as the cost — how many weeks the build takes at a full-time pace, and at a part-time pace. As a rough guide, 40 hours of work is one full-time week. Projects large enough to fill a dedicated month also show a monthly engagement option alongside the hourly figure.
Why do I get a cost range instead of a single price?
The low end is the exact sum of all phase costs. The high end adds a contingency for scope creep and revisions — the most common reason real projects exceed their initial budget. That contingency scales with how much detail your brief carried: 15% when the scope is well specified, 25% when it isn't. Add detail and the range gets tighter.
Can I hire you to build the project after estimating?
Yes. I am a freelance .NET Technical Lead with 8+ years of experience in Blazor, ASP.NET Core, and WPF, available for remote contract work with clients in the US, UK, UAE, Australia, and worldwide. Use the estimate as a starting point and book a call from the results screen.
Ready for a precise quote instead of an estimate? See how to hire me or book a call.