Costs
What does custom software cost in Switzerland and Liechtenstein?
By Dominik Natter · Last updated on 1 October 2026 · 2 min read
In short
All amounts are estimates excluding VAT. A single automation or interface costs CHF 8,000 to 25,000. A business application integrated with the ERP comes to CHF 25,000 to 100,000, a platform with several user groups to CHF 100,000 to 250,000 or more. For maintenance and operations, 15 to 20% of the project cost per year is usual.
What makes up the price
Custom software is priced by effort. Swiss providers work with hourly rates of between CHF 150 and 250. A mid-sized business application takes 300 to 1,000 hours, spread across concept, design, development, testing, data migration and rollout.
Development itself rarely accounts for more than half. Anyone who budgets only for the programming is in for a surprise at migration and rollout.
The five biggest cost drivers
- Integrations: every system that data is exchanged with costs CHF 3,000 to 15,000, depending on the interface.
- Roles and permissions: the more user groups, the more views, rules and tests.
- Data migration: data that has built up over years in Excel or FileMaker has to be cleaned.
- Special cases: the last 10% of cases often cause 30% of the effort.
- Changes during the project without an agreed process.
How to set a budget that holds
Start with a fixed-price discovery phase. It delivers requirements, a solution design, a stage plan and a cost ceiling. It costs CHF 4,000 to 9,000 and saves you from deciding on the basis of an estimate from the intro call.
After that, agree stages, each with its own cost ceiling and an acceptance. New requests go on a list for the next phase. This keeps the budget binding without the provider having to price in every contingency.
When the investment pays off
Work with the hours that go into the process today. If three people each spend five hours a week retyping and chasing, that comes to around CHF 50,000 a year at a full internal cost of CHF 70 per hour. A solution costing CHF 60,000 that saves two thirds of that has paid for itself in just under two years.
Then there are effects that are harder to put a figure on: fewer errors, faster invoicing, less dependence on individual people.
Price ranges by project type
| Single automation or interface | CHF 8,000 to 25,000 | 4 to 10 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Internal tool for one department | CHF 25,000 to 50,000 | 2 to 4 months |
| Business application with ERP integration | CHF 50,000 to 100,000 | 3 to 6 months |
| Customer portal | CHF 25,000 to 80,000 | 10 to 24 weeks |
| B2B shop with pricing logic and ERP | CHF 30,000 to 180,000 | 3 to 8 months |
| Platform or industry solution | from CHF 100,000 | 6 to 12 months |
| Maintenance and operations per year | 15 to 20% | of the project cost |
Frequently asked questions
What is the discovery phase and why does it come first?
In two to three weeks, the discovery phase establishes what will be built, how it fits into your systems and what it will cost. You receive requirements, a solution design, a stage plan and a cost ceiling. The price is fixed, usually CHF 4,000 to 9,000. After that you are free to decide whether to go ahead, and with whom.
What happens if our requirements change during the project?
Changes are normal and planned for. New requests go onto a shared list and are estimated. You decide whether an item joins the current stage, is swapped for something else or moves to the next phase. That is how the cost ceiling stays binding.
Who runs the software after go-live?
We do, if you wish. A maintenance contract covers hosting in the EEA, monitoring, security updates, backups and agreed response times. The usual figure is 15 to 20% of the project cost per year. You can also run the software on your own infrastructure or hand it to your IT partner.
Matching services:Custom software
Matching solutions
«Our business depends on an Excel or FileMaker solution that only one person still understands.»
Replacing Excel and FileMaker
CHF 40'000 to 150'000
3 to 8 months
«Our customers call about every order status, and we look up the answer in the ERP.»
Customer portal with ERP integration
CHF 25'000 to 80'000
10 to 24 weeks
«We key shop orders into the ERP by hand, and stock levels are never right.»
Shop and ERP integration
CHF 15'000 to 60'000
6 to 14 weeks
Let us talk about your case.
20 minutes are enough to find out whether a custom solution is worth it for you.