How to get a fixed-price quote for an app (and what it should include)

To get a fixed-price quote for an app that actually holds, ask for the scope as a numbered list of every screen and every state, including the empty and error ones, with a price on each line. On top of that there should be a separate change budget for the things you’ll change your mind about, and anything nobody can see clearly yet should be pulled out into a short paid discovery phase instead of guessed at. A single number against a list of features isn’t a fixed price. It’s a guess with a deadline.

That’s how we work at Tennnis. Every project we take on has a price on it before a line of code is written. Clients like this. What they ask next is how it can possibly work, since the last agency they used charged by the hour and still came in late.

It works because scoping is a separate piece of work with its own output, and because we quote screens rather than intentions. Here is the process, start to finish.

1. The 45-minute call

One call, no deck. We ask four things: who uses this, what do they do on it, what happens today instead, and what has to be true for you to call it a success. If somebody cannot answer the third question, the project is usually not ready. That is worth finding out in week zero rather than week five.

We take notes in a shared document while we talk. By the end of the call the client has already seen the shape of what they will be quoted, which removes most of the surprise from the number.

2. Write the scope as a list of screens

Features are impossible to price. “Booking” can mean a form that sends an email, or a two-sided calendar with payments and cancellation rules. Screens are countable. So the scope document is a numbered list of every screen and every state, written in plain language.

The empty and error states are where fixed-price projects die. Listing them up front costs an hour and saves a fortnight. It also makes the quote reviewable: a client can strike out screen 12 and watch the number drop, which is a much better conversation than negotiating a discount.

3. Price the list, then add a change budget

Each screen gets an estimate in half-days. We add the integrations, the deployment, and one buffer line. Then a change budget, usually fifteen percent of the total, written into the quote as its own item.

The change budget is the reason nobody has to argue. Clients change their minds, and they should, because they see the working version in week one and learn things from it. The budget makes room for that without a renegotiation. When we run past it we say so on the day, not in the final invoice.

4. What we will not fix-price

Two things. Anything depending on a third-party system we have not seen the documentation for, because the integration is either two days or two weeks and there is no way to know which. And anything described as “similar to” a product with a hundred engineers behind it. Those get a paid discovery week, priced on its own, ending in a scope document you own whether or not you continue with us.

5. Why the number is lower than you expect

AI-assisted development changed the shape of the estimate, not the standard of the work. The boring parts of a screen take a fraction of the time they used to, so more of the budget lands on the parts that need judgment. It also means iteration is cheap, which is the actual benefit: getting version three in front of users a month earlier is worth more than any discount.

FAQ

Is fixed price or time and materials better for an app? Fixed price is better when you can describe the screens, because you know the cost before you commit and the studio carries the risk of its own estimate. Time and materials, where you pay for the hours worked, suits work nobody can describe yet, like early research. If you can’t say what people do today instead of using your app, start with paid discovery rather than either contract.

Is a fixed-price quote a guarantee of the final price? For the scope as written, it should be. What moves the number is a change to the scope, and that’s what the change budget is for. Ours is usually 15% of the total, inside the 10–20% contingency other studios recommend, and when we run past it we say so on the day.

Can you change your mind halfway through a fixed-price project? Yes. You can swap a screen for a different one of similar size, and the change budget covers smaller changes without a renegotiation. That’s the point of showing you a working version in the first week: you learn things early, while changes are still cheap.

What should I send to get an accurate app quote? Two paragraphs: who uses it, what they do in it, what they do today instead, and what has to be true for you to call it a success. Add any outside systems it has to talk to, with links to their documentation if you have them.

How much does a fixed-price app cost? As of October 2026, our iPhone apps start at 120 000 kr ex. VAT and take four to eight weeks. Web apps start at 100 000 kr and websites at 40 000 kr. The current prices are on our home page, and your exact number comes out of the screen list.

The scoping call is free and you keep the screen list either way. If you have something you want priced, send us two paragraphs about it.