What custom software costs in Australia.
The honest answer is that it depends, so the useful answer is the real range and what moves it.
What the market charges
Across Australian development firms, a custom build is quoted from about $15,000 for something small to $500,000 and beyond for a large system, at developer rates of roughly $80 to $200 an hour (industry pricing, 2025). That spread is the reason so many owners never ask for a quote. The number rides on the hours, and the hours ride on what you are actually building.
What drives the number
Four things move the price more than anything else. The size of the tool, meaning how many jobs it does. The integrations, meaning how many of your existing systems it has to plug into, like Xero or your calendar. The data, meaning how much it holds and how sensitive it is. And the decision logic, meaning how much judgement it has to make on its own. A single quoting screen is cheap. A full job-management system wired into your accounting and holding customer records is not. Most builds sit in between, and the only way to price yours is to scope the real job.
Where HeimMax sits, and why it is lower
A HeimMax build starts at $6,000 for a small tool and is priced per job from $16,000 for a larger system, and most go live in two to ten weeks. That is below the market range above, and the reason is the hours, not a cheaper developer. AI has compressed the slow parts of a build, so the same tool takes fewer hours to make, and fewer hours is a lower price. The short timeline is the same fact seen from the other side: a build that took months takes weeks. And you own it when it is paid for.
What it costs to run, and when to rent instead
The sticker price is not the whole cost, on either side. Software you own still needs hosting, and every so often maintenance or a fix when an outside service it connects to changes, so budget a small monthly figure and the odd bit of upkeep. We tell you what that is up front. What you avoid is the bigger, permanent cost of renting: a software-as-a-service tool is paid every month, per seat, and the price climbs as your team grows, so over a few years a stack of subscriptions quietly outruns the one-off cost of a tool you own. That maths does not always favour building. When an off-the-shelf product fits how you work, renting it is the smarter buy, and we will tell you so. Custom software earns its place where the off-the-shelf tools do not fit, or where you are paying for several of them and stitching them together by hand.
How to find out what yours would cost
The only real number is the one for your job. After the first conversation we send an Opportunity Report within 48 hours, with what we would build, what it would cost, and how long it would take, or, if the process is complicated, we suggest a paid Discovery first, priced up front. There is no obligation to go ahead. That is the honest way to price custom software, because a range on a page cannot know what you need.
Sources
Australian custom software pricing, industry figures 2025. HeimMax rate card, 2026.
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Common questions
What if off-the-shelf software already does most of it?
Then we say so. If a tool you can rent fits the way you work, buying it is the right call and we will point you at it. Custom software is for when it doesn't.
Is it an app?
Usually, yes: a web app your team opens in the browser or on a phone or tablet. It's built for your own staff, not the App Store, so there's nothing to download and no store to wait on.
Do I own the code?
Yes, outright, once it is paid for. No per-seat fees, no rights kept back by us. The code is yours, the data is yours.
How do we get you set up?
Once it is built and signed off, we install it, connect it to the tools you already use, and walk you and your team through it until you are running it without us. The handover is part of the job, not an added cost.
What does it cost to run?
Usually a small monthly figure for hosting and any services the tool uses, billed at cost. We tell you the number before you start.