Development
SaaS MVP development in the UK: scope, cost and timeline
Most UK SaaS MVPs cost £7,000–£20,000 ex VAT and take 10–16 weeks. Here's what that buys, what to leave out, and a worked example…
· 9 min read
Most blockchain enquiries we get end with us recommending a normal database. We say that up front because it saves you money, and because it is the most useful thing a developer can tell you about blockchain in 2026.
A blockchain is a shared ledger that several parties can read and add to, but nobody can quietly rewrite. That property is valuable in a small number of situations and expensive everywhere else. If one organisation controls the data, a PostgreSQL or MySQL database with a proper audit log is faster, cheaper to host, easier to change and far easier to square with UK GDPR. Our job is to tell you which situation you are in, and then build the right thing.
Where blockchain earns its keep
- Several independent organisations, such as growers, certifiers, hauliers and retailers, need one tamper-evident record that none of them owns.
- Customers want to pay in cryptocurrency and you are happy to accept it through a regulated provider.
- Your product genuinely involves users holding a digital asset or token in their own wallet.
- You need to connect a website or app to an existing smart contract, token or blockchain platform.
- You want public, independently checkable proof that a document existed in a given form on a given date.
Where it doesn’t
- One company owns and manages the data. Use a database and log every change.
- You need to store personal data. Records on a public chain are close to impossible to erase, which sits badly with the right to erasure under UK GDPR.
- The main reason is that it sounds innovative. Customers care whether the product works, not what it runs on, and investors in 2026 are noticeably less impressed by the word than they were.
A quick test we use in discovery: if everyone involved would happily trust one of the parties, or a neutral third party, to run the database, you don’t need a blockchain.
What we actually build
- Feasibility reviews comparing a blockchain approach with a conventional one, including running costs, legal exposure and what the user journey looks like.
- Crypto payments on websites and WooCommerce shops through established providers that handle custody, conversion to sterling and compliance.
- Wallet sign-in for web apps, offered alongside a normal email login so you don’t turn away the many customers who have never set one up.
- Web and mobile front ends that read from and write to existing smart contracts, built in Node.js or Laravel with React, Vue or Flutter.
- Document hashing and timestamping, where only a fingerprint goes on-chain and the document itself stays in your own storage.
- Specifications for smart contract work, and coordination with an independent auditor before anything holding real value goes live.
We are careful about what we don’t do. We don’t write and self-certify high-value smart contracts, and we won’t help launch a token whose main purpose is to be sold to the public. Those need specialist firms and specialist lawyers.
How a project runs
Paid feasibility first
A short review, usually five to ten hours, that puts the blockchain option and the boring option side by side with costs over three years. Plenty of clients read it and choose the boring option. We count that as a good outcome; you have spent a few hundred pounds instead of tens of thousands.
Prototype on a test network
If blockchain is the right route, we build the user journey on a test network first. You can click through sign-in, payments and transactions with play money and see where real users will get confused, which is usually at the wallet step.
Independent audit
Smart contracts are very hard to change once deployed, and mistakes can be permanent and public. Any contract that holds or moves real value is reviewed by an independent auditor before launch. We build the audit into the timeline and budget, then fix what it finds.
Launch and run it like any other product
After launch we monitor transactions, network fees and failures, and look after the web and app side with the same updates and testing as any other system we support.
UK regulation, briefly
Cryptoasset activity is regulated in the UK. According to the Financial Conduct Authority, firms carrying on certain cryptoasset activities must register with it under the money laundering regulations, and crypto promotions to UK consumers have had to follow the FCA’s financial promotions rules since October 2023. The government has also legislated for a fuller authorisation regime for cryptoasset firms, which the FCA is phasing in. The rules are still moving, so if your project involves holding, exchanging or promoting cryptoassets, take specialist legal advice before you spend on development. Using a regulated payment provider for crypto payments leaves most of the compliance burden with them, which is one reason we recommend it.
Blockchain vs a conventional build
| Question | Conventional database | Public blockchain |
|---|---|---|
| Who controls the data? | You | Nobody alone |
| Can records be corrected or deleted? | Yes, with an audit trail | Effectively no |
| Running cost | Predictable hosting fee | Hosting plus network fees that vary |
| UK GDPR fit | Straightforward | Needs personal data kept off-chain |
| Time to first version | Weeks | Weeks plus audit time |
What it costs
Blockchain work is booked as custom web development hours at £60 an hour excluding VAT.
| Job | Typical hours | Price excl. VAT |
|---|---|---|
| Feasibility review with written recommendation | 5–10 | £300–£570 |
| Crypto payments added to an existing shop | 8–20 | £480–£1,020 |
| Web app prototype using an existing smart contract | 40–80 | £2,040–£3,840 |
Volume discounts are already included: 20 hours is £1,200 less 15 %, so £1,020, or £1,224 with VAT. Independent smart contract audits are paid to the auditor and vary widely with the size of the contract, so we get a quote once the specification is settled.
Talk it through
We are based in London and work with clients across the UK, mostly remotely, with in-person meetings in London when that helps. Blockchain decisions benefit from a frank half-hour conversation before anyone writes a line of code, and we don’t charge for that first conversation. Get in touch with what you are trying to achieve, or look at our API integration and custom software services if the boring option wins.
