Pricing
Real numbers, so you can plan with confidence.
Lifehouse Development publishes its prices. Websites, focused tools, custom applications, and monthly support retainers each have a stated range on this page, and a free 30-minute discovery call turns a range into a real estimate for your situation. No gated quotes, no sales stages, and no commission on anything we recommend.
We publish ranges because you're accountable to a budget — and maybe a board, a funder, or an investor. The discovery call turns a range into a real estimate for your situation, but here's where most projects land.
Websites & focused tools
$5K – $15K
4 – 8 weeks
A nonprofit website, a single workflow that removes a recurring headache, or the smallest version of a new tool — without rebuilding everything.
- One well-defined problem
- Discovery & blueprint
- Build, test, launch
- Training & handoff
Custom applications
$20K – $60K+
3 – 6 months
Multi-feature apps and platforms that run a real part of your operation — built, integrated, and handed off to scale.
- Full discovery & blueprint
- Phased delivery
- Integrations & automation
- Documentation & training
Ongoing support retainer
From $3,500/mo
Flexible
Support, maintenance, and incremental improvements after launch — so the software keeps earning its place as your organization grows.
- Priority response
- Maintenance & updates
- Roadmap sessions
- Small enhancements
What drives the number
Why one project is $12K and another is $50K.
Price isn't arbitrary. It follows the shape of the work. Here's what moves it.
- How many features and integrations are involved
- How much data needs to move or be cleaned up
- Whether design and content are needed, or just engineering
- How much of the work your team can take on themselves
The other cost
The cost of doing nothing.
Custom software pays for itself when it removes a cost you're already paying — one that's just harder to see.
A grant-funded tool nobody can maintain after launch
Spreadsheets held together by one volunteer
Staff hours spent re-typing data between systems that don't talk
Board decisions made on guesswork instead of data
What's included
Every fixed price covers the whole job.
No line items that appear later. If it's needed to get from idea to software your team is using, it's in the number.
- Discovery call and feasibility workshop
- A written, fixed-scope blueprint with a fixed price
- Design, engineering, and testing
- Launch, documentation, and hands-on training
- Source code, accounts, and full ownership at handoff
What's separate
The few things you pay someone else for.
We sell no software and take no commissions, so anything you pay a vendor, you pay at their price — never marked up through us.
- Hosting, domains, and email (paid to the provider, often free for nonprofits)
- Third-party software licenses you choose to keep
- Payment-processing fees on sales your software takes
- Work outside the blueprint — quoted in writing before it starts
How the number is set
From a range on this page to a fixed price for your project.
The ranges above are honest, but they're still ranges. Here's how they turn into a single number you can plan around.
- 01
We scope the problem, not the wish list
The feasibility workshop separates what would be nice from what would change your week. The price is built on the second list.
- 02
The blueprint fixes the number
You get a document that says what will be built, in what order, over how long, for what price. It is written so you can hand it to a board, a funder, or an investor.
- 03
Changes are priced before they're built
If the scope grows, you see the cost and the timeline impact first and decide. If it shrinks, the price comes down with it.
The full sequence — discovery call, workshop, blueprint, delivery, launch — is on our how we work page, and you can see what it produces on work & outcomes.
Paying for it
Where the money usually comes from.
Different clients fund this differently. These are the three conversations we have most often.
Nonprofits: grants often cover this
Capacity-building grants routinely fund a defined technology project — a website, a database, an integration. The blueprint is written so it can be attached directly to an application, with scope, timeline, and cost already in the funder's language.
Technology help for nonprofitsSmall teams & founders: start smaller than you think
The $5K–$15K range exists so a small team or solo founder can ship the smallest version that proves the idea before spending more. Phase two is a separate decision, made with real users in hand.
Custom software developmentNot sure which range you're in?
Our estimator asks a handful of questions about your project and gives you a ballpark in under two minutes. It uses the same ranges on this page — no email address required.
Try the cost estimatorFurther reading: our complete guide to custom software for nonprofits and the real numbers behind what a nonprofit website costs.
Questions
Pricing, answered.
Can a nonprofit pay for this with a grant?
Often, yes. Capacity-building and technology grants routinely fund a defined project — a website, a database, an integration. Our blueprint is written with scope, timeline, and cost already in the funder's language so it can be attached directly to an application. We'll also tell you when a free or discounted nonprofit tool would do the job instead.
Why do you publish prices when most studios won't?
Because you're accountable for the money and you need to plan. A range lets you have an honest conversation with a board, an executive director, a funder, or a co-founder before you've spent a dollar with us.
What's included in a fixed price?
Discovery, the blueprint, the build, testing, launch, documentation, and training. The blueprint spells out exactly what's in scope — and what isn't — before you commit.
What if my budget is tighter than the range?
Tell us. We'll often find a smaller first phase that fits — a single workflow, one integration, a simpler site — and grow from there. We'd rather build something useful than nothing at all.
Do we need someone technical on staff to work with you?
No. Most of our clients — nonprofit directors, church staff, small-business owners, solo founders — don't have a technical person on the team. We translate the technical into plain language, you decide on direction and budget, and we handle the rest. You stay in control the whole way.
Do you build MVPs and first versions for small teams?
Yes. Whether it's a nonprofit piloting a new program tool or a founder testing an idea, we help you ship the smallest version that proves it works, then decide together whether to grow it.
How does the monthly support retainer work?
Retainers start at $3,500 per month and cover support, maintenance, and a steady stream of small improvements after launch, with priority response and regular roadmap sessions. It's month to month with no long-term contract, and larger build work is scoped separately at published prices rather than absorbed into the retainer.
How much does a nonprofit website cost?
Most nonprofit and small-organization websites land in the $5,000–$15,000 range and take four to eight weeks, including training so your own staff can update it. We've written a detailed breakdown of what drives that number in our guide to nonprofit website costs.
Want a number for your specific situation?
Book a free 30-min call