The short answer
Start with a Starter/MVP. For most products, the smartest first move is a focused build from SGD 20,000 that proves one core flow in front of real users, shipping in 8–12 weeks. Then, once that flow is validated, you extend the same codebase into a Business build from SGD 38,000 — so nothing you paid for gets thrown away. The only reason to skip straight to a full build is when your launch genuinely can't function without multiple roles, payments, integrations or compliance on day one.
| Dimension | Starter/MVP | Business build |
|---|---|---|
| Price (from, SGD) | 20,000 | 38,000 |
| Timeline | 8–12 weeks | 12–20 weeks |
| Scope | One core flow, one primary user journey | Multiple roles, admin dashboard, payments, deeper integrations |
| Best when | Validating an idea or a single feature | The app runs part of your operations |
| Codebase | Foundation of the Business build — carries forward | Extends the same codebase, nothing thrown away |
Namtech's published starting points. Both tiers get a fixed quote after one scoping call, with milestone-based billing.
Why start with an MVP
An MVP is not a cheaper, lesser app — it's a deliberately narrow one. You pick the single flow that carries your idea (the one thing a user must be able to do) and build that properly, cross-platform, on iOS and Android from one codebase and one release cycle. At SGD 20,000 and 8–12 weeks, a Starter build lets you put a real product in real hands before you commit to the full scope.
The value isn't only the lower number. It's that you learn which of your assumptions are true. A validated flow tells you exactly what to build next; an unvalidated full build risks polishing features nobody uses.
Extend the same codebase — nothing wasted
The reason "start small" works at Namtech is that a Starter build is the foundation of the Business build, not a throwaway prototype. When the core flow is proven, we extend the same codebase into a Business build from SGD 38,000 — adding the extra user roles, the admin dashboard, deeper integrations and the workflows that turn a single flow into an operational app. The MVP's code carries forward.
That continuity matters because scope changes are re-quoted explicitly. You're not signing one open-ended contract; you validate, then decide, then get a fresh fixed quote for the next stage. Business builds typically take 12–20 weeks.
How scope maps to tiers
The tier you start in depends on what the product must do at launch, not on ambition. In practice:
| Tier | Price (from, SGD) | The right start when… |
|---|---|---|
| Starter/MVP | 20,000 | One core flow, one primary user journey — you're validating an idea or a single feature. |
| Business | 38,000 | Multiple user roles, an admin dashboard, payment flows and integrations — the app runs part of your operations. |
| Enterprise | 90,000 | Scoped per project — scale, multiple integrated systems or heavier requirements are non-negotiable from day one. |
Where personal or financial data is involved, compliance such as Singapore PDPA is scoped as an explicit line item — never buried in the base price — regardless of which tier you start in.
When to skip straight to a full build
Starting with an MVP is the default, not a rule. Skip it and go straight to Business or Enterprise when the launch itself depends on the "extra" scope — for example, when the app is useless without several user roles interacting, when payments or bookings are the core value rather than a later addition, when it has to integrate with existing systems on day one, or when a compliance requirement gates go-live. In those cases the single validated flow isn't a smaller version of your product; it isn't your product at all. Building it twice would waste time, so you scope the full build up front.
How it works either way
Whichever tier you start in, the process is the same. After one scoping call you get a fixed quote, and we hold to it. Billing is milestone-based — a deposit to begin, then payments tied to agreed deliverables, with no full payment upfront. Delivery runs six steps: Discover → Design → Build → Test → Launch → Support, with one project manager owning the project end to end. We QA on real devices, then submit to the App Store and Google Play.
After launch, plan for maintenance and support from 15% of the build cost per year — monitoring, OS-version updates, security patches, minor improvements and priority support. Hosting, third-party service fees and app-store accounts are billed at cost.
Where to start
If you're validating an idea, start with a Starter/MVP and extend it later — you lose nothing by proving the core flow first. If your launch depends on the full scope from day one, we'll say so and scope the Business or Enterprise build up front. Either way, the honest answer takes one conversation. Book a scoping call to get a fixed quote, or see how the tiers break down on our pricing page.