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Cost to Create a SaaS Startup in India (2026): Budget Breakdown

    Building and launching a SaaS product in India is more affordable than the West—but founders must budget smartly to avoid pitfalls and runway crunch. The final cost depends on scope, team, cloud, and marketing—but here’s a practical, line-by-line estimate for an MVP build and launch.

    1. Product Development

    A) Bootstrapped / DIY / No-Code MVP

    • No-Code Tools (Bubble, Adalo, Webflow): ₹15,000–₹1,00,000 ($200–$1,200) annually
    • Freelance Full-Stack Developer: ₹50,000–₹2,00,000/month ($650–$2,500/month)
    • Small Team/Agency Build (Indian vendors, MVP with basic features):
      • Frontend, Backend: ₹2,00,000–₹8,00,000 ($2,500–$10,000) lump sum

    B) Custom SaaS Platform (Full Market-Ready Product)

    • Team (2 Developers + 1 UI Designer + 1 QA) for 3–6 months:
      • ₹6,00,000–₹25,00,000 ($7,500–$31,000) total for development
    • Cloud Hosting (AWS, GCP, DigitalOcean):
      • ₹2,000–₹15,000/month ($25–$180/month), scales with users/features

    2. Tech Stack & SaaS Tools

    • Domain & Basic Hosting: ₹2,000–₹5,000/year ($25–$60/year)
    • Essential SaaS (analytics, error tracking, email, CRM): ₹3,000–₹15,000/month ($40–$200/month)
    • API/Integrations: Additional if used—often pay-per-use/volume

    3. Legal & Registration

    • Company Registration (Private Limited/LLP): ₹10,000–₹30,000 ($125–$375)
    • Startup Lawyer/Legal Docs (terms, privacy): ₹5,000–₹20,000 ($65–$250)

    4. Marketing & Initial User Acquisition

    • Landing Page & Branding: ₹10,000–₹50,000 ($125–$625)
    • Paid Ads / Growth Channels: ₹15,000–₹1,00,000/month ($200–$1,250/month) (optional at launch)
    • Freemium/Referral/Outreach: Mostly time investment; lean startups can minimize costs here

    5. Maintenance & Scaling

    • Ongoing Development/support: ₹15,000–₹1,00,000/month ($200–$1,200/month)
    • Cloud Costs: Grows with user base, may reach ₹25,000–₹1,00,000/month ($310–$1,250/month) at scale

    Typical Lean SaaS Startup Budget—India (2026):

    Cost ItemMVP RangeScalable SaaS Range
    Core App Build₹2L–₹8L₹6L–₹25L
    Hosting/Tools (Year)₹30K–₹1L₹1L–₹2L
    Legal/Registration₹15K–₹50K₹30K–₹80K
    Branding/Marketing₹20K–₹1L₹1L–₹4L
    Total₹3L–₹10L₹9L–₹35L

    (1L = ₹1,00,000 INR)

    Cost-Saving Tips

    • Use no-code for initial validation
    • Start with freelancers before full-time hires
    • Delay paid ads until strong product-market fit
    • Seek founder networks/grants for tech credits and discounts

    Conclusion

    A lean SaaS startup in India (2026) can launch an MVP for ₹3–8 lakhs ($3.5K–$10K); full-stack, market-ready SaaS may need ₹10–35 lakhs ($12K–$44K). Smart budgeting, phased development, and validation-first thinking unlock faster and safer growth.

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