Cost of Producing a Mock-up

Creating a mockup is a crucial step in the software development process. It provides a visual representation of your product, helping refine design and user flow before jumping into full development. Let’s explore the costs of producing a mockup over a 6-week period and compare it with building a full MVP.

1. Timeline for Producing a Mockup

A typical mockup can be produced within 6 weeks. This process focuses on visual design, layout, and user interactions, allowing you to gather feedback before investing in development.

2. Cost of Producing a Mockup with Fika

While Fika’s core offering is Fractional CTO services, we also provide optional extended services for mockup creation. These services complement your project by providing dedicated Product Manager and UI Designer resources on an hourly basis.

Hourly Rate: $50/hour
6-Week Timeline: Assume 30 hours per week over 6 weeks.
Cost Calculation: 30 hours/week x $50/hour = $1,500/week Over 6 weeks: $1,500 x 6 = $9,000

These extended services help visualize your product without committing to full-scale development and are entirely optional.

3. Cost Comparison: Mockup vs. MVP

Let’s compare the mockup cost to the cost of building an MVP, which takes 9 months:

Mockup Cost (6 weeks): $9,000
MVP Development (9 months):
- Fractional CTO Services: $45,000
- Tribe Development Costs: $198,000
- Total MVP Cost: $243,000

While producing a mockup is significantly more affordable, it serves a different purpose—helping you test ideas and gather early feedback.

4. Why Start with a Mockup?

Mockups allow you to refine your design and user experience without the heavy costs of full development. Investing in a mockup is a fast, cost-effective way to ensure your product concept is on the right track before committing to full development.

Final Thoughts

Creating a mockup over 6 weeks is a valuable way to visualize your product’s design and functionality before diving into full development. At Fika, our optional extended services for mockup creation complement our core Fractional CTO offering, giving you the flexibility to explore designs before making larger commitments.