Compare the real cost of custom software development in Australia — AI-accelerated vs a traditional agency. See how much you save in time and money, instantly.
This free calculator gives Australian businesses an instant AUD estimate comparing AI-accelerated custom software development against a traditional software agency. Select your project type — CRM, SaaS, internal tool, or business automation — set complexity and integration requirements, and see the cost and timeline difference in real time.
The difference isn't about cutting corners — it's about removing structural inefficiencies that traditional agencies have built their business model around.
Traditional agencies bill 4–8 weeks of discovery before writing a line of code. We map your workflow in a single session and start building the same week.
Repetitive scaffolding, authentication, CRUD, and integrations that used to take weeks now take hours. That saving passes directly to you.
Hourly billing incentivises slowness. We quote a fixed price, so our efficiency is our advantage — not your bill.
Typical results for common project configurations in Australia.
Medium CRM · 2 integrations
Simple SaaS MVP · no integrations
Complex internal tool · 3–5 integrations
Use the calculator above to get an estimate tailored to your specific scope.
Beyond cost and timeline, here is what the two approaches look like across the dimensions that matter most.
| Factor | Traditional agency | AI-accelerated (Bocati) |
|---|---|---|
| Time to first build | 4–8 weeks (discovery only) | 1–2 weeks |
| Total delivery | 4–12 months | 4–10 weeks |
| Pricing model | Hourly — bill grows with scope creep | Fixed price — agreed upfront |
| Discovery phase | Charged separately (30–80 hrs) | Included, done in one session |
| Code ownership | Varies — check your contract | 100% yours at handover |
| Vendor lock-in | Common with proprietary stacks | None — standard open tech |
| Cost (medium project) | $50k–$150k AUD | $20k–$55k AUD |
Based on published agency rates, industry data, and Bocati's own project history across 20+ Australian builds. Use these as reference points when evaluating any quote.
| Project type | Traditional agency | AI-accelerated | Typical saving |
|---|---|---|---|
| Custom CRM | $45k–$120k / 4–6 months | $18k–$35k / 4–6 weeks | ~55% |
| SaaS Application | $80k–$200k / 6–12 months | $25k–$55k / 6–10 weeks | ~50% |
| Internal Tool / Dashboard | $25k–$60k / 2–4 months | $10k–$25k / 2–4 weeks | ~52% |
| Business Automation | $20k–$50k / 2–3 months | $8k–$20k / 2–3 weeks | ~54% |
$150–$250/hr
Avg. AU agency hourly rate
4–8 weeks
Typical discovery phase
4–8 weeks
Avg. AI build delivery
100%
IP ownership (Bocati)
Transparency matters when you're making a significant investment decision. Here's exactly how the numbers are derived.
Traditional agency estimates are based on published Australian market rates of $150–$250 per hour for mid-to-senior development talent, combined with typical project hour ranges by type. These figures include standard agency overhead: discovery phases (30–60 hours), design and architecture (40–80 hours), development iterations, QA cycles, and deployment. They reflect what comparable scope projects actually cost when quoted at hourly rates in the Australian market.
Bocati's estimates reflect our actual fixed-price project data. AI tools handle the scaffolding, boilerplate, standard auth flows, CRUD operations, and integration plumbing that typically consume 40–60% of traditional development hours. Experienced engineers focus on architecture decisions, business logic, edge cases, and quality assurance — the work that actually requires human judgement. The result is equivalent quality delivered in a fraction of the time.
Complexity is the most significant cost driver. A simple project (up to 10 features, well-defined workflows) is estimated at 0.7× base cost. Medium complexity (10–20 features, moderate data relationships) is the baseline at 1.0×. Complex projects (20+ features, custom business logic, advanced reporting) are estimated at 1.6× base. Integration requirements add fixed amounts based on the number and complexity of third-party systems.
If you enter monthly revenue, the calculator computes the revenue attributable to the weeks saved by shipping faster. It divides your monthly revenue by 4.33 (average weeks per month) and multiplies by the number of weeks saved. This is a simplified model — it doesn't account for ramp-up time or partial adoption — but it illustrates the real financial cost of choosing a slower development path when time to market matters.
Most custom software projects are well-suited to this approach. These are the scenarios where it works best.
We will tell you honestly if your project is better suited to a different approach.
Everything you need to know about AI development costs, timelines, and how it compares to a traditional agency.
Explore what we build — each page covers scope, timeline, and pricing in detail.
Custom CRMs built around how your team actually sells — not how off-the-shelf software thinks you should.
From idea to production-ready SaaS in weeks, not months. Proper architecture, auth, and billing from day one.
Automate the manual work slowing your team down — integrations, workflows, and live reporting.
Dashboards, admin panels, and internal apps your team will actually use — built to fit your exact workflow.
Tell us what you're building. We'll tell you how fast we can deliver it — and what it'll cost.