In Istanbul in 2026, custom software from an established studio typically costs about $3,000–$15,000 for a company website, $20,000–$85,000 for a web app MVP, and $35,000–$150,000 for a mobile app with its own backend. Those ranges come from one formula, team size × weeks × market rates, and Istanbul studio rates mostly sit between $25 and $99 an hour.

This guide shows the formula, the inputs and their sources, so you can sanity-check any quote you get. It's written by Deep Node Studios, a product strategy and software development studio in Istanbul. We don't publish a price list, so the numbers below are market ranges, not our prices.

What do software studios in Istanbul charge per hour?

Most established Turkish studios charge between $25 and $99 an hour. Of the ten Turkish firms Clutch profiles, three list $25–$49 an hour, six list $50–$99, and one lists $100–$149 (Clutch, October 2026). Their minimum project sizes range from $1,000 to $50,000, and most of their completed projects fall between $10,000 and $199,999.

For the estimates below we use a blended rate of $35–$75 an hour. That covers a mix of senior and mid-level people, design and engineering. At 40 hours a week, one person-week costs roughly $1,400–$3,000.

How much does each type of project cost?

Project	Typical team	Typical duration	Person-weeks	Market range (USD)	≈ TL (at 49.4)
Company or marketing website (custom design, CMS)	1–2	2–4 weeks	2–5	$3,000–$15,000	150k–740k TL
Codebase review before a takeover	1–2	1–3 weeks	1–5	$1,500–$15,000	75k–740k TL
AI feature added to an existing product	1–2	3–8 weeks	4–14	$6,000–$42,000 + usage costs	300k–2.1M TL
Web app MVP (one core workflow, accounts, admin)	2–3	6–10 weeks	14–28	$20,000–$85,000	1M–4.2M TL
Mobile app v1 (iOS + Android, with backend)	3–4	8–14 weeks	26–50	$35,000–$150,000	1.7M–7.4M TL
SaaS platform beyond MVP (roles, billing, integrations)	4–6	4–6 months	70–140	$100,000+	4.9M+ TL

TL figures use 1 USD ≈ 49.4 TL, the mid-market rate on 11 October 2026 (Wise). They are rounded, and VAT (KDV) is excluded.

These ranges line up with independent benchmarks. An August 2026 survey of MVP pricing puts a single-feature coded MVP at "from $30,000" over 6–12 weeks (Empat). The Clutch project bands above also cluster in the $10,000–$200,000 range.

Why do quotes for the same app differ so much?

Because the quote is really a guess about scope. Two studios can read the same brief and plan very different products. Six things move the number most:

How much is still undecided. If the market, customer or business model is unclear, someone pays to figure it out, either in a scoped discovery phase or through rework later. Discovery phases typically cost $5,000–$15,000 over 2–4 weeks (Leanware).
Number of platforms. Web only, or web plus iOS plus Android. Cross-platform frameworks reduce the gap, but don't remove it.
Integrations. Payments, ERP or CRM, identity providers, government services. Each one adds design, build and testing time.
AI and data components. Retrieval over your documents, evaluation and guardrails take real engineering time, and they come with running costs.
Security and compliance. KVKK (Türkiye's data protection law), GDPR for EU users, or sector rules in finance and health.
Speed. A fixed deadline means a bigger team in parallel, which costs more per week even if the total weeks drop.

Is it cheaper to build in Istanbul than elsewhere?

Usually, yes, against Western Europe and the US, and it's comparable to Central and Eastern Europe. 2026 senior rates run about $45–$65 an hour in Ukraine, $55–$80 in Romania, $60–$90 in Poland, $35–$55 in India and $130–$200+ in the US (vamasters, 2026). Istanbul studios mostly quote $25–$99 for a blended team.

Rate is only part of the cost. Time spent explaining, re-explaining and fixing work done by a team that misread the brief usually costs more than the difference between $40 and $60 an hour.

Should I hire in-house instead?

Compare like with like. In 2026, net monthly salaries for software developers in Türkiye run roughly 30,000–75,000 TL for juniors, 50,000–130,000 TL for mid-level and 80,000–200,000+ TL for seniors (Karekod, citing Kariyer.net and Coderspace). The employer's total cost is higher than net salary, and a working product team also needs design, product and DevOps skills, plus hiring time.

A studio usually makes sense for the first version and for specialist work. An in-house team makes sense once the product is proven and changes every week.

How do I get an accurate number for my project?

Write down the outcome, not the feature list. "Restaurants can take pre-orders and get paid" scopes better than 40 screens.
Ask for the team and the weeks. If a studio can't say who works on it and for how long, the price is a guess.
Separate discovery from build. A short, fixed-price scoping phase turns a range into a number.
Agree what's fixed. Fixed price works when the scope is clear. Time and materials works when it isn't. Both need a written scope.
Be wary of very low quotes. Marketplace listings sometimes show prices under 50,000 TL for "an app". That usually means a template, not a product built for your business.

How Deep Node Studios prices work

Deep Node Studios doesn't publish a price list, because project sizes vary too much. Before any larger commitment, you get a written scope, deliverables and budget. Most work is fixed-price against that scope. Fractional CTO work runs as a monthly retainer, and advisory runs by the hour. If we can't do something well within your budget, we reduce the scope rather than the quality. How we work and what drives cost →

Frequently asked questions

How much does a simple app cost in Istanbul? A focused web app MVP with one core workflow typically runs $20,000–$85,000, and a cross-platform mobile app with a backend $35,000–$150,000 (2026 market ranges).

How long does an MVP take? Most coded MVPs take 6–12 weeks once the scope is clear. Scoping or discovery adds 1–4 weeks before that.

Should I pay in TL or USD? Many Istanbul studios quote international clients in USD or EUR. For TL contracts on longer projects, agree upfront how prices adjust if the exchange rate moves.

Planning a build and want a written scope instead of a guess? Tell us about your project. Deep Node Studios replies within one working day. Last verified: October 2026.