Software your business runs on.
A custom web application costs ₱150,000–₱500,000 from a local Philippine agency and ₱300,000–₱1,000,000+ nationally. React Web Development Services builds custom web applications from ₱650,000 over 10–16 weeks, SaaS MVPs from ₱850,000 (12–20 weeks) and internal portals or dashboards from ₱480,000 (8–12 weeks). Payment is 50% to start, 40% at build sign-off, 10% at launch, and the repository, infrastructure and data are yours, transferred on final payment. Most businesses asking for a custom application need something smaller — see below, because that is usually the cheaper true answer.
Published, and inside the market band.
Market figures researched 1 September 2026 from published rates. Ours are the rate card, not an estimate.
| What you need | From | Timeline | Typical buyer |
|---|---|---|---|
| API & systems integration | ₱180,000 | 3–6 weeks | Two systems that should talk and don’t |
| Booking & reservation system | ₱280,000 | 5–8 weeks | Hospitality, clinics, venues |
| Client portal / internal dashboard | ₱480,000 | 8–12 weeks | Clark locators replacing spreadsheets |
| Real-estate listing portal | ₱520,000 | 8–14 weeks | Developers and brokerages |
| LMS / enrolment portal | ₱560,000 | 10–14 weeks | Schools and academies |
| Custom web application | ₱650,000 | 10–16 weeks | Bespoke to a process nothing off-the-shelf fits |
| Mobile app (iOS + Android) | ₱750,000 | 12–18 weeks | Where a phone app is genuinely required |
| SaaS MVP | ₱850,000 | 12–20 weeks | A product to sell, not a tool to use |
All PHP, non-VAT registered so nothing is added. Running costs are hosting plus a care retainer from ₱9,500/mo. Full context in the 2026 benchmark.
A stack chosen to be handed over.
Next.js and TypeScript on Postgres, deployed with CI/CD you can read. Not because it is fashionable, but because the decisive question for custom software is not how fast it ships — it is whether another team can pick it up in three years without rewriting it.
TypeScript is the largest single contributor to that. A type error caught at build time is a bug your users never meet, and it is documentation that cannot go stale. Postgres because the data outlives the application, and because it is the thing your next developer will already know.
Anything commercially binding — prices, availability, permissions — is computed in code with tests around it, never inferred. That is the same discipline behind our AI agents, for the same reason.
Repository, infrastructure, data
Transferred on final payment, in your accounts and your names. No licence back to us, no dependency on us continuing. If you take it in-house we document it and hand it over.
RA 10173 and a real DPA
A Data Processing Agreement, a named Data Protection Officer, and data handling your own auditors can follow. Locators, schools and clinics will ask; most vendors cannot answer.
Runbooks, not tribal knowledge
Architecture notes, environment setup, deployment and rollback steps, written for the developer who arrives after us.
Official receipts, net terms
BIR-registered with DTI registration 6271335. Clark locators get the paperwork their finance team needs — see the locator guide.
Most people asking for this need something smaller.
A ₱650,000 build is the right answer when nothing off the shelf fits the process. That is rarer than the enquiries suggest, and the three cheaper answers below solve most of what people describe to us.
An integration, not an application
Usually the real problem is two systems that do not talk, and someone retyping between them. Wiring them together is ₱180,000 and three to six weeks, against ₱650,000 and four months for software that replaces both.
Configured software, not built
If a mature product does 80% of it, configuring that and living with the other 20% usually beats owning a bespoke system forever. We will say so, and we will help you choose it.
Paid discovery first
₱25,000, credited in full against the build. You leave with a specification, an architecture and a real number — including the answer that you should not build it, which we have given before.
Does the process you are automating actually make you money, or is it just how you have always done it? Custom software is worth building around a genuine competitive advantage and almost never worth building around a habit. If nobody can articulate what the process wins you, the honest recommendation is to fix the process before paying anyone to encode it.
Asked before every engagement.
How much does a custom web application cost in the Philippines?
Local Philippine agencies charge ₱150,000–₱500,000 and national agencies ₱300,000–₱1,000,000 or more. React Web Development Services builds custom web applications from ₱650,000 over 10–16 weeks, internal portals from ₱480,000 and SaaS MVPs from ₱850,000. What moves the number is integrations with systems you already run, how many user roles need different permissions, and whether the process is documented before anyone starts.
How long does a custom web application take to build?
Ten to sixteen weeks for a custom application, eight to twelve for an internal portal, twelve to twenty for a SaaS MVP. The variable that actually moves it is not engineering: it is how quickly your side can answer questions and sign off. Projects slip on approval cycles far more often than on code.
Who owns the code?
You do — the repository, the infrastructure accounts and the data, transferred on final payment, with no licence back to us and no dependency on our continued involvement. We will document it and hand it over if you want to take it in-house. Ask any vendor this in writing before signing.
What does it cost to run afterwards?
Hosting and third-party services, billed to your own accounts and never marked up, plus a care retainer from ₱9,500/mo for monitoring, updates, backups and change hours. Budget for maintenance from the outset: unmaintained custom software is where the real cost of ownership hides.
Can you work with our existing systems?
Usually, and it is often the better project. API and systems integration starts at ₱180,000 over three to six weeks. If your accounting, inventory or CRM already works, connecting to it beats replacing it — and we would rather sell you the smaller piece that solves the problem.
What happens if we stop halfway?
Projects can be paused between phases without penalty, and you keep everything paid for to that point. There is no lock-in clause and no holding of accounts. The 50/40/10 schedule exists so neither side is ever far out of pocket relative to work delivered.