Development

App and system effort estimator

Estimate app or system effort from screens, roles, notifications, workflows, and integrations.

Compare best, likely, and worst ranges, MVP cuts, and a shareable link without leaving your browser.

  • Screens, roles, and integrations are weighted together
  • Best, likely, and worst ranges are calculated automatically
  • MVP cuts are ranked by impact
  • Runs in your browser; no server upload
Open tool The first load does not change the URL. Use Share to create a link.

What the estimator shows

  • Build a baseline effort estimate from screens, roles, workflows, and external integrations.
  • Optional offline, notification, audit-log, and multilingual work flags adjust the difficulty.
  • Review effort, duration, cost, and MVP cut candidates together.

How to use the estimator

  1. Open the estimator and choose a project type and target platform.
  2. Enter the screen, role, workflow, and integration counts.
  3. Enable offline support, notifications, audit logging, and multilingual work as needed.
  4. Adjust the design level, QA level, daily rate, and decimal-display setting.
  5. Review the estimate, then apply the MVP preset, copy the result, or copy a share link.

Samples

Standard business app

Input

8 screens, 2 roles, 1 workflow, 1 integration, web, standard design, standard QA, JPY 100,000/day

Output

About 11.5 person-days, 3 days, ¥1,150,000. Best 9.2 / worst 15.0.

Feature-rich multi-platform system

Input

18 screens, 5 roles, 4 workflows, 3 integrations, offline, notifications, audit logs, multilingual, web + mobile, polished design / strict QA

Output

About 71.1 person-days, 16 days, ¥7,111,000. Best 56.9 / worst 92.4.

Estimate inputs

App and system effort estimator

Your inputs stay in this browser and are never sent to a server.

Settings

  • Project type - Changes the starting difficulty and delivery approach.
  • Target platform - Web, mobile, and cross-platform projects require different effort.
  • Design level - Shows how polished and bespoke the UI needs to be.
  • QA level - Represents test coverage, verification cycles, and fix loops.

Breakdown

  • Screen count - The total number of list, detail, form, and settings screens.
  • Role count - The number of roles you need, such as admin, user, or approver.
  • Workflow count - Increase this when approvals branch or involve multiple steps.
  • Integration count - API, webhook, and external SaaS connections.

Estimate

Best - person-days
Likely - Estimate
Worst - Best is 80% of likely; worst is 130% of likely.
Team capacity - 4.5 person-days / day

MVP cuts

The most expensive items appear first.

No obvious items to cut from the current input.

  • Offline support - Offline support needs state synchronization and reconnect design.
  • Multilingual - Multilingual work adds content and validation effort.
  • Audit log - Strict QA often adds planning and fix cycles.

Notes

  • This is a planning aid, not a substitute for a formal quote or contract scope.
  • Integrations often add coordination, API authentication, webhook handling, exception paths, and retries.
  • Offline and multilingual work expand implementation and verification beyond screen count alone.
  • Real projects should also account for legacy assets, reuse rates, and stakeholder review cycles.

FAQ

Can I use this as a formal quote?

No. This is a planning estimate, not a formal quote. Replace it with a formal quote once the assumptions are agreed.

Can cost go up even when the screen count stays low?

Yes. Multilingual support, integrations, strict QA, and multiple platforms can add effort even when there are few screens.

What does the MVP preset do?

It applies a smaller starting configuration that is closer to a first release.

What is stored in the share URL?

The share URL stores your inputs, selected options, decimal display, and query-sync settings.

Does the calculation send anything to the server?

No. The calculation runs locally in your browser.

Related links