How Much Does Blockchain Development Actually Cost?
Real pricing from a team that's shipped 32+ blockchain projects. No BS, no hidden costs—just honest numbers to help you budget accurately.
⚠️ Important Reality Check:
If someone quotes you $5,000 for a "full DeFi protocol," run away. Quality blockchain development requires experienced developers, thorough testing, and security audits. Expect $30,000 minimum for anything production-ready.
Development Costs by Blockchain
Typical project costs across popular blockchains (MVP to production-ready)
Solana
Development Cost
$20,000 - $150,000
Timeline
8-16 weeks
Complexity
Medium (Rust/Anchor)
Transaction Cost
$0.00025 per transaction
Ongoing Maintenance
$2,000 - $8,000/month
Best For:
High-frequency apps, DeFi, NFTs, Gaming
Ethereum Mainnet
Development Cost
$30,000 - $200,000
Timeline
10-20 weeks
Complexity
Medium (Solidity)
Transaction Cost
$5 - $50 per transaction
Ongoing Maintenance
$3,000 - $15,000/month
Best For:
Institutional DeFi, High-value NFTs
Base (L2)
Development Cost
$25,000 - $180,000
Timeline
10-18 weeks
Complexity
Medium (Solidity)
Transaction Cost
$0.10 - $1 per transaction
Ongoing Maintenance
$2,500 - $10,000/month
Best For:
EVM compatibility, Coinbase integration
Polygon
Development Cost
$25,000 - $170,000
Timeline
10-18 weeks
Complexity
Medium (Solidity)
Transaction Cost
$0.01 - $0.50 per transaction
Ongoing Maintenance
$2,000 - $9,000/month
Best For:
EVM apps, Lower gas than Ethereum
Cost by Project Type
Real pricing for common blockchain applications
Simple NFT Marketplace
Minting, listing, buying/selling, wallet integration
Solana Cost
$25,000 - $50,000
Ethereum Cost
$40,000 - $80,000
Timeline
8-12 weeks
Monthly Maintenance
$2,000 - $4,000/month
DeFi Lending Protocol
Smart contracts, liquidity pools, interest rates, governance
Solana Cost
$80,000 - $150,000
Ethereum Cost
$120,000 - $250,000
Timeline
16-24 weeks
Monthly Maintenance
$6,000 - $15,000/month
Token Launch Platform
Token creation, presale, vesting, dashboard
Solana Cost
$30,000 - $70,000
Ethereum Cost
$50,000 - $100,000
Timeline
10-14 weeks
Monthly Maintenance
$3,000 - $6,000/month
Blockchain Gaming Platform
In-game assets, marketplace, leaderboards, rewards
Solana Cost
$100,000 - $250,000
Ethereum Cost
$150,000 - $350,000
Timeline
20-32 weeks
Monthly Maintenance
$8,000 - $20,000/month
DAO Platform
Governance, voting, treasury management, proposals
Solana Cost
$40,000 - $90,000
Ethereum Cost
$60,000 - $130,000
Timeline
12-18 weeks
Monthly Maintenance
$4,000 - $8,000/month
Why Solana costs less: Faster development cycles, lower transaction costs for testing, and more efficient smart contract execution mean savings at every stage.
What Affects Blockchain Development Cost?
These factors determine your final price tag
Complexity & Features
High ImpactSmart contract complexity, custom features, integrations
Example: Simple swap: $30k | Complex DEX aggregator: $150k+
Security & Auditing
High ImpactSecurity audits, testing, best practices implementation
Example: Smart contract audit: $15,000 - $50,000
Team Location & Experience
Medium ImpactDeveloper rates vary significantly by location and expertise
Example: US: $150-250/hr | Europe: $100-180/hr | Asia: $50-120/hr
Blockchain Choice
High ImpactDifferent chains have different development costs and complexity
Example: Solana: Rust (steeper) | Ethereum: Solidity (more devs)
Hidden Costs Nobody Tells You About
Budget for these or you'll be caught off guard
Transaction Fees at Scale
What seems cheap per transaction adds up fast
Cost Example: Ethereum: 1M txs = $5M - $50M in gas
💚 Solana Advantage: Solana: 1M txs = $250 (99.995% savings)
Infrastructure & RPC Costs
Premium RPC nodes, monitoring, DevOps
Cost Example: Helius Pro: $1,000/month | Triton: $2,000/month
💚 Solana Advantage: Similar across chains, but Solana needs less due to speed
Smart Contract Redeployment
Bugs found post-launch can be extremely expensive
Cost Example: Ethereum redeployment: $5,000 - $20,000 in gas
💚 Solana Advantage: Solana upgradeable programs: $50 - $200
Legal & Compliance
Token registration, securities law, terms of service
Cost Example: Legal fees: $10,000 - $50,000+
💚 Solana Advantage: Required regardless of chain
Detailed Service Breakdown
What you're actually paying for (typical mid-size project)
| Service | Cost Range | Included? |
|---|---|---|
Discovery & Planning Requirements gathering, architecture design, timeline | $5,000 - $15,000 | |
Smart Contract Development Core blockchain logic, tokenomics, protocol design | $20,000 - $100,000+ | |
Frontend Development Web app, wallet integration, user dashboard | $15,000 - $60,000 | |
Backend & Infrastructure APIs, databases, indexers, monitoring | $10,000 - $40,000 | |
Security Audit Third-party smart contract audit ⚠️ Highly recommended, separate cost | $15,000 - $50,000 | Optional |
Testing & QA Automated tests, manual testing, bug fixes | $8,000 - $25,000 | |
Deployment & Launch Mainnet deployment, monitoring setup, documentation | $5,000 - $15,000 | |
Total Project Cost (without audit) | $63,000 - $255,000 |
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