How to Compare MVP Agencies Before You Build a Store or Marketplace: Price, Timeline, Who Owns the Code

By Alexander Rocket, founder of Rocketech

Start with the cheapest option: hire nobody. If you sell products from suppliers, a hosted store like Shopify already gives you a checkout, payments and themes for a monthly fee. For a single-seller store, that's usually enough, and you should spend the money on traffic.

Custom code starts to make sense when the platform gets in the way of how you make money:

Many sellers on one site, with sign-ups, payouts and commissions.

Quotes, bookings or rentals, where the price depends on the buyer's choices and a plain cart doesn't fit.

A buying flow that is the whole business, such as a B2B portal with a different price list for each customer.

If your idea is on that list, you need a small first version that tests it, which developers call an MVP (minimum viable product), and someone to build it. Agencies quote very different numbers for that job, and it's hard to tell why. The steps below make the differences easier to read.

Send everyone the same one-page brief

You can't compare answers to different questions. Write one page and send it to every agency:

Who the buyers and sellers are

The one problem the first version solves

The three to five things it must do

Your budget range and your deadline

Then add the store parts that are easy to forget: refunds, shipping rules, sales tax, order emails and the admin screen your team will use every day. For a marketplace, add seller sign-up, payouts, commission and what happens in a dispute. An agency that prices those lines has read your brief. One that skips them will bring them up later, as extras.

Price: compare what's inside the number

Published agency prices are useful starting points, but a general cost guide is not a quote for your project. Compare the same scope across providers and distinguish an advertised minimum project from the complete cost of a working first release.

Two checks help once you have quotes in hand.

First, divide the price by the rate. Say one agency quotes $9,000 at $45 an hour and another quotes $40,000 at $80 an hour. The first is selling 200 hours and the second 500. The gap in hourly rate matters less than what those extra 300 hours pay for. Ask both for the list.

Second, ask what's left out. Design, testing, launch and app store setup are sometimes extra. So is hosting. Get the included and excluded lists in writing, and ask how changes are priced before you need one.

A low price alone is no red flag. Small fixed scopes can be a sensible way to test an idea. The problem is a low price with no written list of what it buys.

Timeline: get a date and a list

A short timeline can be realistic when it means a smaller first version. Ask each agency for:

A calendar date when real users can try it.

What you'll see at the end of the first two weeks.

How often you'll see working software. Every week or two is a good sign.

A written list of what version one leaves out.

Then add time for what the agency doesn't control. Marketplace sellers usually have to pass identity checks before they get paid, and Stripe's documentation says it can pause charges or payouts if the required information isn't provided or verified. Run one real seller through sign-up well before launch day.

Who owns the code

Paying for code does not by itself settle copyright ownership. The Copyright Office's guide to works made for hire explains the distinction between employee-created work and certain specially commissioned work covered by a written agreement. Ask a qualified lawyer to review ownership and assignment language for your situation and jurisdiction. Make sure the contract covers both the agency and any subcontractors.

In practice, ask for:

A signed clause that assigns the code and designs to your company and says when that happens.

Your own accounts from day one. The code repository, hosting, domain, Stripe and app store accounts should all be in your company's name.

A straight answer on anything that isn't custom. If the build sits on the agency's own starter kit or paid licences, find out what you can keep using after you leave.

An exit list. Ask what you get if you move to another team later. The right answer is code, documentation and access to every service the product uses.

Extra questions for a marketplace

Start with payment disputes. With Stripe Connect, the charge type affects which account Stripe debits for refunds and disputes. Direct charges generally debit the connected account, while destination charges generally debit the platform. Responsibility for negative balances and recovery also depends on the integration and account configuration. Ask the agency to explain the complete funds flow and dispute process before choosing it.

Then ask when sellers get paid. The payout schedule affects your cash and your refund window.

And ask who settles a dispute in the first month. An admin screen for this can wait, but someone needs a way to see the order, the messages and the payment in one place.

Talk to your accountant about sales tax on marketplace sales before the payment flow is final.

Put it in one table

Fill this in for each agency. Blanks tell you as much as the answers do.

Question	Agency A	Agency B	Agency C
Total price, and what it includes
Hours and hourly rate
Date real users can try it
What version one leaves out
Who works on it, and for how many hours a week
Code, designs and accounts in your name?
Payouts and chargebacks explained?
Past clients you spoke to

For a head start on the first rows, we keep a public page at Rocketech where you can compare MVP development companies side by side on published price, timeline, smallest project, hourly rate and Clutch reviews. We're one of the ten companies on it, listed at $5,000-15,000 and 2-4 weeks, so treat it as a starting point and check each figure at its source. Prices and reviews change.

Call two past clients

Ask each agency for two founders it built a first version for. Ask them what went wrong and how it got fixed. Most software projects hit something, so "nothing went wrong" tells you little. A clear story about a missed date and how the agency handled it tells you a lot. Ask who did the work, and compare that with the names on your quote.

By this point, one agency has usually given you a clear list, a calendar date and a clean ownership clause. Start there, even if it isn't the cheapest.