--- title: "Pricing and Engagement Models | Cyan Orbit" description: "Fixed-scope projects, dedicated teams, time and materials and retainers compared by billing, scope changes and trade-offs, with no prices guessed." url: https://cyanorbit.com/pricing --- 1. [Home](https://cyanorbit.com/) 2. Pricing Pricing # How engagements are structured and billed We do not publish prices here, because the right number depends on scope, integrations and compliance. What follows is how each engagement model works, what drives cost, and how we reduce your risk. [Get a project estimate](https://cyanorbit.com/get-a-quote) [Talk to a developer](https://cyanorbit.com/contact) NDA on request · Free, no-obligation estimate · Reply within one business day Engagement models ## Four ways to structure a project - ### Fixed-scope project Best for A well-defined project with a clear feature list and a launch date, such as an MVP or a defined module. How billing works Billed against agreed milestones tied to the scoped feature list, not hours logged. Scope changes Handled as a written change order with its own estimate, added to the plan once you approve it. Trade-off Needs more upfront scoping, and work outside the signed scope requires a change order rather than a quick ask. - ### Dedicated team Best for Ongoing product development where priorities shift between sprints and you want a team that stays with the product. How billing works Billed monthly for the team's time, at an agreed size and skill mix, similar to extending your own team. Scope changes Absorbed into the next sprint, since the backlog is yours to reprioritise and no change order is needed. Trade-off Works best with enough product ownership on your side to keep a backlog moving; less suited to a single fixed deliverable. - ### Time and materials Best for Work where scope is still taking shape, such as an early-stage product or a research and prototyping phase. How billing works Billed for actual hours worked, tracked and reported so you can see where the time went. Scope changes Folded in directly, since there is no fixed scope to renegotiate against. Trade-off Total cost depends on how the scope evolves, so budget certainty is lower than a fixed-scope project. - ### Maintenance retainer Best for A live system that needs ongoing fixes, monitoring and small improvements after the initial build. How billing works Billed as a set number of hours or a response-time tier each month, continuing until either side ends it. Scope changes Small requests are handled inside the retainer; larger features are scoped and quoted as their own piece of work. Trade-off Sized for upkeep rather than new development; a substantial feature is better run as a fixed-scope or dedicated-team engagement. Budget ## What drives cost and timeline - ### Scope and feature count The number of user-facing features and how much custom logic each one needs is the biggest single driver of time and cost. - ### Integrations Connecting to payment providers, CRMs, ERPs or internal systems adds work that scales with how well-documented those systems' APIs are. - ### Compliance requirements Regulations such as HIPAA, GDPR or PCI DSS add design, testing and documentation work on top of the feature itself. - ### Design maturity A project starting from a validated design moves faster than one where the interface is still being figured out during the build. - ### Team composition The mix of engineers, designers and QA needed for the work changes the weekly rate and the calendar time to the same scope. Transparency ## What every estimate includes - A budget range, not a single number, so you can see the low and high end - A timeline broken into phases or sprints - The team composition proposed for the work - The assumptions the estimate depends on - What is explicitly excluded from the scope Risk ## How we reduce your risk - A free, no-obligation estimate before you commit to anything - An NDA signed before discovery, on request - IP ownership transfers to you on payment - No long-term lock-in, with standard tools and documented code you can take elsewhere Ready for a number specific to your project? [Request a free estimate](https://cyanorbit.com/get-a-quote) and hear back within one business day. For background on how costs are typically driven, see our guides on [what custom software development costs](https://cyanorbit.com/blog/custom-software-development-cost) and [fixed price versus time and materials](https://cyanorbit.com/blog/fixed-price-vs-time-and-materials). FAQ ## Pricing FAQs Do you offer fixed-price projects? Yes, for work with a clear, well-defined scope, such as an MVP or a specific module. We estimate against the feature list, bill by milestone, and handle anything added later as a separate change order. Can we switch from time and materials to a dedicated team partway through? Yes. Many projects start on time and materials while scope is still taking shape, then move to a dedicated team once there is a steady backlog to work through. What is included in a project estimate? Every estimate includes a budget range, a phased timeline, the team composition proposed, the assumptions it depends on, and anything explicitly excluded from scope. Do you require a minimum contract length? No. Fixed-scope projects run to their agreed milestones, dedicated teams and retainers continue month to month, and either side can end the engagement with notice. Who owns the code and intellectual property? You do, once payment is made. Code lives in your own repository throughout the build, so there is nothing to hand over separately at the end of the project. ## Get a scoped, no-obligation estimate Share a few details about your project. A senior engineer reviews every request and replies with next steps, questions, and a rough budget range. [Get a project estimate](https://cyanorbit.com/get-a-quote) [Talk to a developer](https://cyanorbit.com/contact)