How much does it cost to build a custom MLM platform?

$80K to $300K MVP plus $30K to $80K/year maintenance. SaaS wins for 70% of scopes.

Standard SMB scope runs $80K to $300K all-in for a real MVP from a specialized agency. Add 30 to 50% for custom comp plan logic. Multi-region or hybrid plans push to $400K+. The headline number rarely captures year-2 maintenance ($30K to $80K per year). For comparison, CloudMLM Software at the Pro tier runs about $48K per year all-in including support, with no custom-development team to maintain. The math favors SaaS for about 70% of scopes that founders describe as needing custom development.