What a custom business system costs in the Philippines

Ask three software companies what a custom system costs and you'll get three very different numbers. Ranges published in the Philippines run from a few hundred thousand pesos to several million. That isn't dodging the question. The price depends on what the system has to do.

This guide puts the numbers you can check side by side: what developers earn, what providers publish for whole projects, what ready-made software costs each month, and the fees that keep coming after launch. We don't list our own prices here. Every Orvyn quote comes after we scope the work with you.

Figures checked October 2, 2026. Prices change, so treat them as a starting point, not a quote.

Three ways to get a system

• Subscribe to ready-made software. You pay monthly and start fast, but your team works the way the software works.
• Hire a freelancer. Usually cheaper per project, but one person carries the whole build and the upkeep.
• Hire a software company. You pay more up front for a system built around how you work, and a team to call when it needs changing.

What developers earn in the Philippines

Most of what you pay for in a custom build is people's time, so developer pay sets the floor. Three sources measure it three ways:

• The Philippine Statistics Authority's 2024 Occupational Wages Survey puts the average monthly wage rate in the information and communications industry at ₱43,676 in August 2024, against ₱21,544 across all industries.
• JobStreet's salary page for software developers, built from pay ranges in job ads, shows a median of ₱37,500 a month, with the middle 80% between ₱23,000 and ₱53,000.
• Indeed puts the average for software engineers at ₱42,745 a month, from about 1,100 reported salaries, updated September 27, 2026.

Three months of one developer at JobStreet's median is ₱112,500 in pay alone. That's before benefits, design, testing, project management, hosting and the company's margin, and most systems need more than one person.

What providers publish for whole projects

A few Philippine providers publish price ranges. They're planning figures, not quotes, and they don't agree:

• RVE AppMaker (August 2026): ₱300,000 to ₱800,000 for a simple business application, ₱800,000 to ₱2 million for a medium business system, and ₱2 million to ₱8 million or more for enterprise software. It calls these planning estimates rather than fixed pricing.
• Praferosa Web Works (April 2026): ₱300,000 to ₱1,000,000 or more for a custom web app. By who builds it: ₱300,000 to ₱2,000,000 from local agencies, ₱150,000 to ₱800,000 from experienced freelancers, and ₱100,000 to ₱400,000 from junior developers or startups.

Both put a custom system from a local company at ₱300,000 and up, and both climb into the millions for bigger ones. Where your system lands depends on its scope, not on what it's called.

Ready-made software: the monthly option

If your work looks like what thousands of other businesses do, a subscription may be enough. Published prices:

• StoreHub, a POS sold in the Philippines: from ₱2,249, ₱4,499 or ₱8,999 a month, depending on the plan.
• Loyverse POS: free, with paid add-ons such as advanced inventory at US$25 a month per store and employee management at US$5 a month per employee.
• Zoho Inventory: a free plan for 50 orders a month, then US$29 to US$249 a month per organization, billed annually, depending on order volume.

Subscriptions work when the software fits. They cost more than they seem when you pay per user or per store as you grow, or when your team works around the software every day. For work general tools don't fit, like weighing scrap by the kilo or chasing signed delivery receipts, a product made for that trade or a custom build makes more sense.

What makes a custom build cost more or less

• How many screens and roles. An owner dashboard alone costs less than a system for owners, staff and customers.
• What it connects to. Accounting software, payments and chat apps each add work.
• Moving your old records in. Clean spreadsheets are quick. Years of notebooks take longer.
• AI and chatbots. They need good records underneath, and some chat apps charge their own fees.

Costs after launch

The build isn't the last bill. Plan for these too:

• Hosting and upkeep. Praferosa's 2026 website cost guide puts hosting, maintenance and other essentials at ₱2,000 to ₱10,000 a month after launch.
• Messenger. Meta says the Messenger Platform is free to use, and a person has to start the conversation.
• WhatsApp. Meta charges per message, by category: marketing, utility, authentication and service. From October 1, 2026, service messages are charged after the first 1,000 a month per business phone number. Messages from customers to your business are free. Check Meta's current rate card for the Philippines before you budget.
• Viber. Viber's help center says chatbot owners pay a maintenance fee of €115 a month per bot, plus a charge for each message the bot starts. An older Viber FAQ still says €100, so check before you budget.
• Changes. New reports, new users and new rules from your city all mean work later. Ask how changes are priced before you sign.

How to compare quotes

• Get the scope in writing: screens, roles, reports and what it connects to. Compare every quote against the same list.
• Ask what's included after launch, like hosting, fixes, changes and support, and what each costs.
• Ask who owns the code and the data, and whether you can export your records at any time.
• Ask to see working screens during the build, not only at the end.
• Add up the running fees: hosting, chat apps and any per-user charges.

At Orvyn, we sit with your team, scope the work, then send a quote and a timeline, and you see working screens along the way. Orvyn owns the code and you get a license to use the system. Your data always belongs to you, and we can export it whenever you ask. For a quote on your own system, book a call.

Sources

• Philippine Statistics Authority, 2024 Occupational Wages Survey, average monthly wage rates by major industry group, August 2024, on PSA OpenSTAT (openstat.psa.gov.ph). Checked October 2, 2026.
• JobStreet Philippines, Software Developer salary page (ph.jobstreet.com). Checked October 2, 2026.
• Indeed Philippines, software engineer salaries, updated September 27, 2026 (ph.indeed.com). Checked October 2, 2026.
• RVE AppMaker, the real cost of custom software development in the Philippines, August 2026 (rveappmaker.com). Checked October 2, 2026.
• Praferosa Web Works, website cost in the Philippines, April 10, 2026 (praferosawebworks.com). Checked October 2, 2026.
• StoreHub pricing (storehub.com), Loyverse pricing (loyverse.com) and Zoho Inventory pricing (zoho.com). Checked October 2, 2026.
• Meta for Developers, WhatsApp Business Platform pricing, updated September 30, 2026, and the Messenger Platform overview (developers.facebook.com). Checked October 2, 2026.
• Viber Help Center, Bot commercial model, edited September 1, 2026 (help.viber.com). Checked October 2, 2026.