Software maintenance cost calculator
See what a product costs to keep running each year after launch, and which line grows fastest.
Free, runs in your browser, no sign-up. Updated 2026-10-25.
Result
Running cost after launch: $33,400 in year one and $171,100 over 5 years (about $2,850 a month), for a build of $80,000. Biggest line: maintenance.
- Year one
- $33,400
- Final year
- $35,100
- Total vs build cost
- 2.14×
- Biggest line
- maintenance
| Year | Maintenance | Hosting | Services | Support | Total | Running total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $16,000 | $4,800 | $3,000 | $9,600 | $33,400 | $33,400 |
| 2 | $16,000 | $5,000 | $3,200 | $9,600 | $33,800 | $67,200 |
| 3 | $16,000 | $5,300 | $3,300 | $9,600 | $34,200 | $101,400 |
| 4 | $16,000 | $5,600 | $3,500 | $9,600 | $34,600 | $136,000 |
| 5 | $16,000 | $5,800 | $3,600 | $9,600 | $35,100 | $171,100 |
Maintenance is 20% of the build cost each year; hosting and services grow 5% a year.
Assumptions
Every number the result depends on, and where it comes from. Change any value and the result updates.
| Assumption | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Yearly maintenance as a share of build cost | % | OceanLab assumption. No primary source. Covers bug fixes, dependency and security updates and small changes. Raise it for fast-changing products.Reviewed 2026-10-25 |
| Yearly growth in hosting and services | % | OceanLab assumption. Placeholder for usage growth and price rises. Use your own forecast.Reviewed 2026-10-25 |
| Support engineer rate | USD/hour | OceanLab's engineering rate ($30-50/hr by role and seniority).Reviewed 2026-10-25 |
Send this estimate to OceanLab
Opens an email to OceanLab with this result and a link to your inputs. Nothing is sent until you press send, and there is no sign-up.
How this is calculated
Each year adds four lines: maintenance as a share of the build cost, hosting, third-party services (APIs, monitoring, email and similar) and support hours at an hourly rate.
Hosting and services grow by a yearly percentage to allow for usage and price rises. Maintenance and support stay flat unless you change them.
The maintenance share is an OceanLab planning assumption with no primary source behind it. Your own bills are the best input for hosting and services.
Questions about this tool
What counts as maintenance?
Bug fixes, dependency and security updates, keeping up with operating system and browser changes, and small improvements. New features are usually budgeted separately.
Why is maintenance a share of the build cost?
A bigger codebase has more to keep up to date. It is a planning shortcut, not a rule; replace it with a fixed budget if you have one by setting the share to match.
What rate does support use?
OceanLab's engineering rate of $50 an hour by default. Change it to your own team's cost or a quote.
Is anything I enter sent anywhere?
No. The tool runs in your browser and there is no sign-up. Nothing leaves the page unless you choose to email your result to OceanLab.
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