How we compare
Comparing MVP studios? Here is where we differ.
No competitor named, no straw men. Three facts about how we work, set honestly against what founders usually run into elsewhere in this category.
Free 15-minute fit check · no equity · no retainer
- $3,500
- fixed price
- 14 days
- to launch
- 100%
- code ownership
- No equity
- ever taken
- No retainer
- no hourly billing
The three differences
Fixed price. No calls. No waitlist.
$3,500, whatever the scope
One fixed price for the whole 14-day sprint, regardless of how much fits inside the scope agreed in the blueprint. There is no hourly rate underneath it and no change-order mechanism to be surprised by.
No call at any stage
Fit check, blueprint, daily updates, handover — all in writing. You never have to book a meeting to find out what something costs or how the build is going.
No capacity cap, no queue
We do not sell a limited number of monthly slots. A fit that comes in today starts now rather than waiting for a slot to free up.
Side by side
Us, and what founders typically encounter.
The right-hand column describes patterns that are common across this category, not any specific company. Ask any studio you are comparing the same six questions.
Price
Shiftmind Build
$3,500 total, fixed. One number covering the blueprint, the 14-day build and handover, whatever scope is agreed in writing before you pay.
Typical in this category
Founders comparing studios in this category typically get a headline starting price, then a revised figure once real scope is discussed — and change orders after that.
Getting a number
Shiftmind Build
Submit the fit check and get a written answer with the scope we would build, the price and a start date. No scheduling, no meeting.
Typical in this category
A scoping or discovery call is usually required before any number exists, which means calendar links, time zones and a week gone before you know the cost.
Starting
Shiftmind Build
No monthly capacity cap and no waitlist. If it is a fit, the sprint starts right away rather than at the top of a queue.
Typical in this category
Capped monthly slots and waitlists are common, so the date you can actually start is often weeks after the date you decided.
Scope changes
Shiftmind Build
Scope is written and locked in the blueprint. Anything that does not fit is listed as deferred, priced as its own sprint, never absorbed silently.
Typical in this category
Where scope is agreed verbally, the gap between what was discussed and what was built tends to surface as extra invoices late in the project.
Communication
Shiftmind Build
Written daily updates in one thread you can re-read, forward and search. Async by design, not as a downgrade.
Typical in this category
Standing weekly calls and status meetings, which cost founder hours and leave decisions undocumented.
Ownership
Shiftmind Build
The code, accounts and infrastructure are transferred to you at handover. NDA available on request.
Typical in this category
Ownership and hosting arrangements are often left undefined until the relationship ends, which is the worst moment to negotiate them.
Where we are not the answer
Honest limits, stated before you pay.
A fixed price only stays fixed because the format has edges. These are ours.
- Native iOS and Android store applications
- Multi-sided marketplaces with payouts, disputes and escrow
- Compliance certification programmes such as SOC 2 or HIPAA audits
- Migrating or rescuing a large existing codebase
- Real-time video, voice or streaming infrastructure
- Deep integrations with undocumented legacy enterprise systems
- Fully bespoke design systems and brand identity work
- Founders who want a weekly video call as the main way of working
What fits in the fixed price
A real product, not a demo.
Accounts and permissions
Sign-up, sign-in, password reset, roles and database-level rules so users only see their own data.
One core workflow
The main job your product does, built end to end with its screens, states and edge cases.
Payments
Stripe checkout or subscriptions, with access in the app tied to what the customer paid for.
Search, filters and files
Finding records, filtering lists, uploading documents and exporting data.
Dashboards
The views your users and you need to see whether the product is being used.
An AI feature
Chat or retrieval over your own content, grounded and with sensible fallbacks.
Email notifications
Transactional email for the moments that matter in the workflow.
Admin tooling
An internal view to inspect and fix data without touching the database.
The questions founders ask when comparing
Answered plainly.
Is the price really fixed at $3,500?
Yes — $3,500 total for the sprint, whatever the scope agreed in the written blueprint. If something cannot fit in 14 days we say so before you pay and it becomes a separate sprint. The number does not move mid-build.
Do I have to get on a call at any point?
No. The fit check, the blueprint, the daily build updates and handover are all in writing. There is no discovery call, no kickoff call and no demo call anywhere in the process.
How long is the waitlist?
There isn't one. We do not run a monthly capacity cap or a queue, so a fit check submitted today gets a written answer and, if it is a fit, a start date without waiting for a slot to open.
What if my idea is bigger than one sprint?
We tell you at the free fit check which slice we would build first and what we would deliberately defer. Nothing is quietly absorbed into scope and repriced later.
Next step
Find out if your idea fits in 14 days.
Tell us what you want to build. We reply within one business day with a straight yes, no, or here is what we would cut.