Home / Choosing a software house
Buyer's guide · Updated 1 October 2026
How to choose a software house in Lahore, before you pay.
Most "top 10 software houses in Lahore" lists are written by the companies on them. This is a checklist you can run on any of them, including us, with the prices Pakistani firms publish so you can tell a fair quote from a strange one.
Work that's live today, a written scope with the price, clear ownership of the domain and code, and a named person who fixes it after launch.
A 5 to 20 page business site lists at Rs 15,000 to 1.9 lakh. A simple agency-built app, Rs 2 to 5 lakh.
A good software house in Lahore is one you can check before you pay. It shows projects you can open today, gives a written scope with a price before building starts, says who'll own the domain, hosting and code, and names who fixes things after launch. Price matters less than those four. Published Pakistani price lists put a business website at about Rs 15,000 to 1.9 lakh and a simple app at Rs 2 to 5 lakh, so a quote far outside that needs a reason.
What should you check before you pay anyone?
Run these eight checks on every company you are talking to. They take an afternoon. Skipping them costs a lot more.
- Open their work yourself. Ask for links to projects that are live today, not screenshots in a PDF. If it is an app, install it from Google Play.
- Ask who built it. Will the people who made that project work on yours? Get their names.
- Get a written scope. Pages or screens, features, what is left out, the price and a date. A package name is not a scope.
- Ask how changes are priced. The fair answer is that a change gets priced before anyone builds it.
- Ask who owns what. Domain, hosting account, code, Google Play account. Get it written down.
- Ask about month six. Who fixes a broken form or an expired SSL certificate, how fast, and what it costs?
- Ask for the running costs. Domain, hosting and email renew every year, often at a higher price than the first bill.
- Pay in milestones. Tie each payment to something you can see working, like a test link or a test build on your phone.
If a company won't answer one of these in writing, that is your answer.
| What to check | Good sign | Warning sign |
|---|---|---|
| Portfolio | Live links you can open, with the client's real name | Mockups only, or "a leading fintech client" with no name |
| Quote | Written scope: what's in, what's out, price, date | A package name and a total on WhatsApp |
| Price | Inside the published range, or a clear reason it isn't | Far below the market with no explanation |
| Changes | Priced before they're built | "We'll sort it out at the end" |
| Ownership | You can get the domain and code whenever you ask | Domain registered in their name with no handover terms |
| After launch | A fixed free-fix period, then a monthly or per-job rate | Silence about anything after launch day |
| Payment | Milestones tied to things you can test | Full amount upfront |
| Timeline | A date in the scope, and they'll say no to rush jobs | "Live by Friday" for anything with logins or payments |
Our own checklist. We'd rather you run it on us than take a list's word for it.
What should a fair price look like?
These ranges come from price pages Pakistani companies publish themselves. We collected them for our website cost guide and app cost guide, where every source is linked.
| What you're buying | Published range (PKR) | Where it's from |
|---|---|---|
| Small business website, 5–10 pages | Rs 15,000–70,000 | Six Pakistani price lists |
| Business website with CMS, 12–20 pages | Rs 95,000–1.9 lakh | Same six lists |
| Online store | Rs 40,000–3.3 lakh | Same six lists |
| Simple app, 3–8 screens (agency) | Rs 2–5 lakh | Five agency price pages |
| Business app with logins, payments, admin panel | Rs 5–15 lakh | Five agency price pages |
| Simple app from a freelancer | Rs 60,000–1.5 lakh | Progriso, 25 Feb 2026 |
Ranges as published by each company on its own website. They're asking prices, not audited data. Custom portals and systems are usually priced from a written scope.
Why do quotes for the same project differ so much?
Because they are quoting different projects. One company prices a ready-made WordPress theme. Another prices a design, the copy, SEO setup and a year of hosting.
Line the quotes up against the same written scope. Then the gap usually shrinks, or one of them turns out to be leaving something out.
Who should own the domain, server and code?
You should be able to take full control of your domain and code whenever you ask. That is the rule. How it's arranged day to day can vary.
Many studios, us included, host the sites they build on one shared account. It is often cheaper. The plan our sites share costs Rs 27,588 a year, about Rs 3,450 per site, and the working is on our cost page.
The trade-off is that your site then sits on someone else's account. So ask, in writing, how you'd move it if you leave.
Big software house or small studio?
Size tells you less than you might think. A large company can put your project with its newest team. A small one might give it to the person who'll also be fixing it in a year.
Ask who'll actually work on it, and whether they'll still be there after launch.
When is a freelancer the better choice?
Sometimes it is, and a software house that says otherwise is selling. A freelancer is often the right call for a small, clearly defined job: a 5-page site, a landing page, a bug fix, a design.
They are usually cheaper too. Progriso's 2026 table puts a simple app at Rs 60,000 to 1.5 lakh from a freelancer, against Rs 2 to 5 lakh from an agency. We've compared the two side by side in software house vs freelancer.
How do we answer our own checklist?
Fair's fair. Here's how we answer each check, in the same words we use on our homepage.
- Live work: Safar-e-Quran, M. Rashid Academy's school portal, InnoTech Skills Institute and The Toy Playground are all live. Our app Invoe is on Google Play, so you can install it.
- Written scope: "You get a written price before any building starts." If the scope changes, we price the change first.
- After launch: "30 days of free fixes on anything we built, after launch." Then hosting and upkeep as one monthly fee, if you want it.
- What we turn down: work where we can't have the server, logo-only jobs, and "anything that must go live this week."
Our process has five steps: a 30-minute call, a written scope, the build on our own server so you can open it while it's in progress, launch, and then running it.
We don't publish a fixed package price. You'll get one in writing after the call, and the published ranges above let you check it.
FAQ
Choosing a software house, asked plainly.
How do I choose a software house in Lahore?
Ask for work that's live today and open it yourself, ask for a written scope with the price before any building starts, ask who'll own the domain, hosting and code, and ask who fixes it after launch and for how long. A company that answers all four in writing is safer than a cheaper one that doesn't.
How much does a software house in Lahore charge?
On price lists Pakistani companies publish in 2026, a business website of 5 to 20 pages costs about Rs 15,000 to 1.9 lakh, and an agency-built simple app about Rs 2 to 5 lakh. A business app with logins, payments and an admin panel is about Rs 5 to 15 lakh. Custom systems are priced from a written scope.
Is a bigger software house always better?
No. A big company may hand your project to its most junior team, and a small one may give it to the person who'll also fix it later. What matters is who actually works on your project, so ask for their names and what they built before.
Should I pay the full amount upfront?
It's safer not to. A common arrangement is part payment at the start and the rest split across milestones you can see, like a working test link or a test build on your phone. Ask for the payment schedule in the written scope.
Who should own the domain and hosting?
You should be able to get full control of your domain and your code whenever you ask. If the studio hosts the site for you, which can be cheaper, ask in writing how you'd move it if you leave and what that costs.
Is a freelancer cheaper than a software house?
Usually, yes. Progriso's 2026 table puts a simple 3 to 8 screen app at Rs 60,000 to 1.5 lakh from a freelancer and Rs 2 to 5 lakh from an agency. A freelancer is often the better choice for small, clearly defined jobs. Our software house vs freelancer guide covers when each one fits.
Run the checklist on us.
Tell us what it has to do. You'll get live links, a written scope and price, and a straight answer on who owns what.