How long does it take to build an MVP? Our 14-day playbook

Most agencies answer "how long does it take to build an MVP?" with 2 to 4 months: Upsilon (2026) says 2 to 4 months for a standard build, and Netguru (2026) says about three to four months. iHux: 14 working days; one platform, one core flow; fixed £7,500 for projects booked by 28 Feb 2027, then £9,500.

The difference is scope, not speed alone. This post is the plan we follow for every MVP: what fits, what you see on each checkpoint day, and what you hold on day 14.

How long does it take to build an MVP with each approach?

Upsilon's 2026 guide breaks the timeline down by who builds it:

Upsilon also splits by scope: 4 to 8 weeks for a lean build, 2 to 4 months for a standard one, and 4 to 8 months for a complex one. Every figure here comes from a company that builds MVPs, iHux included.

How to build an MVP in 14 working days: fix the scope

An MVP answers one question: does this work for your users? So the scope is narrow on purpose.

• One platform. A second one comes after the MVP.
• One core flow. The path a user takes to get the one thing your product promises. Sign up, do the main thing, see the result.
• Agreed in writing, so the price doesn't move once work begins.

Most of the hard thinking happens here. A first idea usually comes with more features than one flow needs, and each one feels essential. Our test: if a feature doesn't help a user finish the core flow, it waits for the next version. Settings screens, profile editing and admin dashboards usually wait, unless one of them is the product.

If you haven't settled what the product should look like, a clickable prototype may come first. See MVP vs prototype.

Before day 1: the call and the written scope

Everything starts with a call. You walk us through the idea, who it's for and what you need it to do. We tell you whether it fits one platform and one core flow.

If it fits, we write down the platform, the core flow and the fixed price in an agreement. Kickoff follows once we have both signed it and your deposit has arrived. Then the 14 working days start.

The MVP development process, day by day

You don't wait two weeks to see something. There are five fixed checkpoints.

Day 1: three design directions

The three directions differ in look and feel, not in scope. You pick one.

Day 3: designs approved

You approve the screens before we build them. This is the last cheap moment to change your mind. A change here costs a sketch. A change on day 10 costs code.

Day 7: a working build

You get a build to try on your phone, and we talk through it on a call. Parts are still missing, but it runs on real code.

Day 11: senior review

A senior engineer who didn't build the code reads every line and writes a security report. It sits on top of other review levels and automated code scanning. This step separates a first version you can build on from a demo that only works when nothing goes wrong. How the review works is in Engineered, not generated.

Days 12 and 13: polishing

Everything the review found is fixed, and the product is prepared for handover. Findings don't move the delivery date: day 14 stays day 14.

Day 14: delivery

You get your app, ready to submit: the code in your own accounts, the security report and a handover call. The handover covers how to run and deploy the code. You can host it on your own server, or we do the initial setup and host it on ours. You pay the rest of the fixed price on delivery.

What if you need more time to decide?

The clock pauses while we wait for you. If you take two extra days to pick a design, those days don't come out of your 14, and the price stays the same. The plan counts our working days, not the calendar.

After day 14

You get 7 days of bug fixes after delivery, for bugs in what we delivered. New features aren't fixes.

The code is yours from the first commit. It lives in your accounts, so you're never locked in. If you take it to another team, nothing has to be handed back.

There is no hourly billing, during the 14 days or the 7 days of fixes. If the first version works and you want more, we quote the full product from its scale and estimated effort. Interior AI, one of our own apps, started as an MVP.

Where AI speeds up an MVP, and where it doesn't

We use AI tools, and they are part of why 14 days is possible. Our engineers plan the architecture first. AI then handles routine work such as scaffolding and test generation. Engineers test and review everything before delivery.

The time saved goes into the parts that decide whether the product works: the core flow, how data is stored and who can see it, and what happens when a user does something unexpected.

AI doesn't make product decisions for you. It makes adding features cheap, which makes it tempting to add too many. An MVP that tries to test five ideas tests none of them well.

Generated code tends to handle the path where everything goes right. Real users hit slow networks, empty fields, double taps and expired sessions. That is why the review sits on day 11, before delivery. Read AI-generated code security for what a review should catch.

When 14 days is the wrong answer

Some first versions don't fit. A product that needs two platforms on day one, a marketplace with separate buyer and seller flows, or an app in a regulated field usually needs more than one core flow. We'll say so on the first call, and quote it as a product build instead.

The team that builds your MVP also builds iHux's own apps on the App Store. You can see them on our apps page. The price, scope and plan are on the MVP development page, and UK founders can read the UK MVP page.