Investment & Pricing
One investment. Built to your mission.
No monthly fees. No vendor lock-in. A custom platform built exactly around your organisation — starting from $28,000, owned outright, and fundable through grants. Built for associations, non-profits, and mission-driven communities.
Ways to pay
If the number is the obstacle
Some organisations can approve a project and some can only approve a line item. If you are the second kind, we can structure this as a monthly commitment that ends with you owning the platform outright. Same platform, same ownership at the end, different shape on your budget.
Say so on the strategy call. I will lay out the monthly figure and the term for your scope before you commit to anything.
Platform Packages
Choose your starting point
Every package is fully custom-built for your organisation. These are starting configurations — your strategy call will refine scope, timeline, and investment.
Tier 01
Foundation
Your first custom platform. Core community infrastructure built exactly to your spec — no bloat, no features you don't need.
$28,000–$38,000
One-time investment · Web platform
vs. ~$10K/yr to rent SaaS — pays for itself in about 3 years
What's included
- Member registration, authentication, and profiles
- Up to 10 groups or chapters
- Community discussion feed
- Direct messaging between members
- Event creation and RSVP management
- Basic admin dashboard and member management tools
- Email notifications
- Custom domain
- Hosted on your own cloud infrastructure
- Full source code access — yours to manage and extend
- Your data on your servers, fully in your control
Tier 02
Community
The full web community experience. For organisations migrating from SaaS or building a serious member platform from scratch.
$45,000–$65,000
One-time investment · Web platform
vs. ~$15K/yr to rent SaaS — pays for itself in about 4 years
What's included
- Unlimited groups and chapters with sub-group support
- Member directory with search and filtering
- Course or resource library
- Paid membership tiers and subscription billing
- Advanced event management (ticketing, RSVP caps, automated reminders)
- Engagement and growth analytics dashboard
- CRM integration (Salesforce, HubSpot, or equivalent)
- Email marketing platform integration
- Custom member onboarding flows
- Role-based permissions beyond basic admin/member
Tier 03
Full Platform
Web platform plus native iOS and Android. For organisations where mobile access is central to the member experience.
$75,000–$110,000
One-time investment · Web + iOS + Android
vs. ~$25K/yr to rent SaaS — pays for itself in about 4 years
What's included
- Native iOS app, built and submitted to the App Store
- Native Android app, built and submitted to Google Play
- Push notifications
- In-app messaging
- Mobile-optimised onboarding flows
- Store listings set up and submitted under our developer accounts, and transferred to yours whenever you ask
Tier 04
Enterprise
Custom scope for large organisations with complex infrastructure, compliance, or integration requirements.
What's included
- SSO and enterprise authentication (SAML, OAuth)
- Advanced role and permission hierarchies that map to your org structure
- Data residency and compliance support (GDPR, SOC 2 alignment)
- Custom integrations (Workday, Microsoft Teams, Salesforce, and others)
- Architecture designed for 100,000+ members
- White-label control at every layer
- Custom SLA and dedicated support agreement
Enterprise scope is defined in consultation. Apply for a strategy call to begin scoping.
Ranges reflect scope, not just member count. A 500-member organisation building a full-featured platform with mobile apps may invest more than a 5,000-member organisation that needs a focused web platform. Our strategy call defines scope, timeline, and the investment that makes sense for your goals — before any commitment. Grant documentation is available on request.
See how this compares to your current SaaS cost
Enter your current platform fees and see the 10-year ownership math, live.
Payment
How you pay
Build payments are tied to project milestones, from kickoff through launch, so you pay as the work is delivered rather than all at once up front.
We can time those milestones to your grant disbursements or your budget cycle. Tell us what your finance team needs and we will build the schedule around it.
Platform Stewardship
Your platform is built. This keeps it running.
Your platform is built. This keeps it running, secure, and improving — without you managing it.
Stewardship is optional. Some organisations manage their platform in-house or with their own developer. These plans are for organisations that want Socio Connect to handle it.
Steward
$4,800/year
$400/month
Best for: Organisations with light platform activity and a small internal team
- Security patches and dependency updates
- Monthly platform health check
- Hosting monitoring and uptime alerts
- Up to 4 hours of minor updates per month (copy changes, configuration adjustments)
- Email support (48-hour response time)
Guardian
$9,600/year
$800/month
Best for: Active communities with regular content, events, and member growth
- Up to 10 hours of minor updates and feature adjustments per month
- Quarterly platform performance review
- Analytics reporting (engagement, growth, retention — monthly summary)
- Integration monitoring (CRM sync, email platform, payment processor)
- Priority email support (24-hour response time)
- One annual planning call with the Socio Connect team
Partner
$18,000/year
$1,500/month
Best for: Organisations actively expanding their platform and needing a dedicated technical partner
- Up to 20 hours of development per month (new features, design changes, expansion work)
- Dedicated Slack channel with the Socio Connect team
- Bi-monthly strategy calls
- Roadmap planning and feature prioritisation support
- First priority on new build capacity
- Same-day response on urgent issues
All stewardship plans are annual agreements. Hosting costs ($200–$800/month) are separate and paid directly to your cloud provider — not included in stewardship pricing.
Not sure which plan fits? We'll recommend one during the strategy call.
Apply for a Strategy CallThe Custom-Build Advantage
What you actually get vs. SaaS limitations
SaaS platforms charge $10,000–$25,000+ per year — for a template that wasn't built for you. General dev agencies typically charge up to twice as much upfront. Socio Connect delivers complete customisation at a price that works for mission-driven organisations.
| Feature | Socio Connect | SaaS Platform | Avg Dev Agency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fully custom-built to your spec | |||
| Your data, fully in your control | Partial | ||
| Recurring platform fees | None | $10K–$25K/yr | Maintenance only |
| Custom branding | Full | Limited | Full |
| Custom features / logic | |||
| Native mobile apps | Optional | Wrapper only | Optional |
| Can move vendors any time | Data locked | ||
| Grant-fundable (capital spend) | |||
| Build cost (mid-tier) | $45K–$65K | $10K–$25K/yr ongoing | $60K–$120K |
Honestly
When this is not the right move
I will tell you on the call if a custom build does not make sense for you yet.
If your community is under 500 people, a SaaS tool is probably cheaper and faster. If you do not have someone who will own this internally after launch, a platform will not fix your engagement problem. If your budget would have to come out of programme funding this year, wait.
I would rather you build with us when the timing is genuinely right.
Common Questions
Frequently asked
More questions? Apply for a strategy call and we'll answer them directly.
Ready to build your platform, your way?
Apply for a strategy call. We'll review your scope, discuss your timeline, and determine if Socio Connect is the right fit for your organisation.