Scope clarity
A well-defined scope is the cheapest thing you can bring. Our paid discovery turns a vague idea into a fixed feature list, and a fixed price, before any build cost is committed.
What software actually costs in Afghanistan, real ranges, no anchoring games.
A website, a mobile app, an Odoo rollout, and a ministry-scale system are four very different budgets. This guide gives honest ranges for each in both Afghani and US dollars, with the timelines to match, from a Kabul team that has priced everything from a 50-user inventory rollout to a 500,000-employee government payroll.
500K+
Employees · national-government Odoo HR rollout
20 yrs
Delivering ERP in Afghanistan
50+
ERP implementations across the region
In short
In Afghanistan, a small website runs about $1,500-$4,000, a business website $4,000-$12,000, a mobile app $15,000-$60,000, and an Odoo ERP Phase 1 $25,000-$60,000. Mid-market ERP reaches $60,000-$200,000; ministry and donor projects are scoped separately.
Delivered from Kabul
real ranges, no anchoring games, delivered by senior teams based in Kabul, governed under ISO 12207 and ISO 27001. Twenty years of enterprise delivery in Afghanistan, including the 500,000-employee national-government Odoo HR rollout and Jobs.af. Engagements run from our Kabul office with regional support in Dubai and India.
- 500,000-employee Odoo HR engagement for a national government
- Jobs.af, Afghanistan's largest job-hunting platform, built by NETLINKS
- Clients include Da Afghanistan Bank, Afghanistan Payments System, AKDN, World Bank, UNDP
How software gets priced in Afghanistan, and why the numbers vary.
The single biggest driver of cost is not the country, it is the scope. A five-page site for a Kabul trading company and a multi-module ERP for an exchange house with branch reconciliation and transaction monitoring share almost nothing except the word 'software.' Anyone quoting a flat price before understanding your scope is guessing. That is why every NETLINKS engagement starts with a 30-minute discovery, then a paid 2-4 week structured discovery that produces a written design and a firm fixed-fee proposal, the discovery fee is refundable against the build.
Afghanistan-based delivery is genuinely cheaper than the US or EU, but not because corners get cut. Our software development is competitively priced, roughly 40-60% below comparable senior-team rates in Western markets, because our engineers are based in Kabul, not because the engineering is thinner. The same ISO 12207 lifecycle and ISO 27001 controls that govern our donor and government work apply to a small business build. You are paying for a lower cost base, not a lower standard.
Beware two pricing failure modes common in the local market. The first is the suspiciously low fixed bid that balloons through change requests once you are committed, common with teams that under-scope to win the deal. The second is open-ended hourly billing with no ceiling. Our model avoids both: discovery first, then a fixed fee against a written scope, so the number you approve is the number you pay. Entry engagements typically land at $25,000-$60,000; mid-market work at $60,000-$200,000; ministry and donor-funded programs are scoped on their own terms.
Cost & timeline
What it costs in Afghanistan.
Ranges below reflect real NETLINKS engagements, converted at roughly 70 AFN per US dollar. The low end assumes a tight, well-defined scope; the high end assumes integrations, multiple user roles, or regulated-sector controls. Every number firms up after a paid 2-4 week discovery into a fixed-fee proposal.
| Project type | Typical cost (USD) | Typical cost (AFN) | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small / brochure website (5-10 pages) | $1,500 - $4,000 | AFN 105,000 - 280,000 | 2-4 weeks |
| Business website + CMS, multilingual | $4,000 - $12,000 | AFN 280,000 - 840,000 | 4-8 weeks |
| Web app / SaaS MVP | $15,000 - $45,000 | AFN 1,050,000 - 3,150,000 | 2-4 months |
| Mobile app (iOS + Android) | $15,000 - $60,000 | AFN 1,050,000 - 4,200,000 | 3-6 months |
| Odoo ERP, Phase 1 (entry) | $25,000 - $60,000 | AFN 1,750,000 - 4,200,000 | 2-4 months |
| Mid-market ERP (multi-module) | $60,000 - $200,000 | AFN 4,200,000 - 14,000,000 | 6-12 months |
| Enterprise / ministry / donor rollout | Scoped separately | Scoped separately | 6-18+ months |
What drives the number
The things that move a software budget.
Number of user roles
One-role apps are cheap. Admin + finance + branch-manager + auditor views multiply screens, permissions, and testing. Roles drive cost more than page count.
Integrations
Connecting to Afghan banking, tax, telco, payment, or donor-reporting systems adds engineering and integration testing, a real line item, not a rounding error.
Compliance & security
Banking, health, and government work carries audit and ISO 27001 controls. Legitimate cost, and the reason a hospital system prices above a brochure site.
Data migration
Moving years of records out of spreadsheets or a legacy MIS, cleaning, mapping, validating, is often underestimated. We price it explicitly, not as a surprise.
Support & maintenance
Software is not done at launch. Plan 15-20% of build cost per year for hosting, updates, and support. We quote this upfront so the lifetime cost is visible.
, Questions
Software cost in Afghanistan, straight answers.
Why do quotes from different Afghan companies vary so much?
Mostly scope, not skill. A low bid usually means a thin scope that grows through change requests once you've committed. Compare what's actually included, roles, integrations, data migration, support, not just the headline number. A higher fixed fee against a written scope often costs less in the end than a low bid that balloons.
Do you charge for the quote?
The initial 30-minute discovery is free. If we go deeper, the 2-4 week structured discovery is paid, it produces a written solution design and a firm fixed-fee proposal, and that fee is refundable against the build if you proceed. You're never paying for a guess.
Can I pay in Afghani (AFN)?
Yes. We invoice in AFN for Afghanistan-based clients and in USD for international and donor-funded ones. The AFN figures in the table above use roughly 70 AFN per US dollar; the rate on your contract is fixed at signing so currency movement doesn't surprise you.
What's the cheapest way to start if my budget is tight?
Phase it. Most ERP and app projects can launch a focused Phase 1, the modules or features you need first, at the entry range, then expand once it's earning its keep. We'd rather ship a useful $30,000 first phase than oversell a $150,000 program you can't fund yet.
Where is your team based?
NETLINKS Plaza, Street 6, Lane 3, Shar-e-naw, Kabul. Phone: 077-302-0101. Senior architects and engineers based in Kabul; regional backup from Dubai, India, US.
How do I get started?
30-min discovery → paid 2-4 week structured discovery → written solution design + firm fixed-fee proposal. Refundable against the implementation.
Get a real number, not a range, in five business days.
Tell us what you're building. A 30-minute discovery maps it to a senior Kabul team, a timeline, and a fixed fee in AFN or USD.
Get a fixed-fee quote