This calculator turns a configurator scope into a first-year cost estimate. It separates external development, 3D assets, internal work, contingency and ongoing costs, so the assumptions remain visible when you compare proposals.
Discuss your product rangeRead the cost guide
The starting figures reproduce the fictional example in the configurator cost and ROI guide. They are not a quote, market averages or a promised return. Replace them with figures from your own scope. Nothing entered here is uploaded or saved by the calculator.
Calculate the costs you have defined
| Cost component | Your estimate |
|---|---|
| Internal work | |
| Build, assets and internal work | |
| Contingency on that subtotal | |
| Upfront cost including contingency | |
| Ongoing costs for selected period | |
| Total for selected period |
The calculation
Internal work equals hours multiplied by the hourly cost. Add that to the external build and asset budget to make the base subtotal. Contingency is a percentage of this subtotal, including internal work. Upfront cost is the subtotal plus contingency. Add the monthly cost multiplied by the selected number of months to reach the total.
With the fictional starting figures: £12,000 + £3,000 + (80 × £30) = £17,400. Ten per cent contingency adds £1,740, giving £19,140 upfront. Twelve months at £370 add £4,440, giving £23,580 for the selected period. The calculation uses full precision and displays results rounded to pennies.
Make each input traceable
| Input | Evidence to attach | Scope question |
|---|---|---|
| External build | A dated proposal and acceptance criteria | Are the rules, cart hand-off and release checks included? |
| 3D assets | A model and finish inventory | Who owns source files, exports and future revisions? |
| Internal work | Named tasks and realistic time allocations | Have catalogue cleanup, review and training been counted? |
| Contingency | A list of unresolved scope risks | Which risks remain after discovery? |
| Monthly costs | Hosting, licences and support assumptions | Does the amount include all expected recurring commitments? |
For example, a finish picker with a fixed price and a made-to-measure system that generates validated quotes can both display a chair. Their commercial rules and testing requirements can be very different. Count the requirements before comparing the totals.
Costs people often miss
The calculator only adds up what you put in. These are the costs that most often get left out of a first estimate. Decide where each one belongs before you trust the total.
- Product data clean-up. Option names, codes and rules often live in spreadsheets that disagree. Someone has to fix them before the configurator can use them. Count those hours under internal work.
- Testing time. Your team will need to check prices, rules and orders before launch. That is internal time too.
- New products after launch. Each new product or finish may need a model, textures and rules. If your range changes often, add an asset budget for the year, not just for launch.
- Training and support. Sales and support staff need to know how saved designs and quotes reach them.
- Leaving a platform. If you rent a configurator platform, ask what it would cost to move your models and data elsewhere later.
- Tax. Decide whether your figures include VAT, and use the same rule for every quote you compare.
How accurate is the estimate?
It is only as good as the figures you enter. The maths is simple and shown above, so the result will never be more precise than your weakest input. A build figure from a written quote is firm. An hourly cost someone guessed is not.
The best use is to compare options on the same terms. Run the calculator once for each proposal, with the same months and contingency, and save each CSV. The gap between them is often more useful than either total.
Use the result in a decision
Save the CSV with the proposal and scope version that produced it. If a new requirement changes the estimate, retain both versions and record what changed. Do not compare a comprehensive estimate with one that leaves assets, internal work or ongoing support blank.
The total describes cost, not benefit. Estimating a return also needs a baseline, contribution margin, a defined measurement period and a credible way to attribute any improvement. The cost and ROI guide has a separate fictional benefit example. Use measured business data before making a real decision.
Start with the configurator brief or discuss the scope of your range. This original calculator was built for this site and its assumptions are visible above.