Software and SaaS business ideas
Small software products and development services that solve one repeatable problem.
How to choose a starting point
Pick a platform with buyers already present, such as an app store or plugin marketplace. A service version can test demand before you build.
Software needs support, updates and security. Budget for hosting, platform rule changes and churn, and do not overpromise features.
| Business | First offer | Example setup |
|---|---|---|
| How to start a Shopify app business | A back-in-stock alert app: a button on product pages, email signups for out-of-stock variants, and automatic notifications when stock returns, with basic reports on signups and clicks. Excluded: SMS, multi-store syncing, custom theme development and full email marketing features. | $1,440 |
| How to start a Chrome extension business | A tab research organizer extension: free users can save and tag up to 10 sessions on one device, while paid users get unlimited sessions, cloud sync across devices and export to a simple citation list. Excluded: full citation management, team collaboration and browser history tracking. | $995 |
| How to start a WordPress plugin business | A premium delivery-date plugin for WooCommerce sold as a one-site annual license that includes updates and email support with a stated response window. A free version in the directory covers basic date picking. Excluded: custom code for individual stores, setup on the customer's site, and support for heavily modified checkout pages. | $895 |
| How to start a niche booking software business | A monthly subscription for one grooming van: an online booking page that only offers slots that fit drive time between nearby addresses, card deposits at booking, automated reminders, and pet profiles with coat and behavior notes. Excluded: payroll, inventory, multi-location franchises, and custom integrations. | $1,100 |
| How to start a mobile app business | An iPhone app that scans receipts, extracts the date and total on the device, assigns one of a short list of expense categories and exports a quarterly spreadsheet. Excluded: bank syncing, tax advice, filing, mileage tracking and an Android version until the iPhone version proves demand. | $979 |
| How to start an API business | A REST API that takes HTML and CSS and returns a PDF, with page size, margins, headers and footers as parameters, a free tier with a monthly cap, and paid tiers by document count. Excluded: document templates, storage of finished files beyond 24 hours, and processing of documents that need regulated handling. | $805 |
| How to start a no-code app development agency | A fixed-price job tracker built in two weeks: job list and assignment, a mobile form for technicians with photos and signatures, a status board for the office and one automated daily summary email. Excluded: accounting integrations, customer-facing portals, payroll and data migration beyond one spreadsheet import. | $1,320 |
| How to start an internal tools agency | A three-week project: one dashboard showing daily orders, returns and low-stock items from the store platform and warehouse system, plus one admin screen to search an order and see its full history. Read-only access only. Excluded: editing production data, custom data warehouses, and ongoing analytics work. | $1,490 |
| How to start a Figma plugin business | A plugin that scans the current page or file and lists every color, text style and spacing value that does not match the team's published library, with one-click selection of each offending layer. Sold per editor per year. Excluded: automatic fixing, code generation, and support for libraries outside the platform. | $605 |
| How to start a Slack app business | A Slack app that asks each team member three standup questions on a schedule they choose, posts answers in one daily thread, and messages the lead when someone flags a blocker. Priced per workspace per month by team size. Excluded: time tracking, performance scoring of individuals, and integrations with project tools in version one. | $740 |
| How to start an indie game development business | A single-player grid puzzle game with about 60 hand-made levels, one core mechanic plus three variations, no online features and a launch price under $15 on one major PC store. A free demo with the first ten levels goes up months before launch. Excluded: console ports, multiplayer, and a level editor until after launch. | $2,100 |
| How to start a Discord bot business | A custom bot that syncs a server role with the owner's membership platform, removes the role when a subscription lapses, welcomes new members with a short onboarding flow and filters common spam links. One-time build fee plus monthly hosting and maintenance. Excluded: payment processing, moderation staffing and content about financial or medical advice. | $745 |
| How to start an MVP development agency | A paid one-week scoping sprint that produces a prioritized feature list, user flow and fixed quote, followed by a six-week build of a web app with sign-up, one core workflow, basic admin and deployment on the founder's own accounts. Excluded: native mobile apps, payments beyond one processor, ongoing hosting costs and any promise of users or funding. | $1,900 |
| How to start a software QA testing business | A release testing retainer: a written regression test plan for the core user journeys, one manual pass across two browsers and one mobile device before each release, and a bug report delivered in the team's issue tracker within one business day. Excluded: load testing, security testing, and automation beyond a few smoke tests. | $1,560 |
| How to start a website accessibility audit business | An audit of up to ten representative pages and one key flow, such as booking or checkout, against WCAG success criteria, with automated scans plus manual keyboard and screen reader tests, a prioritized issue list with code-level notes, and one retest after fixes. Excluded: legal advice, fixing code, and claims of full compliance. | $1,750 |
| How to start an Airtable consulting business | A base rebuild for one workflow, such as grant tracking or client projects: up to six linked tables, an intake form, role-based views, three automations and a recorded training session. Includes import of one existing spreadsheet. Excluded: custom scripts beyond small snippets, external app integrations, and ongoing data entry. | $895 |
| How to start a Salesforce consulting business | A four-week org cleanup: review of the lead and opportunity process, redesigned stages with entry rules, duplicate merge for accounts and contacts, updated page layouts, three manager reports and one dashboard, plus a recorded rep training. Excluded: custom code, third-party app installs, data migration from other systems and CPQ setup. | $1,750 |
How to start a Shopify app business
Build one Shopify app that fixes a specific merchant problem, such as back-in-stock alerts for small apparel stores, and grow through app store reviews.
Costs, customers & launch steps →How to start a Chrome extension business
Sell a Chrome extension that saves and organizes research tabs for students and analysts, with a free tier and a paid sync feature.
Costs, customers & launch steps →How to start a WordPress plugin business
Sell one premium WordPress plugin to WooCommerce store owners on annual licenses, with a free version for discovery and email support for paying sites.
Costs, customers & launch steps →How to start a niche booking software business
Build online booking software for mobile dog groomers only, with route-aware scheduling, deposits and reminder texts, sold as a monthly subscription.
Costs, customers & launch steps →How to start a mobile app business
Launch one small paid iPhone utility, a receipt scanner for freelancers who file quarterly taxes, and test a one-time price against a yearly subscription.
Costs, customers & launch steps →How to start an API business
Sell metered access to one developer API that converts HTML into clean, print-ready PDF invoices, with a free tier, usage tiers and published uptime figures.
Costs, customers & launch steps →How to start a no-code app development agency
Build internal job-tracking apps on no-code platforms for small field service companies, delivered as a fixed-price two-week build with a support plan after.
Costs, customers & launch steps →How to start an internal tools agency
Build a read-only operations dashboard and one admin screen for e-commerce brands whose staff live in spreadsheets, as a three-week fixed project.
Costs, customers & launch steps →How to start a Figma plugin business
Sell a paid Figma plugin that audits a design file for off-system colors and text styles, priced per editor per year for in-house product design teams.
Costs, customers & launch steps →How to start a Slack app business
Build a Slack app that runs weekly written standups for remote teams of five to fifty, collecting answers in a thread and flagging blockers to the team lead.
Costs, customers & launch steps →How to start an indie game development business
Ship one small single-player puzzle game on PC in about nine months, with a fixed feature list, a public demo, and a wishlist goal before setting a launch date.
Costs, customers & launch steps →How to start a Discord bot business
Build custom moderation and onboarding bots for paid-membership Discord servers, with a one-time build fee and a monthly hosting and maintenance plan.
Costs, customers & launch steps →How to start an MVP development agency
Build first web app versions for non-technical founders as a six-week fixed-scope sprint, starting with a paid scoping week that produces a feature list and clickable flow.
Costs, customers & launch steps →How to start a software QA testing business
Sell a release testing service to small SaaS teams without a QA hire: a written test plan, a manual regression pass before each release, and a short bug report.
Costs, customers & launch steps →How to start a website accessibility audit business
Audit small business websites against WCAG with manual and screen reader testing, and deliver a prioritized fix list, without promising legal compliance.
Costs, customers & launch steps →How to start an Airtable consulting business
Rebuild one messy operations base for a small nonprofit or agency in Airtable, with linked tables, forms, views per role and a recorded training session.
Costs, customers & launch steps →How to start a Salesforce consulting business
Offer certified Salesforce admin cleanup for small sales teams: fix the lead and opportunity process, dedupe records and build three reports their manager trusts.
Costs, customers & launch steps →Use the comparison to choose an experiment.
Pick the model whose customer you can reach and whose first delivery you can perform competently. Get actual costs, test one small offer, and compare the result with your available time.
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