We put fixed starting prices on our studio's website. Here's the reasoning, and the free cost guides it turned into
Viva Studio is a small web and software studio in Melbourne. The site quotes starting prices publicly: A$900 for a business website, A$2,500 for a web app or MVP, A$4,500 for custom software, and every project gets a fixed number in writing before work starts.
The reasoning, in short:
Most people looking for a developer are searching cost questions first. "How much does a website cost", "what does an MVP cost", "fixed price or hourly". If the answer isn't on your site, they get it from someone else's.
A fixed price forces a written scope. Both sides have a reason to agree what's in and what's out before anything is built. Hourly quotes let that conversation slide until it's expensive.
A public starting price filters enquiries. The people who get in touch already know the ballpark, so the first call is about the work.
The cost questions turned into a set of free guides, no email gate: what a website costs in Australia in 2026, MVP cost, fixed-price vs hourly quotes, off-the-shelf vs custom software, website builder vs custom site. https://viva-studio.com.au/guides
Interested in how other service businesses here handle it. Do you publish prices, and did it change who contacts you?
Public starting prices are even stronger when paired with a clear change-order policy. Showing what triggers a revised quote—and a typical delivery range—would remove two more uncertainties before the first call: budget creep and timeline.
Public starting prices plus a written scope is such a good filter. The next step that pairs well: a short project questionnaire right under the prices (pages, content ready, deadline, budget range), so enquiries arrive pre-scoped and the first call starts at "here's what fits".
Publishing prices is the right call, and the guides are the smart part: they answer the questions people search long before they're ready to talk to anyone.
Two things I'd add from the buyer's side:
Did the public prices change the size of the projects that come in, or mostly the number of enquiries?