$1,542 my app launch costs

@chris.raroque

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Cursorseen in 62 videos →https://cursor.com/ ↗

Why it worked

The video provides high-value, transparent financial data regarding the real-world costs of building an app, which appeals to the 'build in public' community.

Summary

The creator breaks down the specific costs incurred while building and launching his app over a two-month period. He highlights various AI and development tools used, noting that he is now generating revenue to cover these expenses.

Structure

1Introduction of total launch costs
2Breakdown of AI coding tool expenses
3Explanation of AI model usage costs
4Summary of infrastructure and administrative fees
5Update on current revenue and building in public

Product placement

The video features Claude Code, Cursor, Perplexity Sonar, and Supabase as the tools used to build the app.

Call to action

follow along to see how it goes

Original caption

honestly could have been much worse (bc of the AI stuff) 🫠 #coding #developer #appdesign

More from @chris.raroque

Their other posts in the index, biggest breakout first.

On-screen text

$1,542 my app launch costs this was over a period of two months that's how long it took me to go from idea to live CLAUDE CODE ($200/mo) -$400 totally worth it it's what wrote all the code for my app CURSOR ($40/mo) -$80 I'm specifically paying for their bug bot feature to review my code and look for issues as a solo developer who can't review his own code this is totally worth it even if I'm already paying for claude code now here's the expensive one (sonar) by perplexity -$900 this is the AI model I'm using every time someone types something in my app it uses this AI provider which cost me half a cent doesn't sound like much until 1,000 people try your beta and it added up really fast Supabase ($25/mo) -$50 Domain -$12 Apple Developer -$100 so in total it was $1,542 to get my app live $1,542 total cost Revenue $2,088 the good news is we're finally making revenue and slowly recouping the costs I'm building this app in public so follow along to see how it goes

Transcript

This is how much it cost me to launch my app. Let's break it down. This was over a period of two months, that's how long it took me to go from idea to live. I paid $200 a month for Claude Code, so $400 in total. Totally worth it, it's what wrote all the code for my app. For Cursor I pay about $40 a month, so $80 in total. I'm specifically paying for their BugBot feature to review my code and look for issues. As a solo developer who can't review his own code, this is totally worth it, even if I'm already paying for Claude Code. Now here's the expensive one, Perplexity Sonar was $900. This is the AI model I'm using. Every time someone types something in my app, it uses this AI provider which cost me half a cent. Doesn't sound like much until 1,000 people try your beta, and it added up really fast. Supabase was $25 a month, so 50 in total. The domain was $12, and the Apple Developer account is a hundred dollars a year. So in total it was $1,542 to get my app live. The good news is we're finally making revenue and slowly recouping the costs. I'm building this app in public, so follow along to see how it goes.