2026-09-08 · Wallion
Hourly rates sound flexible. Fixed price sounds expensive. Neither is "better" until you specify who pays when the scope changes.
The question before signing up isn't "How much is it per hour?" It's: Who bears the risk of a cut? If the scope expands, is it absorbed by the monthly bill or is the number reopened? If no one tells you on day one, you'll find out in month three. This page isn't the price list. It's the purchasing criteria. The offer is at /software.
The short answer
By the hour: You pay for time. The backlog can change. The month gets longer if the work gets longer. You bear the scope risk. It fits when you already send the list — you prioritize, merge, and know what's "done" every Monday.
Fixed price: There's a phrase, a number, and a date you can point to. If the scope shifts, the price reopens—it doesn't hide away for hours. The risk of the cut is borne by the one who closes. It fits when the piece fits on a page: a flow, a tool, a bridge.
If you can't write "this is included / this isn't" on day one, you don't have a fixed salary. You have a hope with a number. If you can write it and still ask for extra hours "just in case," you're paying for flexibility you won't use—or opening a contract that keeps piling up without closing.
When the hours win (you send the backlog)
Hourly rates are not the "cheap" model. They are the model in which You are the product ownerThe product already exists, the backlog keeps growing, the bottleneck is capacity, not clarity. You prioritize. You decide what gets merged. The other side contributes time and technical expertise. The work is done in sprints, not as a single deliverable.
In a small business in the Barcelona area: a founder or technical lead who already has the board, knows which ticket is hurting this week, and needs hands—not a studio to invent the roadmap. The risk of "this month it went somewhere else" is yours to bear. It's good if you know this from day one.
It's pointless when there's no list (adding people to a list creates meetings) or when you want a date and a "fact" that can be pointed to: it doesn't work by the hour. It just accumulates. If the block is "we don't know what to build," the hours won't solve it—first, the piece, or a Diagnostic that outlines it.
When does the fixed (a flow that can be written) win?
The fixed price isn't "more expensive by magic." It's scope + number + date, ...with the risk of cuts on the side of whoever signs off on the final project. It works when the piece fits on one page—a workflow, an internal tool, a bridge, replacing a page that's already worn out—and you can say "this is in / this isn't" before you start. You want a date when you can say "done." You don't use the studio as the tail end of the backlog: you close a piece, you don't hire a department.
In many Spanish SMEs—founders who still sign budgets, administration using the Excel spreadsheet that's "almost working," consulting or ERP partners—fixed-line systems win out when the problem is concrete: "This workflow costs us hours every week, and we want to stop someone from doing it." Not "digitalizing the company." A fragment. A sentence. A number.
If the scope is "whatever comes up," it's not a fixed project. It's a supplement with a project price. Whoever closes that "fixed" amount either loses it or secretly reopens it with extra hours. That's why writing the scope is painful. If it doesn't hurt, you didn't write it.
How it looks at a small business table (without fabricated clients)
No need for a case study with a logo. The pattern is the table: someone compares an "indicative budget" of €8,000 with a fixed price of €12,000 and a "no-obligation" maximum number of hours—three products, same meeting. The partner quotes "a few weeks" without specifying the scope; in month two, an invoice arrives because "there were more meetings." A studio offers a fixed price and says "we'll iterate later": so there's no fixed price, just hourly rates.
The useful question isn't "who's cheaper?" It's: who bears the risk if the scope shifts, and it's all predetermined? Wallion often deals with that type of client: a concrete cash flow, a fixed price, and a diagnosis before construction. No fabricated volumes.
Failure modes (those you have already seen, or will see)
Hours that never end.
You start a counter "while we sort things out." Three months later, you're still sorting. Nobody said what "done" meant. Without a backlog owner every Monday, the hours aren't flexibility: they're drifting.
Fixed with blurred range.
“An app that manages sales” isn’t a goal. It’s a wish. Whoever signed up for the number either loses it or reopens it with endless change requests. Without “this works/this doesn’t,” the landline is just a hope with a number.
Mix the two in the same contract.
You request a fixed rate and change the list every week → hours labeled as fixed. You hire by the hour and expect a product on day 40 with no owner of the scope → nobody said what was done. One sentence, one model. If there are two, two prices.
Surprise bills.
“"Guiding estimate" that becomes reality. Unannounced kickoff. Meetings that "didn't count." A fixed number of integrations that "assumed" three, and five appear. If the model doesn't say what happens when the scope shifts, the surprise is the hidden model.
Compare a fixed price with an estimate.
If it's not a closed-ended document, it's not the same product. A PDF with a range and one with a number and a phrase describing the scope are not competitive.
These mistakes separate a project that ends from one that becomes a month that never ends.
What Wallion does (and when not to buy it)
Wallion builds custom software a fixed price. It starts with a Diagnostic. An internal tool/workflow following the Diagnostic enters the published build pipeline. The license, if we maintain what's built, is monthly.
In short, this model: written scope, fixed number, date on which the event can be recorded. If the scope changes, the price is automatically adjusted—it doesn't get hidden for longer. This works well when you can write a flow on a single page and want Diagnosis → fixed → license, not a "just in case" counter.
Do not buy the Wallion model as a fixed unit. When you're already sending a live backlog and need extra help (that's reinforcement/staffing: say so); when the scope is "whatever comes up" and nobody can write the final cut; or when you want a fixed schedule and, in the same sentence, "total freedom to change every week." That's not a model. It's a wish.
If you say during the call, "We need reinforcement in our backlog," it should be said in the first conversation. It's not hidden in the FAQ.
Public prices (Option D — without inventing other figures)
Only the figures that live on the site:
- Diagnosis — €1,900. Audit of a workflow, prototype, and fixed budget. If you proceed, the diagnostic cost will be deducted from the construction cost.
- Construction — €6,900–€14,900. An internal tool: a workflow, after the Diagnosis. It's not the price of a large app, an MVP, or staffing: those will be... price fixed in writing, No to that band.
- License — from €390/month. Hosting, security updates, regulatory and API changes, hour cap for minor changes, business hours support — as published in the offer.
Apps, MVPs, and staffing: same scope model + fixed number, another figure, in writing. This page does not create rates.
Decision list (before signing)
Check each point. If any are left blank, do not sign a "fixed price" or offer "no obligation" appointments.
- Who bears the risk if the scope moves: us (hours) or whoever closes (fixed)?
- Can we write “this fits / this doesn’t” on a page today — or not?
- Who says “it’s done”: us every Monday, or a sentence written on day one?
- Do we buy a timer or a piece with a date on it?
- If we request a fixed price, does it fit into a flow/tool/bridge, or is it "the entire company"?
- If we request hours, is there a backlog and priority owner each week?
- Is the PDF a fixed number or a “guideline estimate”?
- What happens in writing when the scope grows: reopen pricing, change request, or "we'll see"?
- Can we combine fixed and hourly rates in the same contract?
- Are we comparing the internal tool band (€6,900–€14,900) or another fixed written salary (app/MVP/staffing)?
Without those answers, “flexible” and “closed” are adjectives, not a model.
Questions that buyers do ask
Isn't the fixed price more expensive?
Sometimes the construction time is higher than a month's worth of hours. Sometimes it isn't. The useful comparison isn't the first month: it's who pays when the scope shifts and how long the "almost done" stage lasts. A fixed-term contract with a scope-defined timeframe ends. A few hours without a list owner doesn't.
When should I choose hours?
Once you've submitted the backlog, you prioritize and know what to merge. Capacity, not clarity. If there's no list, don't start a countdown to "discover the product": first, the piece, or a diagnostic that outlines it.
Does the €6,900–€14,900 price range cover an app or an MVP?
No. That band is an internal tool/process after the Diagnosis. Apps, MVPs, and staffing: fixed price in writing, not that table.
Is the €1,900 diagnostic lost if we don't continue?
If you continue, it's deducted from the construction cost. If not, you've paid for a diagnostic with a prototype and a written contract—not an empty deck.
Can we start with hourly rates and then "close" a fixed-term contract?
Yes, but not in the same ambiguous sentence. First one, then the other, with the scope clearly defined when it becomes fixed. Mixing them without a clear ending is the classic mistake.
What does the license include starting from €390/month?
The offer includes: hosting, security, regulatory and API updates, a limit on minor changes, and support during business hours. For major changes, a fixed price is set for a specific number of days.
Does Wallion do reinforcement/staffing or only fixed-term contracts?
Both options are acceptable. If you send the list: reinforcement. If you send a scope phrase: fixed. The purchase path remains /software.
Do Wallion Mobility, Glowapp, or Nummo fit into this category?
No. These are not Wallion products from this service. This page discusses the pricing model for custom software for the studio, not those brands.
What this page is not
It's not the offer (/software). It doesn't create tariffs — only Option D. It doesn't treat Mobility, Glowapp, or Nummo as Wallion products. It's not a study ranking.
Thirty minutes
If the lock is the pricing model — hours or closed, who bears the risk, what scope phrase fits — say it in the first conversation. Book a 30-minute call.