The short answer

A focused Unity diagnostic or validation sprint starts at 9,500 EUR. A production engagement for VR training, AR guidance, a serious game or an interactive 3D application typically falls between 25,000 and 90,000 EUR. Multi-platform, regulated or multi-site enterprise programs commonly start around 60,000 EUR and can be substantially higher.

Those ranges are useful for planning, but a responsible fixed fee cannot be produced by selecting a platform and counting features. The better question is: what business condition should improve, how will you recognize success, and what is that change worth?

What hourly rates do—and do not—tell you

An hourly rate tells you the cost of one unit of labor. It does not tell you how many units will be needed, whether the chosen solution is the right one, how much rework will occur, or what business value the result will create. A lower rate can produce a higher total cost when diagnosis, architecture or communication are weak.

Hourly billing also creates an awkward incentive: the buyer benefits from a faster resolution while the supplier earns more when the work takes longer. For a qualified outcome, I therefore use a fixed, value-based fee. Limited maintenance or clearly bounded team augmentation can still be time-based when that model genuinely fits the work.

Typical Unity investment ranges in 2026

Diagnostic or validation sprint: from 9,500 EUR

Use this when technical feasibility, user behavior, content performance or stakeholder alignment is still uncertain. In two to four weeks, the engagement defines objectives and measures, tests the riskiest assumption and produces a decision brief with credible next-step options.

Outcome delivery: typically 25,000 to 90,000 EUR

This is the common range for a focused B2B Unity application with production-quality interaction, custom logic, target-platform optimization, quality assurance and launch support. Typical duration is eight to twenty-four weeks.

Enterprise program: from 60,000 EUR

Multi-site rollout, backend integrations, analytics, compliance, localization, multi-user behavior or several delivery platforms increase both value and risk. These programs are usually phased so evidence from one stage informs the next investment.

What actually changes the fee

The largest commercial drivers are not simply screen count or feature count. They are the consequences of getting the decision right or wrong:

  • Business value: the annual impact on safety, training cost, error reduction, sales, adoption or another agreed condition.
  • Uncertainty: technical, user, content and stakeholder assumptions that must be validated.
  • Adoption: onboarding, analytics, rollout and organizational work required for the application to be used.
  • Content: the volume and quality of 3D models, animation, scenarios, languages and subject-matter review.
  • Integration: identity, learning systems, product data, backends, hardware, analytics or regulated environments.
  • Reach: users, sites, platforms, operating lifespan and the cost of ongoing support.

How value-based pricing works

Before a proposal, the decision-maker and I establish three things: the objective, the measures of progress and success, and the value of achieving that objective. A proposal is then a concise summary of that prior agreement, not an exploratory document or a free design exercise.

Each qualified proposal presents three options. The first achieves the core objective. The second usually adds certainty, adoption or reach. The third adds the greatest strategic value through rollout, integration, measurement or ongoing optimization. Each option has a fixed fee, so you can choose the level of value and risk reduction that fits the business case.

How to compare Unity proposals

Do not compare only day rates and deliverable lists. Ask whether each proposal makes the following explicit:

  • Which business outcomes will improve?
  • Which observable measures will demonstrate progress and completion?
  • What is the tangible and intangible value of those outcomes?
  • Which assumptions and risks are being reduced first?
  • What are the client’s and specialist’s joint responsibilities?
  • What choices exist, and how does each option add value?
  • Who owns the source code, documentation and handover?

Budgeting without false precision

Use the ranges above to decide whether a serious conversation is warranted. If the potential value is small relative to the likely investment, stop early. If the upside is meaningful but the evidence is weak, fund a focused validation sprint. If objectives, measures and value are already clear, move directly to a three-option proposal.

That approach is more transparent than a calculator that generates a confident-looking quote from a handful of technical inputs. Good pricing should improve the buying decision, not merely produce a number quickly.