By Design UK builds AI-powered SaaS platforms for UK businesses that want the speed of a freelancer, the reliability of an agency, and none of the usual drawbacks of either. We sit deliberately between the two: a small, senior team using AI-accelerated development workflows to ship production-grade software faster, at fixed prices, with full source code ownership handed to you on delivery. No retained rights, no vendor lock-in, no mystery invoices.
If you’re planning an AI-powered SaaS platform, you need a partner who understands both the technical architecture (APIs, data pipelines, machine learning integrations, multi-tenant infrastructure) and the commercial reality of shipping something a UK market will actually pay for. That’s the gap we fill.
Costs vary hugely depending on scope, AI complexity, and integrations, but as a guide, our SaaS builds range from £18,000 for a focused MVP through to £650,000+ for enterprise-grade platforms with custom AI models, complex data infrastructure, and multi-team collaboration features. Fixed-price quoting means you know the number before work begins — not after change requests start arriving. For teams needing an ecommerce front end alongside a SaaS backend, our Shopify builds typically run £499-£18,999 depending on complexity.
Once live, ongoing platform health matters as much as the initial build. Our support plans start from £797/month for SaaS platforms (or £299/month for Shopify stores), covering monitoring, security patching, AI model maintenance, and incremental feature work — so your platform doesn’t quietly decay after launch.
Traditional software timelines assume manual coding at every layer. We use AI tooling across scaffolding, testing, and code review to compress delivery timelines significantly without cutting corners on architecture or security. This means fixed prices are realistic rather than optimistic, and MVPs that used to take six months can often reach market in weeks. The result is a build process that’s fast without being reckless, and affordable without being thin.
Freelancers are often cheap and fast to start with, but reliability is a gamble — projects stall, ownership of code is frequently unclear, and there’s rarely a business behind the individual if they disappear mid-build. Traditional agencies solve the reliability problem but introduce new ones: slow decision-making layers, opaque day-rate pricing that balloons scope, and account management overhead that adds cost without adding code. Neither model is built for founders who need a working platform, on a fixed budget, that they actually own outright. By Design UK is structured specifically to close that gap.
We don’t just build platforms for clients — we run one ourselves. Tackly.co.uk is a live multi-toolkit SaaS platform, built and operated by our team, demonstrating the same architecture patterns, AI integrations, and reliability standards we bring to client projects. It’s not a case study slide; it’s a production platform handling real users today. Combined with our UK office, fixed-price contracts, and full source code ownership on every project, it’s tangible evidence that we can deliver what we promise — not just describe it.
Whether you’re validating a new AI product idea or rebuilding an existing platform with modern AI capabilities, our team can scope the right approach for your budget and timeline. Learn more about our process on the about page, or get in touch via our contact page to discuss your project.
Most focused MVPs take between 6 and 12 weeks depending on scope and AI complexity, thanks to our AI-accelerated development workflow. Larger, enterprise-grade platforms take longer and are scoped individually.
Yes. Full source code ownership transfers to you on project completion for every SaaS and Shopify build we deliver — there’s no retained rights or licensing lock-in.
Yes, we regularly integrate large language models, automation logic, and recommendation systems into SaaS platforms, drawing on the same technical patterns used to build and run Tackly.co.uk.
You can move onto one of our ongoing support plans, starting from £797/month for SaaS platforms, covering monitoring, security updates, and incremental feature development.
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