Free second opinion
Got a development quote? Get a written second opinion in 48 hours.
Send us the proposal you have been given. Within 48 hours on working days you get a one-page note: what the scope leaves out, where the estimate is thin, and which clauses to insist on before you sign. No charge, no pitch. If the quote is fair, we will say so.
Who it is for
Founders choosing a build partner, before the contract is signed.
You have a proposal from an agency, a freelancer or a no-code studio. The number looks reasonable, or it does not, and you have no way to tell. The people who could tell you are the people who want the work.
We build first products for domain-expert founders and publish our own prices and terms, so you can see exactly what we compare your quote against. The note is written by Gaurav Sharma, who leads every build here, not by a sales team.
What it is not: a counter-quote, a sales call, or the start of an email sequence. Unless you ask for our quote, you will not get one.
What we check
Seven things that go wrong after signing, checked before you do.
The same questions we answer in our own proposals. A quote can be a fair price and still fail three of these.
- Scope gapsIs the first release defined as a job, with a written list of what is not included? Admin screens, permissions, reporting, onboarding emails, hosting set-up and data migration are the usual missing items, and each one becomes a change order later.
- Estimate assumptionsWhich roles, integrations and compliance work the number assumes, and what happens to the price when one of them changes. An estimate without its assumptions is an opening bid.
- IP transfer timingWhen the code becomes yours: on each payment, at the end, or never without a further document. Who owns the design files, the data model and anything built on the agency's own framework.
- Change ordersWho prices them, when you see the price, and whether they can move the end date or, where equity is involved, the equity.
- AcceptanceWhat "done" means for each milestone, who decides, how long you have to test, and what happens when a milestone is rejected.
- Hosting and accountsWhose name is on the cloud account, the domain, the app store listing and the source repository from day one. The answer should be yours.
- ComplianceWhether GDPR and your sector's rules, such as FCA, CQC, the NHS DSPT or FERPA, are inside the scope or left as "the client's responsibility" in a footnote.
What you get
One page, in plain English, within 48 hours.
A verdict and the reason: fair, fair with changes, or walk away. The three things to ask for before you sign. The questions to put to the other team, written so you can forward them as they are. And whether the price fits the scope, measured against our published ranges rather than a feeling.
Two or three quotes? Send them all. Side by side is more useful than one at a time.
If the quote is fair, we say so
Most quotes we see are not scams. They are vague, and vague is where the overruns live. A fair price with a tight scope is good news, and the note will tell you to take it.
Our own numbers are public: what a first release costs and a sample term sheet with every clause in plain English.
How it works
A link or an attachment. Then two working days.
Send the proposal
Use the form below with a link to the document, or paste the parts you want checked. Or email the PDF to gaurav@pixelperinches.com with the subject "Second opinion".
We read it
Gaurav, personally. If something is missing, you get one email asking for it, not a call.
The note arrives
Within 48 hours on working days, by email. If you want to talk it through, a thirty-minute call after that, and only if you ask.
Helpful, not required: the brief or spec you gave them, your budget range, your timeline, and whether the product handles health, money or children's data.
Send it
Send the proposal.
A link to the document, or the parts you want checked pasted in. Email works just as well: attach the PDF to gaurav@pixelperinches.com with the subject "Second opinion".
What you send is stored in our enquiries sheet like any other message to us, read by Gaurav and nobody else, and used only to write the note. We do not contact the other team, now or later. Privacy policy.
Received
Thank you. Gaurav will read it himself.
Within 48 hours on working days you get a one-page note by email. If the quote is fair, it will say so.
Local preview: nothing was sent. The payload was logged to the browser console.
Questions founders ask
Straight answers.
Why do you do this for nothing?
Because it is how we meet founders at the moment they are choosing a build partner. Some of them later ask us to quote. Most do not, and that is fine: the note is the same either way, and it takes an hour or two of Gaurav's time.
Will you try to win the work?
Only if you ask. The note has no pitch in it. If you want our quote for the same scope, say so and it comes separately, so you can compare like with like.
Do you contact the other agency?
No. Not now, not later. What you send is read by Gaurav, stored with our other enquiries, and used only to write the note.
Is 48 hours a promise?
On working days, yes. A proposal that arrives on Friday evening gets its note by Tuesday. If yours is much longer than usual, we will tell you when to expect it rather than rush it.
Can you check a quote for a no-code or AI-built product?
Yes. The same seven checks apply, with two more: who owns the code and the data if you leave the platform, and what it costs to export them. If you have built the prototype yourself and want to know whether it needs a refactor or a rebuild, that is our Production Readiness Review.
What if I have not got a quote yet?
Start with our prices, which are public, and the cost calculator for a first range. Three questions on the homepage give you a track before anyone quotes.
No quote yet? Start with ours.
Every price on this site is public, and three questions give you a track before anyone quotes.
Prefer to talk? Book a 30-minute call.