What Does Project Software Cost for Professional Services? An Honest 2026 Price Breakdown
Anyone shopping for project software quickly runs into prices "from €20 per user per month" — but the bill that eventually lands on your desk is almost always higher. This overview breaks down what project software for professional-services firms really costs in 2026, what the typical price ranges look like, and where the hidden costs hide.
The Four Building Blocks of the Price
1. Price per user per month. The best-known component. For all-in-one suites (CRM + projects + time tracking + invoicing), the European market broadly sits between €20 and €30 per user per month. Standalone tools (time tracking only, project management only) are cheaper — but then you need three or four of them, plus the retyping in between.
2. Base license or platform fee. Many established packages charge a fixed monthly fee per account on top, usually €100 to €300 per month. For small teams, this can easily be half your total bill — always include it in the math.
3. Add-ons. Features you'd expect in the base package but that are priced separately: capacity planning (around €3 per user), accounting integrations (around €15 per month per account), extra company profiles, e-invoicing. A realistic add-on bundle adds another 10 to 20%.
4. One-off costs. Implementation or onboarding (€500–€2,500 with the established vendors), data migration from your current tool, and training hours. Ask about these explicitly: this is where vendors differ the most.
Worked Example: A 10-Person Agency
| Cost item | Market range | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| 10 users × €20–27 per month | €200 – €270 /month | €2,400 – €3,240 |
| Base license | €100 – €300 /month | €1,200 – €3,600 |
| Add-ons (planning + accounting integration) | €40 – €60 /month | €480 – €720 |
| Implementation (one-off, year 1) | — | €0 – €2,500 |
| Total year 1 | €4,100 – €10,000 |
That's a spread of more than a factor of two for comparable functionality. Which is why it pays to compare not on the "from" price, but on the total for your headcount.
What Do You Get Back?
Cost is only half the equation. The real-world payoff of integrated project software comes from three things: more billed hours (hours that no longer fall through the cracks — often 2–5% of revenue at agencies), faster invoicing (out the door days earlier means paid days earlier) and fewer budget overruns thanks to real-time project budget tracking. For a 10-person firm with €1 million in revenue, 2% more billed hours is already €20,000 a year — a multiple of the software cost.
Where Do the Hidden Costs Sit?
- Minimum seat counts: many packages charge for at least 5 (or more) users, even if you start with 3 people.
- Annual contracts with automatic renewal — watch the notice period.
- API locked behind a pricier tier: accessing your own data via the API shouldn't be a premium feature. With Horixa, the full REST API is included in every plan.
- Price indexation: check what the contract says about yearly increases.
What Does Horixa Cost?
We believe in comparable, transparent pricing — it's right there on the pricing page: Start €19.95, Growth €21.50 and Complete €22.95 per user per month (excl. VAT), plus a base license from €109 per month. Data migration from your current tool is free, implementation is something you do yourself in an afternoon, and the 14-day trial is free and ends automatically.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does project software cost per user on average? For all-in-one packages (CRM, projects, time tracking, invoicing): €20 to €30 per user per month, plus in most cases a base license per account.
Aren't cheap standalone tools the better deal? On license price, yes — but three separate tools plus manual retyping between systems quickly costs more in time than it saves in licenses, and it breaks the chain from hour to invoice.
Can I cancel monthly? Varies by vendor; check before you sign. Horixa can be canceled monthly when you pay month to month.
Curious what it comes to for your team? Run the numbers on the pricing page or try Horixa free for 14 days.