01What decides the price
Size
- Keeps it lower
- A handful of endpoints
- Pushes it higher
- Dozens of endpoints and many data types
Systems you connect
- Keeps it lower
- Well-documented, modern APIs
- Pushes it higher
- Old systems with poor or no documentation
Data flow
- Keeps it lower
- One way, in batches
- Pushes it higher
- Two ways, in real time, with conflicts to resolve
Security
- Keeps it lower
- Standard login and keys
- Pushes it higher
- Fine-grained permissions, audit trails and compliance needs
Errors and retries
- Keeps it lower
- Basic logging
- Pushes it higher
- Queues, retries, alerts and recovery from failures
Documentation
- Keeps it lower
- Generated reference docs
- Pushes it higher
- Guides and examples for outside developers
Testing
- Keeps it lower
- Core flows tested
- Pushes it higher
- Full automated tests and a test environment
After launch
- Keeps it lower
- A handover and done
- Pushes it higher
- Monitoring, support and version changes
02Where projects get surprising
- The other system has limits you only discover when you try, such as rate limits or missing fields
- Old systems have no API and need a safe route into their database
- The two sides disagree on what a customer or an order is
- A third party changes its API and your connection breaks
- Nobody owns monitoring, so failures go unseen
A short investigation before the quote removes most surprises. Ask for it, and for its findings in writing.
03Costs people forget
- Fees or plan upgrades for the services you connect
- Hosting, queues and monitoring for the API itself
- Time to agree data meanings with every team involved
- Updates when a connected service changes
- Documentation so the next developer can work without us
- A test environment kept alongside the live one
Ask every vendor to list what is included and what is billed separately, so quotes can be compared fairly.
?Frequently asked questions
Where should we start?
With a list of the systems you want to connect and what should happen between them. It lets us run a short investigation and give a written quote.
REST or GraphQL?
REST is simpler and fits most cases. GraphQL suits apps that need many different views of the same data. We recommend one after hearing how the API will be used.
What if the other system has no API?
Sometimes we can read its database safely, use file exports or add a small service in front of it. We check what is possible and safe before quoting.
Who owns the code and keys?
You do. Code, documentation and keys are in your accounts.
How do I get a quote?
Book a free 30-minute call. We follow with a written plan and quote.