SMRTR ProgrammingApr 14, 2026Hacker News

The cost of building a workflow editor on React Flow

SMRTR summary

Building a production-grade workflow editor from scratch costs $67,200-$120,000 in developer time, far exceeding initial estimates. Teams underestimate complex features like edge routing, auto-layout, and performance optimization that React Flow doesn't provide. Ongoing maintenance compounds costs as the editor evolves with your product, absorbing equivalent of one full-time engineer annually.

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