How much does it cost to convert an Access database to a web app?
Converting a Microsoft Access database to a web application costs £8,000 to £15,000 as a CodeFirst fixed-price package, with the scope and price agreed before work starts. Where a project falls in that range depends on the number of forms and reports in real use, how much VBA code sits behind them, the condition of the data and any links to other systems.
- Access database to web application, fixed price
- £8,000 to £15,000
- Simplest conversions start at
- £8,000
- Spreadsheet to web application, for comparison
- £6,000 to £12,000
Our published prices, excluding VAT.
What the price covers
The package replaces an Access database with a web application on SQL Server. The forms your staff work in are rebuilt for the browser, the reports that are still read are reproduced, the existing data is moved across and cleaned, and each person gets their own login. The package page lists what is included and what is not.
The price is fixed once the scope is agreed. Before that, we review a copy of the database and agree with you a list of what is to be rebuilt.
What moves the price
Forms and reports in real use. Most Access databases that have been in service for years contain forms and reports nobody opens. Only the ones in use are rebuilt, so the count that matters is usually smaller than the count in the file.
VBA code. VBA, or Visual Basic for Applications, is the programming language built into Access. The code behind buttons and forms holds the business rules: calculations, checks and automated steps. Each piece has to be read, understood and written again, so a database with a lot of code costs more than one that is mostly tables and simple forms.
Data quality. Duplicated records, broken links between tables and free-text fields used for several purposes all have to be resolved before the data can go into a stricter database. Many of those decisions are yours to make, which takes your time as well as ours.
Integrations. Links to accounting software, Excel imports and Word mail merges each add work, because the new system has to exchange data with the same things the old one did.
What to check before asking for a quote
A few facts make the first conversation quicker.
- Which forms and reports are used. Ask the people who use the database each day. Their list is more reliable than the list of objects in the file.
- Whether you hold the design copy. An Access file with the extension .accde has had its VBA source code removed. The original .accdb or .mdb file is needed to read the code.
- Which version of Access it runs on. Access 2016 and 2019 stopped receiving security fixes on 14 October 2025, and Office 2021 follows on 13 October 2026. Our Access end-of-support page has the dates.
- Whether it needs replacing at all. A database used by one or two people in one office, working well and backed up, can reasonably be left alone.
Our page on replacing an Access database covers the signs that one has been outgrown.
Costs outside the project price
Hosting and support after delivery are monthly costs and are not part of the project price. Allow for your own staff’s time as well: someone has to answer questions about how the database is used, check the migrated data and test the new screens before the switch.
Related questions
Can we keep using Access while the web application is built?
Yes. The work is done from a copy of the database and staff carry on as normal until the new system is ready. The two are then run side by side before the switch.
Is it cheaper to move the data to SQL Server and keep the Access forms?
It can be, as a holding step. Moving the tables to SQL Server deals with the limit on file size and with most of the corruption that comes from sharing one file. Staff still need Access installed and the forms still depend on VBA, so it suits a database that works well and has simply outgrown its file.
What happens to the data we already have?
It is moved into the new database. Trial migrations during the build show up problems early, and you check the results before the final move.
What if nobody knows how the database works any more?
That is common where the person who built it has left. The database is its own specification: the tables, forms and code show what it does, and a review at the start establishes which parts are still in use.
Want the answer for your system?
Tell us what the software does and what you are trying to decide. We will reply with a straight answer and what we would need to know to be more precise.