Free tool

Codebase value calculator

A codebase value calculator that reads a public GitHub repository in your browser and estimates rebuild effort and cost with basic COCOMO.

Updated

Your browser asks GitHub directly. Private repositories can't be read without signing in, so type their line count instead.

Overrides the GitHub figure. Count source lines only, not dependencies.

Assumption used to turn GitHub's byte counts into lines.

$

Assumption: a loaded hourly cost of an engineer. Change it.

Estimated rebuild cost

Look up a repository

hours × cost per hour

Approximate lines of code

–

Effort

–

2.4 × (KLOC)^1.05

Schedule

–

2.5 × (effort)^0.38

Average team

–

effort ÷ schedule

What it would cost to write this much code again, not what anyone would pay for it.

Runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type is sent to us or stored. The repository lookup goes straight from your browser to GitHub.

Runs in your browserBuilt and maintained by the DataBroker team

How to use the codebase value calculator

  1. Step 1

    Paste a repository

    Enter a public GitHub address such as github.com/owner/name and press Estimate. Your browser asks GitHub directly.

  2. Step 2

    Adjust the assumptions

    Change the bytes-per-line conversion or the hourly cost, or type a line count yourself for private code.

  3. Step 3

    Read the estimate

    See lines of code, effort in person-months, schedule, average team size and the rebuild cost.

What the result looks like

The codebase value calculator with 50,000 lines of code typed in at $100 an hour: an estimated rebuild cost of $2,218,060, 145.9 person-months of effort over 16.6 months with an average team of 8.8 people.
A 50,000-line codebase typed in by hand, at the calculator's default $100 an hour. It is what rebuilding would cost, not a sale price.

What is a codebase value calculator?

A codebase value calculator estimates what it would cost to write a piece of software again, from its size in lines of code, an effort model such as COCOMO, and an hourly engineering cost.

More about the codebase value calculator

The formula

Basic COCOMO, published by Barry Boehm in 1981, estimates effort from size alone. The calculator uses its organic mode, meant for small teams working on familiar problems.

StepFormula
Lines of codeGitHub language bytes ÷ bytes per line (default 40)
Effort (person-months)2.4 × (lines ÷ 1,000)^1.05
Schedule (months)2.5 × effort^0.38
Average teameffort ÷ schedule
Hourseffort × 152 working hours a month
Rebuild costhours × cost per hour (default $100)

Example: a repository with 2 MB of code is about 50,000 lines at 40 bytes a line. Effort is 2.4 × 50^1.05, about 145 person-months; schedule is about 16.5 months with an average team of nearly nine; at $100 an hour that is roughly $2.2 million to rebuild.

What the number means and what it doesn't

The result is a replacement cost: what it might take to produce this much code again. It is not a sale price. Buyers pay for code that earns money, has users, and comes with clean ownership and licences. A huge codebase nobody uses can be worth less than a small one at the heart of a profitable product.

IssueEffectWhat to do
Generated or vendored filesGitHub's language stats exclude most, but some slip through and inflate linesType a line count from your own tool such as cloc
Dense or verbose languages40 bytes a line is an average; some code is denserChange the bytes-per-line assumption
Private repositoryGitHub returns not found without signing inType the line count instead
Rate limit reachedGitHub allows 60 lookups an hour per network without an accountWait for the reset time shown, or type the line count

Sources

4 sources · checked Nov 7, 2026

  1. COCOMO (Wikipedia)Checked
  2. GitHub REST API: list repository languagesChecked
  3. GitHub REST API: rate limitsChecked
  4. US Bureau of Labor Statistics: software developersChecked

Codebase value calculator FAQ

All DataBroker questions →

Does this tool see my code?

No code is downloaded. Your browser asks GitHub for the repository's public details and language byte counts only, and nothing passes through our servers.

Why $100 an hour?

It is an assumption for a fully loaded cost, meaning salary plus benefits, equipment and management. The US median wage for software developers is lower; change the figure to match your market.

Is COCOMO still accurate?

It is old and rough, but it is transparent and widely known. Treat the result as an order of magnitude rather than a quote.

Can I value a private repository?

Yes, by typing its line count. The tool never asks for a GitHub login.

Is this what a buyer would pay?

No. Buyers look at revenue, users, maintenance and legal ownership. The rebuild cost is one input to that conversation.

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Try the codebase value calculator

A codebase value calculator estimates what it would cost to write a piece of software again, from its size in lines of code, an effort model such as COCOMO, and an hourly engineering cost.

  • Free
  • No sign-up
  • Runs in your browser
Use it nowSee the course