I just had a call with the people at Chetu, the developers I'm going to employ. They said they could get it done within five months for $30,000! I thought it was going to be like half a million dollars.
I'm not sure how reliable this review is but it seems like one of their clients had a terrible experience working with them[1]. I don't think they have a dedicated crypto portfolio either, CMIIW. What makes you choose them anyway? Do you have prior experience with them? I'm not sure how much it costs to develop a custom DEX so I can't comment much on the price they offer.
[1]
https://www.serchen.com/company/chetu-2/Thanks for pointing that out. Yes, I was checking into their background too and found that a) they don't have much in the way of crypto development experience, and b) they have a bunch of complaints.
https://www.nbcmiami.com/investigations/fast-growing-sunrise-software-company-buffeted-by-lawsuits-complaints/2911788/I also have read that their contracts contain a non-disparagement clause, and that they will threaten to sue and keep the IP rights to the software they develop if you leave them a bad review! So yes, I'm going to go with a different development company.
I looked online for some companies with dApp development experience and sent out a bunch of requests for quotes. I'll hear back from them on Monday probably. Once I've spoken with them and made a decision I'll post something on here and hopefully get some more constructive feedback.