The problemA customer asked for API access, and all you can say is "coming soon".
In shortAPI development services build and document an API so your customers, partners, mobile app or AI tools can reach your data safely, with authentication, rate limits and versioning. We price API work from $1,800 for simpler jobs, with custom API builds from about $5,000, typically delivered in 1–4 weeks, for SaaS and B2B teams without a backend developer.
It usually starts with an email from a customer or partner: do you have an API? You say "coming soon", and the deal stalls or goes to a competitor that already integrates. Or the backend you started on, a Google Sheet, an Airtable base, a Bubble app or Firebase, starts hitting rate limits, slowing to a crawl or sending a bill that makes no sense.
We build the API your business needs: endpoints for a partner, a public API for customers, a backend for your mobile app, or an MCP server so AI tools can use your product. Each one comes with authentication, rate limits, versioning and documentation a developer can read in an afternoon. If you only need two existing tools connected, that is our API integration service.
Maintained by Haider Ali, Founder & CEO · Updated
These are the moments that send teams looking for API development. Each has a specific fix.
Deals stall or go to competitors that already integrate. More customers now want their own AI tools to reach your product too.
What we doWe design and ship a documented, versioned API for the partner or customer who asked, with keys they manage, so you can answer yes with a date.
When the per-minute quota trips, requests fail and you can only wait it out, often at the busiest moment. Past a few thousand rows it is the wrong tool.
What we doWe move the data into a real database with an API in front of it, and keep the sheet as an export if your team likes working in it.
Syncs and customer portals stall, and workarounds such as extra bases, delays and extra accounts add cost and fragility.
What we doWe put a database and cache behind your portal so customer traffic never hits Airtable directly, or move the base off Airtable once it has outgrown it.
One runaway loop, bot or missing limit can turn a normal month into a bill that hurts a small company, and slow pages lose users along the way.
What we doWe build the backend with rate limits, quotas and spend alerts from day one, so a loop or a bot hits a wall instead of your card.
Strangers can read customer data or spend your AI credits, and you may have to send a breach notice.
What we doWe move keys to the server, check authentication on every endpoint and test that one customer cannot read another's data. Careful engineering, not a certified pentest.
Timeouts, abandoned sign-ups and checkouts, and partner integrations that fail. The usual causes are missing indexes, repeated queries and no caching.
What we doWe measure each slow endpoint, fix the queries and indexes, add caching where it is safe, and test the API against an agreed response-time target.
We would rather tell you now than take the project and disappoint you.
| Starts from | $1,800 for simpler jobs; custom API builds from about $5,000 |
|---|---|
| Typical timeline | 1–4 weeks |
| Best for | SaaS, marketplace and B2B teams of 5–50 without a backend developer |
| Not for | Connecting two existing tools; that is API integration |
| What you get | Endpoints, authentication, rate limits, versioning, documentation and tests |
| API styles | REST, GraphQL, webhooks and MCP servers for AI tools |
| After launch | Alerting set up at launch; ongoing care on a maintenance plan |
| What you own | The code, the documentation and the hosting account |
Worth knowing: Most API trouble starts after launch, not before. A partner builds on version one, you rename a field, and their integration breaks overnight. We version every API from the start, announce changes in writing, and keep old versions running for an agreed period, so mobile apps and partners have time to move.
REST or GraphQL endpoints, authenticated, rate-limited, versioned and documented.
API keys or OAuth that customers can create and revoke, checked on every request, and never exposed in the browser.
Limits per key and alerts on usage, so a bug or a bot cannot run up your bill.
Sending and receiving events reliably, including the retries and idempotency that stop a duplicate webhook charging someone twice.
An MCP server on top of your API, so assistants such as ChatGPT or Claude can use your product with the same permissions as a user.
Failures alert someone. Silent failure is how data quietly goes missing for months.
An OpenAPI reference plus plain-English guides: what each endpoint does, what it expects and what to do when it breaks.
A 22-second look at an API we build: keys and authentication on every route, rate limits and spend caps, webhooks and documentation. From $1,800, 1–4 weeks.
Customers want API access. You keep saying "coming soon". Deals stall or go to rivals. A Google Sheet as your database. One runaway loop, one huge bill. There’s a better way. API development: the API your customers keep asking for. Authentication and API keys. Rate limits and spend caps. Webhooks, docs and an MCP server. From $1,800 · 1–4 weeks · fixed quote. Get a fixed quote. pixelandoak.com/services/api-development
Our API work starts at $1,800 for simpler jobs, such as a small set of read-only endpoints over data you already have. Custom API builds with authentication, several resources, webhooks and documentation start from about $5,000. Most take 1–4 weeks. What moves a project toward the longer end:
You get a fixed quote before work starts.
For a prototype, yes. A sheet, Airtable or Bubble gets an idea in front of customers quickly. It stops being a good idea when these warning signs show up:
Moving usually means a real database with an API in front of it, your data migrated after a dry run you can check, and the old tool kept as a read-only export or admin view if your team likes it.
The right design depends on who is on the other end. This is what changes:
| API for | What matters most | What we add |
|---|---|---|
| A partner | Stable fields and clear docs | Versioning, a sandbox key and a written change policy |
| Customers (a public API) | Self-serve keys, limits and support load | Key management, rate limits per plan and an OpenAPI reference |
| Your mobile app | Speed, and old app versions still working | Caching, pagination and old versions kept alive while users update |
| Internal tools | Getting work done without exposing data | Role-based access and audit logs |
| AI agents (MCP) | Safe, limited actions | An MCP server with scoped permissions and logging |
Deliberately mainstream choices. You should be able to hand this to any competent developer later without them needing to learn something exotic first.
Next.js, React, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS
Node.js, Next.js API routes, Cloudflare Workers
Postgres, Supabase, Cloudflare D1 and KV
Sanity, Payload, headless WordPress, or plain Markdown
Stripe, Shopify, WooCommerce
OpenAI, Anthropic, and open models where they fit better
Vercel, Cloudflare Pages — in your account, not ours
Plausible, Fathom, GA4, Search Console
We work with any business that wins work on trust. These are the ones we have written about at length.
Not sure whether a custom API is what you actually need? Send over what you are trying to fix and we will tell you straight — including if a smaller job would do it.
Ask us first →Who calls the API, what they need to read or change, how often, and what happens when it fails.
If an existing tool or connector does the job, we say so.
Including the failure cases, because those are what you will actually meet.
Alerts set up at launch so a failure reaches a person. Ongoing watching and fixes are part of a maintenance plan.
AI agents from our Engineering and Quality & Security divisions do the work, in parallel. Haider Ali, founder and CEO, agrees the plan with you and signs off everything before it reaches you.
Real sites, not mockups. Every one is live and you can go and look at it.
A nationwide directory helping shoppers find local farmers markets by state, city, or current location.
98k
impressions
1.3k
clicks
A nationwide mobile locksmith site connecting people locked out of cars, homes, or businesses with local help.
A pizza and smash burger delivery restaurant serving DHA Karachi, Clifton, and Gizri with online and WhatsApp ordering.
Our API work starts at $1,800 for simpler jobs. Custom API builds with authentication, rate limits, versioning and documentation start from about $5,000. The cost driver is rarely the happy path; it is the error handling, security and edge cases that make an API safe for other people to build on.
Most of our API projects take one to four weeks. A few read-only endpoints over existing data sit at the short end. A public API with write access, webhooks, a migration off a spreadsheet or Firebase, and full documentation sits at the long end.
API development builds a new API so others can reach your data: partners, customers, your app or AI tools. API integration connects tools that already have APIs, such as your CRM and accounting software. We do both; integration is a separate service and usually smaller.
For a prototype, yes. Past a few thousand rows, or once customers depend on it, quota errors, slow pages and weak permissions start to bite. That is the time to move the data into a real database with an API in front of it.
Yes, through an MCP server, the standard many AI assistants use to call outside tools. We build it on top of your API with scoped permissions and logging, so an assistant can only do what a user with the same access could do.
Not usually at first. Authentication, rate limits and logging can live in the API itself. A gateway earns its place when you run several services, need per-plan quotas across them, or want one place to manage keys. We will tell you when you get there.
Keys stay on the server, every endpoint checks who is calling and what they may see, rate limits stop abuse, and tests confirm one customer cannot read another's data. That is careful engineering, not a certified penetration test or a SOC 2 audit.
We release a new version and keep the old one running for an agreed period, with the change announced in writing. Partners and old mobile app versions keep working while they move, instead of breaking the morning you ship.
We set up alerting at launch, so a failure reaches a person instead of a customer finding it first. Keeping the API working as the services it depends on change is covered by a maintenance plan, quoted separately.
Tell us about your business and we'll design a custom homepage concept within 48 hours — free, no strings attached.