What does the word “contain” mean in this context?

Question

Finally, the most important advice he offers to contain costs, is to apply the delete key to the requirements list.

I guess it's like reduce. Is that correct?

The whole paragraph is:

Finally, the most important advice he offers to contain costs, is to apply the delete key to the requirements list. Whittle it away, he says, until you end up with a Minimum Viable Product: one that has enough functionality to be appealing to users, but without throwing in the kitchen sink in version one. If the app proves popular, the features you deleted can be added in to later versions.

Quoted from http://9to5mac.com/2015/01/19/how-much-ios-developers-earn/

Answer 1

From the definition of contain sense 4:

4) to hold back or within fixed limits

So to contain costs is to keep them within some fixed limits deemed acceptable. But not necessarily to reduce them, though containing costs is often mentioned in reference to undesired rising costs.

What is deemed "acceptable" depends on the context. In the example, it seems to imply that unnecessary features (along with their costs) should be eliminated.