How much does a mobile app cost?

iOS, Android, and cross-platform side by side

Ranges are for a business app with accounts, notifications, payments, and an admin panel. A first version costs less; marketplace and enterprise apps cost more. The timeline starts once the scope is approved and we have what we need from you.

Typical price ranges

The timeline starts once the scope is approved and we have what we need from you.

What goes into the price of an app

An app is more than the screens people tap. Behind most apps sits a back end: the servers, database, and admin panel that store accounts, send notifications, take payments, and let your team manage content. The app on the phone and the system behind it are both part of the price.

Apps also go through the app stores. Apple and Google review every release against their rules. Preparing listings, screenshots, privacy details, and builds that pass review is part of the work.

The ranges in the table above show where most of our app projects land. Every project is quoted in writing after a short call, once we understand what the app has to do.

The four factors that move the price

The first factor is the platforms. You can build for iPhone, for Android, or for both. Building both natively means two separate apps. A cross-platform approach, such as Flutter or React Native, builds one shared app that runs on both, which usually costs less. Our comparison of native and cross-platform apps explains when each makes sense.

The second is the number of screens and features. Every screen has to be designed, built, and tested on a range of phones, including older ones. Features such as chat, maps, camera use, or offline mode each add their own work.

The third is the back end and admin panel. An app that only shows information needs little behind it. An app with accounts, orders, bookings, or payments needs a secure back end and a panel where your team manages it all.

The fourth is integrations and hardware. Connecting the app to your existing systems, payment providers, or devices such as scanners and wearables adds design and testing time.

What each price range usually buys

A minimum viable product (MVP), typically $10,000 to $20,000, is the smallest version of the app that does its main job well. It has the core features on iPhone and Android and is ready to test with real users. Delivery usually takes 2 to 4 weeks. An MVP is the best way to learn what people really use before investing more.

A business app, typically $20,000 to $35,000, adds what most companies need to run an app day to day: accounts, notifications, payments, and an admin panel for your team. Delivery usually takes 4 to 6 weeks.

A marketplace or on-demand app, typically $30,000 to $50,000, connects two groups of users, such as customers and providers. It needs matching, payments, tracking, and often ratings. These apps are effectively two products in one, which is why they cost more.

A complex or enterprise app, from about $50,000, covers offline use, hardware connections, heavy integration with company systems, or strict security requirements.

How to keep the cost down

Start with a first version. Decide the few things the app must do well, and leave everything else for later releases. An app that does three things well is more useful than one that does ten things badly.

Choose cross-platform unless you have a clear reason not to. One shared app for iPhone and Android is usually faster and cheaper to build and maintain.

Use what already exists. Proven services for sign-in, payments, maps, and notifications are faster and safer than building your own.

Ask whether you need an app at all. If people will use it rarely, a website that works well on phones, or a web app that can be added to the home screen, may be enough at a fraction of the cost.

Design and testing are part of the price

Good apps feel simple because a lot of thought went into them. Before building, we design the screens and test them with real people using a clickable model. Changing a design at this stage takes hours. Changing a finished app takes days.

Apps are used one-handed, on the move, often with a weak signal. Buttons need to be easy to reach, forms need to be short, and the app needs to cope when the connection drops. Designing for those conditions is part of the work, not an extra.

Testing matters even more on phones than on websites. There are many models, screen sizes, and versions of iOS and Android in use. We test on a range of real devices, including older ones, and check speed, security, and accessibility, meaning the app can be used by people with different abilities, for example with larger text or a screen reader.

A quote that leaves out design or device testing may look cheaper, but the cost usually returns later as poor reviews, support requests, and rework.

What is included in the price

An app quote from us covers the full path from idea to the stores. We start with a discovery workshop and a list of the screens the first version needs. The design is a clickable prototype tested with real people before anything is built.

The build covers the app and its back end, built in rounds you can try on your own phone. Testing happens on a range of real devices, old and new. Launch covers store listings, screenshots, privacy details, and submission to Apple and Google, plus fixes from their review.

A typical timeline

A first version usually takes two to four weeks: a few days of design, then the build in short rounds, then testing and store submission. A business app takes four to six weeks. Marketplace apps take six to eight weeks, because two sides of the product are built and tested together.

Apple's review usually takes a day or two, and Google's is often faster. We plan for both so the launch date holds.

Costs after launch

Apps need more care after launch than websites. Apple and Google release new versions of their phone software every year, and apps must be tested and updated to keep working. Store rules also change, and apps that fall behind can be removed.

Plan for hosting the back end, monitoring crashes, fixing problems, and releasing updates. Most apps also keep improving, because usage data shows what people actually do.

We agree support arrangements in writing before launch, so you know who looks after the app and what it costs.

A worked example

Picture a home services company that wants customers to book visits, see when the technician will arrive, and pay in the app. Technicians need to see their jobs and mark them complete.

That is two experiences in one app, with bookings, tracking, payments, and an admin panel. Built in full, it sits in the marketplace range.

A sensible first version is smaller. Customers book and pay. Technicians see their jobs. The office manages everything from an admin panel. Live tracking, ratings, and loyalty features come in later releases. The first version sits near the business app range and reaches customers sooner.

How to compare app quotes

Check that each quote covers the same work. Look for the platforms, the list of screens and features, the back end and admin panel, testing on real devices, and app store submission.

Ask who owns the app, the code, and the store accounts. You should own all of them. Ask how updates are handled after launch, and what that costs.