"How much does an app cost?" has the same honest-but-useless answer as every software question: it depends. So instead of a number that could be wildly wrong for your app, this guide explains what actually drives the cost — so you understand your own project and can get an accurate quote. We build native iOS and Android apps and ship our own products, so this comes from real projects.
What decides the cost
The price of an app is decided long before anyone writes code, by a few key factors:
- What kind of app it is. A simple content app and an on-demand platform are worlds apart in complexity.
- Feature and screen count. The biggest single driver — every screen, role and workflow adds design, build and test time.
- Real-time features. Live video, chat, tracking and sync cost far more than static screens.
- The backend. Often larger than the app itself — and invisible to the person paying.
- Native vs cross-platform. How you build for two platforms is one of the biggest cost levers.
- Integrations, design polish and AI features, each adding to the total.
The app is the visible part. The backend, integrations and the second platform are where budgets are quietly won or lost.
Cost varies most by app type
What kind of app you're building matters more than any other factor. Roughly from lightest to heaviest:
- A simple app (content, forms, a basic backend) is the lightest.
- A mid-complexity app with accounts, payments and an API is a step up.
- An on-demand app is really three apps (customer, driver, admin) plus real-time dispatch — far heavier.
- A social or live-streaming app adds live video and real-time chat, which are genuinely hard.
- A mobile game ranges enormously depending on graphics and multiplayer.
Categorise your app honestly and the budget follows. We'll help you place it accurately on a scoping call.
Native vs cross-platform
One of the biggest cost levers is how you build for both platforms. Native (separate Swift and Kotlin apps) gives the best performance and is right for real-time, gaming and complex apps — but means two codebases. Cross-platform (Flutter or React Native) shares one codebase across both platforms, which can reduce cost meaningfully and suits standard business apps and MVPs. A PWA is lighter still, delivering an app-like experience through the browser without app stores.
Cheaper upfront isn't always cheaper overall — native still wins where performance is critical. We'll give an honest recommendation for your app; our guide on native vs cross-platform vs PWA goes deep on the trade-offs.
Why the backend is so much of it
The app you see is often only a fraction of the work. The backend — the server, database, APIs, integrations and any real-time infrastructure — is frequently larger than the app itself, and it's where complexity and cost concentrate. Two apps that look similar on the surface can differ enormously based on what's running behind them.
Want a real number for your project? The only honest way to price software is to understand what you're building. Tell us the idea and we'll give you a clear, no-obligation estimate. Get a free quote.
The build process
Understanding how an app gets built explains where the money and months go. A well-run project moves through discovery and scoping, UX/UI design, development in sprints, testing and QA across devices, and launch and store submission. The single biggest lever on both cost and timeline is discovery — an hour spent deciding not to build a feature saves many hours later. It's why a good partner pushes back on scope early rather than quietly building everything and sending a large invoice.
The ongoing costs to plan for
- Backend and hosting, growing with usage.
- App store fees and their cut of any in-app revenue.
- Maintenance — iOS and Android change yearly, so keeping an app working is ongoing, not one-time.
- Third-party services like maps, messaging, analytics and push, each with its own subscription.
How to build an app efficiently
- Start with an MVP. Launch the core, learn, then expand — see building an MVP in 90 days.
- Consider cross-platform if performance isn't critical — one codebase, real savings.
- Reuse proven building blocks instead of bespoke everything.
- Scope ruthlessly to must-have-for-launch features.
Getting a real number
An app's cost is driven by its type, its features, whether it's native or cross-platform, and the size of the backend behind it — not by the visible screens alone. The only way to a number you can trust is a short conversation about what you're building. We'll help you categorise it, choose the right approach, and give you an honest estimate.
Get a free quote for your app, or read native vs cross-platform vs PWA and our mobile app development service.