Guide · budget
How much does app development cost?
There's no reference price for a custom app, because its content varies from one company to another. Here's how the cost breaks down, and what continues after delivery.
The cost of developing an app depends on the number of screens and roles, the integrations required, and above all the volume of data to migrate, rather than on a fixed price range per app type. On top of this come recurring costs after go-live: hosting, developer accounts for publishing on the stores, and maintenance.
Why the price varies so much from one project to another
Two apps that look similar from the outside — booking a slot, tracking a job — can have very different costs depending on the number of roles, the real business rules and the integrations required. We detail these cost factors in our guide on custom software pricing; this guide focuses on price structure and on the costs that continue after delivery, specific to mobile apps.
A price range given without having seen your project can only be approximate, in one direction or the other. A vendor who announces a precise figure before any conversation about your real need takes a risk — for them if they underestimate, for you if they overestimate out of caution. The right question to ask isn't 'how much does an app cost', but 'what, in my project, will make this price vary'.
Fixed-price or time-and-materials: two price structures
An app quote can be presented as fixed-price or time-and-materials, and this choice matters as much as the amount itself.
| Structure | How it works | What it implies |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed-price | A scope set in advance, for a price set in advance | Predictable budget; any change of scope is quoted as an extra |
| Time-and-materials | You pay for the time actually spent | You keep control of priorities; the final budget depends on the actual duration |
Recurring costs after go-live
An app isn't a one-off cost. Once published, it carries costs that continue as long as it's used: hosting the server and the data, the developer accounts required to publish on the app stores, and maintenance — security fixes, dependency updates, small regulatory changes.
For an app distributed on the stores, two fees are public and verifiable. Apple charges 99 US dollars a year for membership of its Apple Developer Program, a requirement to publish on the App Store. Google, for its part, charges a one-off registration fee of 25 US dollars for a Google Play developer account, with no annual renewal. These amounts are set by Apple and Google, not by your vendor, and may change: check them on the official pages before any commitment.
| Recurring item | What it covers | Public amount |
|---|---|---|
| Apple developer account | Publishing and updating on the App Store | USD 99 a year (Apple Developer Program) |
| Google Play developer account | Publishing and updating on Google Play | USD 25, one-off registration fee |
| Hosting | Server, database, file storage | Varies with volume and chosen provider |
| Maintenance | Security fixes, updates, small improvements | Covered by a separate contract, with a written scope |
A developer's day rate isn't the right indicator
An average day rate shown on a third-party site says nothing about the number of days your project actually needs, which depends on your real scope, not on a market average. We prefer not to quote a day rate without a scope attached, because a figure given on its own, without scoping, is wrong in one direction or the other: too low, it hides items that will come back as extra invoices; too high, it may include features you don't need.
The same reasoning applies to online comparison tools that advertise a price per feature — a login screen, a payment module, a push notification. Adding up these building blocks gives an impression of precision that doesn't reflect reality: it's how they fit together, the business rules that connect them and the edge cases to handle that determine the real development time, far more than the number of features listed.
An honest quote therefore prefers to describe a scope in working days per functional block, rather than a total obtained by multiplying a day rate by a number of days estimated without having seen your real rules.
What sets a simple app apart from a costly one
The number of screens gives a first idea of a project's scale, but it isn't enough on its own. A five-screen app with complex business rules, multiple roles and an integration with an existing accounting system can cost more than a fifteen-screen app with no particular rule or integration. What costs money isn't the screen itself, it's what has to be checked, calculated or synchronised behind it.
Offline mode is one of the factors that strongly changes the cost, not just the app's appearance: it requires a local database, a synchronisation queue, and a conflict-resolution strategy for when two people modify the same data without a network. This topic is detailed in our guide on offline field apps.
How to get a reliable quote
A reliable quote requires prior scoping: your rules, your roles, your existing data, and any integrations. It's this scoping that turns a theoretical range into a precise quote, and it stays yours even if you don't continue with the same vendor afterwards.
A reliable quote also names what it doesn't yet cover. If a vendor can't yet precisely price your data migration at the time of the quote, for lack of having seen the real volume, an honest quote states this explicitly rather than folding it into a global estimate that would hide this uncertainty.
Frequently asked questions
What is the price of a mobile app?
There's no fixed price: the cost depends on the number of screens, roles, integrations, and the volume of data to migrate. A reliable quote requires prior scoping, not a range given blind.
What budget should I plan for a mobile app?
Beyond development, plan for recurring costs: hosting, an Apple developer account (USD 99 a year) if you publish on the App Store, a Google Play registration fee (USD 25, one-off), and a maintenance contract.
Do you have to pay to publish on the App Store and Google Play?
Yes. Apple charges 99 US dollars a year for its Apple Developer Program. Google charges a one-off registration fee of 25 US dollars for a Google Play developer account. These amounts are set by Apple and Google, to be checked on their official pages.
Fixed-price or time-and-materials, which costs less?
Neither is cheaper in absolute terms. Fixed-price sets the price for a defined scope; time-and-materials bills the time spent and leaves you in control of priorities. The right choice mainly depends on how clear your need is at the start.
Does the price to have an app built include maintenance?
Not always, and it's a question to ask explicitly. Maintenance — security fixes and small improvements — is often covered by a separate contract, with a written scope.
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