// Mobile development

How much does a mobile app cost?

A no-code prototype starts at $1,000, a developed MVP at $10,000, a complex app climbs past $120,000. Tell us your project — we'll price it within 24h.

Free quote · human reply within 24h
The stack we use to build your apps
React Native Flutter Swift Kotlin Expo Supabase Firebase Stripe TypeScript App Store Google Play
// The quick range

From $1,000 to
$120,000 and up.

Why such a wide gap? Because "mobile app" means nothing on its own. At one end, a no-code prototype thrown together in a few days to test an idea. At the other, a native app connected to a server, with payments, real time and dozens of screens — months of work from a team. In between, it all depends on what the app actually does. So the real question isn't "how much does an app cost?" but "how much does your app cost?". The rest of this page gives you the levers and concrete ranges to place your project.

Building a SaaS instead? See how much a custom SaaS costs — or what we build.

~$1,000
Prototype
$10–30k
MVP
$30–60k
Standard
$60–120k+
Complex
// The levers

What moves the price

Five factors explain almost the entire price gap. Understanding them means knowing where your budget will be decided — and where to cut without breaking the product.

It's the first lever. A catalog with a product page and cart is nothing like real-time messaging, geolocation, in-app payments or embedded AI. Every brick — push notifications, offline mode, sync, media upload — adds weeks of build and testing. Sort your core functions on one side and the "nice to have" on the other: that triage moves the quote the most.

Feature complexity
Lever 01

Native (Swift for iOS, Kotlin for Android) delivers the best performance and full hardware access, but you build twice. Hybrid (React Native, Flutter) shares a single codebase across iOS and Android: about 30% cheaper, faster to ship, at the cost of a few trade-offs on heavy animations or very low-level features. For most business apps, cross-platform is the right call.

Native vs hybrid
Lever 02

iOS only, Android only, or both? In native, targeting both nearly doubles the bill. In cross-platform, the second platform costs mostly testing and polish, not a rewrite. Add a web version (PWA) or tablet build if needed: every extra target means adapted design, dedicated testing and one more submission to manage.

Number of platforms
Lever 03

A template and standard components are enough to validate a market, and cost little. Custom design — strong identity, animations, micro-interactions, a journey thought out screen by screen — is measured in days of design and integration, but it's often what separates an app you keep from one you delete. The design budget typically weighs 15 to 25% of the total.

Custom design vs template
Lever 04

An app that lives alone on the phone is much cheaper than a connected one. The moment you need accounts, a database, multi-device sync, payments or connections to your tools (CRM, ERP, third-party APIs), you also build a server — security, scaling, hosting. That back-end often represents 30 to 50% of the cost of a serious app.

Back-end and APIs
Lever 05
// By app type

Price by type, with examples

Four app profiles cover most projects. Each range is a ballpark for serious work, not a firm price — your exact scope moves the cursor.

MVP6–10 wks
$10–30k

One platform, core features only, a minimal back-end. Enough to launch and measure.

  • ✓ 1 platform
  • ✓ Auth + 1 key feature
  • ✓ Template design
Standard app3–5 mo
$30–60k

iOS + Android, full back-end, accounts, payments and notifications. The typical production app.

  • ✓ 2 platforms
  • ✓ Back-end + in-app payment
  • ✓ Push notifications
Complex app6 mo +
$60–120k+

Real time, multiple integrations, roles and permissions, high volume, hardened security.

  • ✓ Real time
  • ✓ Multi-integrations + scaling
  • ✓ Custom design
Mobile game4–8 mo
$40–70k

A game engine (Unity, Godot), graphic assets, physics, monetization and retention. A craft of its own.

  • ✓ 2D/3D engine
  • ✓ Assets + physics
  • ✓ Monetization
// The rates

Developer and agency cost

An app's cost is first and foremost person-days. The rate depends on where and by whom it's built. At equal performance, the gap between offshore and a domestic agency runs 1 to 4 — but the cheapest is rarely the most cost-effective once rework and maintenance are counted.

ProfileIndicative rateUpsideRisk
Freelancer (Western Europe)$400–600/dayControlled cost, direct contactLimited capacity, dependence on one person
Agency (Western Europe)$600–1,000/dayFull team, follow-up, guaranteesThe most structured, but the most expensive locally
Offshore (Asia, Eastern Europe)$200–400/dayThe lowest rate on the marketTime-zone gap, variable quality, frequent rework
US / UK studio~$150/hrSeniority, strong product cultureThe most expensive, often out of SMB budget

Rule of thumb: a standard app of 400 to 600 person-days logically lands in the tens of thousands once you multiply the day rate by the real workload. That's why two quotes "for the same app" can vary threefold — always check what's included (design, testing, back-end, maintenance).

// After launch

The hidden costs

Development is only the first bill. An app is a living product: here are the lines most quotes forget, and that weigh on the whole lifetime.

~20% / yr

Maintenance

An app is never "done". Budget around 20% of the development cost each year for fixes, improvements and support. It's the line that separates a living app from an abandoned one.

$99/yr + $25

The stores

Apple charges $99/yr for the developer account; Google Play, $25 one time. Add the 15 to 30% commission on in-app purchases and subscriptions. And every submission goes through a review that can delay an update.

every year

OS updates

iOS and Android each ship a major version per year. Your app must keep up, or risk bugs or removal from the store. These are recurring dev days, independent of any new feature.

monthly

Hosting & analytics

Server, database, media storage, notification delivery, analytics and crash reporting: monthly costs that climb with your user count. Modest at launch, structural at scale.

// The method

Estimate your
budget in 5 steps.

You don't need a quote to get a ballpark. This checklist gives you a realistic range before you even talk to us.

STEPS · 5 TIME · 10 min RESULT · a range
01 · List your core featuresSTEP 1
Separate the essential from the "later". The MVP keeps only what proves value — the rest waits for a V2.
02 · Choose the platformSTEP 2
iOS, Android, or both. In cross-platform, targeting both costs only a little more — often the right choice.
03 · Estimate the screen countSTEP 3
Count your unique screens: it's a good proxy for the volume of design and development to plan.
04 · Add maintenanceSTEP 4
Plan for ~20% of the budget per year from the start. Maintenance isn't optional — it's a line in the plan.
05 · Set a design budgetSTEP 5
15 to 25% of the total. It's often what makes the difference between an app you keep and one you delete.
// FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What's the minimum price for a mobile app?+

Around $1,000 for a no-code prototype, and from $10,000 for a genuinely developed MVP on a single platform with a tight scope. Below that, you're talking about a mockup, not an app in production.

Native or hybrid: which one costs more?+

Native costs about 30% more, because you build separately for iOS and Android, but it delivers the best performance and full hardware access. Hybrid (React Native, Flutter) shares a single codebase: cheaper, faster, and enough for the vast majority of apps.

How much does yearly maintenance cost?+

On average 20% of the development budget per year: fixes, security updates, keeping up with new iOS and Android versions, and improvements. Plan for it from the start, not after launch.

How much do the app stores cost?+

Apple's developer account is $99 per year; Google Play, $25 one time. On top of that, the stores take a 15 to 30% commission on in-app purchases and subscriptions.

// Contact

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sous 24 h.

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