How much does a mobile app cost to build?

A mobile app costs what its scope costs. A simple app that lists content and takes an enquiry is a few weeks of work. An app with accounts, payments, push notifications and a backend that talks to your ERP is a project of up to three months. The variables that matter are platforms, backend complexity, and whether you need an admin system behind it.

The five things that set the price

Platforms. iOS only, Android only, or both. Building cross-platform from one codebase covers both for far less than two native builds, and for most business apps the difference in feel is invisible to users.

Accounts and payments. The moment an app has user registration, roles or card payments, you have added authentication, security, a payment gateway integration and a whole class of testing.

The backend. An app that reads a published list of content is simple. An app that reads live stock, writes orders back into your ERP and sends push notifications when a status changes is a software project with a mobile interface on top.

The admin panel. Someone has to add products, approve users and read the data. That control panel is often as much work as the app itself, and it is the line most quotes quietly leave out.

Design. A clean interface built from a standard system is quick. A custom-illustrated, animated brand experience is a design project in its own right.

Typical scope tiers

Standard cloud software can be live and usable within 24 hours because it already exists. Custom development takes up to three months depending on scope, and we quote a fixed price against a written requirements document before anything starts.

The costs that come after launch

• App store developer accounts, renewed annually
• Hosting for the backend and database
• Operating system updates: both platforms change every year
• Bug fixes, covered for six months under our warranty
• New features, because a used app always generates requests
• Support for your own users, which is a staffing question

How to keep the cost down

Launch the smallest version that solves one real problem, put it in front of actual users, and let their behaviour decide what version two contains. Most of the budget wasted on app projects is spent building features that were requested in a meeting and never used in the field.

Second, reuse what exists. If a proven cloud ERP, POS or CRM already covers the back office, connect to it through an API instead of rebuilding it. Build custom only where your process is genuinely different from everyone else's.