How much does it cost to develop an app? Most mobile apps cost between $15,000 and $300,000 to build. Where your app lands depends on the hours it needs and the hourly rate of the team building it.
That range is wide because no two apps share the same features, platforms or team. This guide breaks app development cost into parts you can check yourself, with real numbers for each one. You will see prices by complexity, stage, feature, platform, region and app type, plus the costs that start after launch.
A realistic budget matters because users have become more selective. Appfigures data reported by TechCrunch shows consumer spending on apps reached $155.8 billion in 2025, up 21.6%, while downloads fell 2.7%. People keep fewer apps and pay more for the good ones.
App development cost at a glance
- Simple app: $15,000 – $40,000, built in 2 – 3 months
- Medium-complexity app: $40,000 – $120,000, built in 3 – 6 months
- Complex app: $120,000 – $300,000+, built in 6 – 12 months
- Both iOS and Android: add 20% – 40% with cross-platform, or 60% – 80% with two native apps
- Yearly maintenance: 15% – 20% of the original build cost
How much does it cost to develop an app?
Complexity sets the baseline for app development cost. The ranges below assume a professional team building one platform or a cross-platform app, including design, development and testing.
| Complexity | Typical cost (USD) | Typical effort | Timeline | What it usually includes |
| Simple | $15,000 – $40,000 | 400 – 800 hours | 2 – 3 months | 5 – 10 screens, login, static or lightly dynamic content, basic backend or none |
| Medium | $40,000 – $120,000 | 800 – 1,600 hours | 3 – 6 months | 10 – 25 screens, custom UI, payments, push notifications, API integrations, admin panel |
| Complex | $120,000 – $300,000+ | 1,600 – 4,000+ hours | 6 – 12 months | Real-time features, multiple user roles, heavy integrations, AI, strict security or compliance |
A restaurant menu app or an internal company directory sits in the simple tier. Booking apps, fitness trackers and most e-commerce apps land in the medium tier. Ride-hailing, social networks, banking and telemedicine apps are complex, because they combine real-time data, several user types and regulated information.
How long does app development take?
Development time and cost move together, since most teams bill by the hour. A typical medium-complexity project runs through discovery (2 – 4 weeks), UI/UX design (3 – 6 weeks), development (2 – 4 months), and testing and launch (3 – 6 weeks), with testing overlapping the later development sprints. Store review usually adds a few days before the app goes live. Rushing the timeline rarely saves money, because a larger team running in parallel needs more coordination and produces more rework.
The formula behind every app development quote
Every app development quote, fixed price or hourly, is built on the same calculation: estimated hours multiplied by the team’s blended hourly rate. A fixed-price quote simply adds a margin for risk on top.
That formula explains why two firms can quote very different prices for the same app. Take a medium-complexity app estimated at 1,200 hours across design, development, testing and project management.
| Team’s blended hourly rate | Estimated hours | Total build cost |
| $30 | 1,200 | $36,000 |
| $60 | 1,200 | $72,000 |
| $120 | 1,200 | $144,000 |
The scope is identical in all three rows, yet the price differs by a factor of four. When you compare quotes, ask each firm for its hour estimate and its rate separately. A low quote with a low hour count usually means features were left out, while a high quote with a reasonable hour count reflects the team’s location and seniority.
Mobile app development cost breakdown by stage
Development takes about half of a typical app budget, and the other half is split across planning, design, testing and launch. Here is how an $80,000 medium-complexity app usually divides.
| Stage | Share of budget | Cost on an $80,000 app | What you pay for |
| Discovery and planning | 10% | $8,000 | Requirements, user flows, technical architecture, estimate |
| UI/UX design | 15% | $12,000 | Wireframes, clickable prototype, visual design, design system |
| Development | 50% | $40,000 | Frontend (app screens), backend (server, database, APIs), integrations |
| Testing and QA | 15% | $12,000 | Functional, device, performance and security testing, bug fixing |
| Launch and project management | 10% | $8,000 | Store submission, release setup, coordination across the project |
Cutting discovery to save money is the most common budgeting mistake. A two- to four-week discovery phase usually costs less than one round of rework caused by unclear requirements. Design and testing deserve the same protection: many firms listed for UI/UX design and software testing on RatedFirms take these stages on as separate engagements when the main development team is light on them.
App development cost by feature
Features are where a budget grows quietly. Each one adds design, frontend and backend work, plus testing on every supported device. The ranges below are typical added costs at mid-market agency rates for a single cross-platform app.
| Feature | Typical added cost (USD) | What drives the cost |
| Email, phone or social login | $2,000 – $6,000 | Number of sign-in options, password reset, two-factor authentication |
| User profiles and settings | $2,000 – $5,000 | Editable fields, privacy controls, account deletion |
| Push notifications | $1,500 – $4,000 | Targeting rules, scheduling, in-app notification center |
| Search and filters | $3,000 – $10,000 | Catalog size, filter logic, typo tolerance |
| Payments and subscriptions | $5,000 – $15,000 | Payment provider, in-app purchases, refunds, receipts |
| Maps, geolocation and live tracking | $5,000 – $20,000 | Static maps vs real-time tracking, route calculation |
| Real-time chat | $8,000 – $25,000 | Group chat, media sharing, read receipts, moderation |
| Offline mode and data sync | $5,000 – $15,000 | Amount of data stored locally, conflict handling |
| Admin panel | $8,000 – $25,000 | Number of roles, reports, content management |
| Integration with CRM, ERP or other systems | $3,000 – $15,000 each | API quality on the other side, data mapping, error handling |
| Analytics and crash reporting | $1,000 – $4,000 | Custom events and dashboards beyond default tools |
List your features in three groups before you request quotes: must-have for launch, nice-to-have, and later. Pricing only the first group gives you a realistic MVP budget and keeps vendor estimates comparable.
AI features and their cost
AI features are now a common line in app quotes, and most are built on hosted models from providers such as OpenAI, Anthropic or Google rather than trained from scratch. That keeps the build cost manageable but adds a monthly usage bill that grows with your user base.
| AI feature | Typical added build cost (USD) | Ongoing cost to plan for |
| In-app assistant or chatbot | $10,000 – $40,000 | Model usage fees per conversation, prompt and content updates |
| Personalized recommendations | $15,000 – $50,000 | Data pipelines, retraining as the catalog changes |
| Image, document or receipt recognition | $15,000 – $60,000 | Per-image processing fees, accuracy monitoring |
| Voice input and speech features | $10,000 – $35,000 | Per-minute transcription or speech fees |
The build cost depends heavily on how much of your own data the feature uses. A chatbot that answers general questions is quick to add, while one that answers from your product catalog or help center needs data preparation, retrieval and testing for accuracy. For larger AI scope, firms that specialize in generative AI development can scope the feature separately from the core app.
iOS vs Android vs cross-platform development cost
Building for one platform first is the cheapest path, and a cross-platform framework is usually the cheapest way to cover both. Using a $60,000 single-platform app as the baseline:
| Approach | Relative cost | Example cost | Best fit |
| One native platform (iOS or Android) | 1x | $60,000 | Testing an idea where most users are on one platform |
| Cross-platform (Flutter, React Native) | 1.2x – 1.4x | $72,000 – $84,000 | Most business, e-commerce and content apps that need both platforms |
| Two native apps (Swift and Kotlin) | 1.6x – 1.8x | $96,000 – $108,000 | Apps that rely on advanced camera, AR, Bluetooth or heavy graphics |
iOS and Android development cost roughly the same per platform. The real differences come from testing: Android runs on far more device models and screen sizes, so QA usually takes longer, while iOS apps go through a stricter store review.
Cross-platform frameworks share most of the code between both apps, which also lowers maintenance, because each update is written once. Native development still makes sense when performance or deep hardware access is central to the product, or when you already have separate iOS and Android teams.
App developer hourly rates by region
The team’s location is the second half of the cost formula and often the biggest single lever on price. These are typical blended agency rates for mobile app work.
| Region | Typical agency rate (USD/hour) | Medium app at 1,200 hours |
| United States and Canada | $100 – $180 | $120,000 – $216,000 |
| Western Europe and UK | $70 – $140 | $84,000 – $168,000 |
| Eastern Europe | $40 – $80 | $48,000 – $96,000 |
| Latin America | $35 – $70 | $42,000 – $84,000 |
| India and Southeast Asia | $20 – $50 | $24,000 – $60,000 |
Freelancers sit lower still. Upwork’s cost guide for mobile app developers lists a median of $18 to $39 an hour, though a single freelancer rarely covers design, backend, QA and project management on their own. Hiring in-house is the other benchmark: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median software developer salary at about $136,000 a year, before benefits and recruiting costs.
On RatedFirms, every app development company card shows its hourly rate band and minimum project size, so you can filter out firms whose minimum is above your budget before you ask for quotes. Comparing software development companies in India with firms in other regions is a quick way to see how much location changes the total.
App development cost by app type
App categories carry predictable cost drivers, which makes them a useful cross-check on any estimate.
| App type | Typical cost (USD) | Main cost driver |
| E-commerce | $40,000 – $150,000 | Catalog size, payments, order tracking, inventory integration |
| SaaS companion app | $40,000 – $150,000 | Sync with the web platform, subscriptions, permissions |
| On-demand or delivery | $60,000 – $250,000 | Three apps in one (customer, provider, admin) plus live tracking |
| Social or community | $80,000 – $300,000 | Feeds, media storage, real-time chat, content moderation |
| Healthcare and telemedicine | $80,000 – $300,000 | Video consultations, health records integration, privacy compliance |
| Fintech and banking | $100,000 – $400,000 | Security, identity checks (KYC), regulatory compliance, audits |
The upper ends of these ranges reflect full-featured products. An MVP version of the same app type often costs 30% to 50% of the full build, which is why most funded startups launch a focused first release and add features once they see how users behave.
Hidden and ongoing costs after launch
An app keeps costing money after it goes live, and first-time app owners often leave these recurring lines out of their budget.
| Cost | Typical amount | Notes |
| Apple Developer Program | $99 per year | Required to publish on the App Store |
| Google Play developer account | $25 once | One-time registration fee with no annual renewal |
| App Store commission | 15% or 30% of digital sales | 15% under Apple’s Small Business Program for developers earning up to $1 million a year |
| Google Play service fee | 15% or more of digital sales | 15% on the first $1 million of annual revenue for enrolled developers |
| Backend hosting and database | $50 – $2,000+ per month | Grows with users, media storage and traffic |
| Third-party services | $0 – $1,000+ per month | Maps, SMS, email, payments, analytics, crash reporting |
| Maintenance and updates | 15% – 20% of build cost per year | Bug fixes, OS updates, security patches, small improvements |
Apple and Google release major operating system versions every year, and apps that skip the updates start to break or get flagged in the stores. Commissions apply only to digital goods sold inside the app, such as subscriptions or premium features; physical products and services, like a food order or a taxi ride, are paid through your own payment provider instead. Marketing and user acquisition sit outside the development budget but often match it in the first year.
How to reduce app development costs
The cheapest app is the one built with a clear scope, and most savings come from decisions made before development starts.
- Launch an MVP first. Build the must-have features, release, and let real usage decide what comes next. This often cuts the first budget by half.
- Go cross-platform unless you need native. One shared codebase for iOS and Android saves 20% to 30% against two native apps, and keeps maintenance lower.
- Use ready-made services. Payments, authentication, chat, maps and analytics are all available as proven services, which costs far less than building them in-house.
- Pay for a fixed-scope discovery phase. A short, fixed-price discovery produces a spec and estimate you can take to several vendors, which makes quotes comparable.
- Keep the design system simple. A consistent set of components speeds up both design and development, and makes later screens cheaper to add.
- Match the team to the job. A small, senior team in a mid-cost region often delivers more per dollar than a large, junior team at the lowest rate.
- Test continuously. Bugs found during development cost a fraction of bugs found by users after release.
How to compare app development quotes
A quote is only comparable when it shows how the number was built. Ask every shortlisted firm to break its estimate into the same lines.
- Hours by stage (discovery, design, development, QA, project management) and the hourly rate for each role
- Features included, listed one by one, and anything explicitly excluded
- Platforms covered, and whether the build is native or cross-platform
- Backend, hosting and third-party services, with expected monthly costs
- Warranty period after launch and the price of ongoing maintenance
- Who owns the source code, designs and accounts at the end of the project
Be cautious with quotes that arrive without a feature list, skip QA, or promise a complex app in a few weeks. A fixed price suits a well-defined MVP, while time and materials works better when you expect the scope to change after user feedback.
Reviews from past clients matter as much as the price. RatedFirms lists verified app development companies with their hourly rates, minimum project sizes and client reviews, so you can build a shortlist of three or four firms that fit your budget before asking for detailed quotes.
Conclusion
App development cost follows a predictable pattern once you break it apart. Complexity and features set the number of hours, the team’s location and seniority set the hourly rate, and platform choice decides whether you pay for one codebase or two. Add 15% to 20% a year for maintenance, plus store fees, hosting and third-party services, and you have a budget that holds up when the quotes arrive.
Start with a clear list of must-have features, ask every vendor for hours and rates rather than a single total, and protect the discovery, design and testing stages from cuts. Those habits keep most projects inside the ranges in this guide.
Ready to get quotes? Compare verified app development companies on RatedFirms by hourly rate, minimum project size and client reviews.
Frequently asked questions
Making an app typically costs $15,000 to $40,000 for a simple app, $40,000 to $120,000 for a medium-complexity app, and $120,000 to $300,000 or more for a complex one. The final price depends on the number of features, the platforms you target and the hourly rate of the team.
A focused MVP with the core ride-booking or photo-sharing flow usually costs $60,000 to $150,000. A full-featured version with real-time tracking, payments, chat, moderation and separate driver or admin apps often runs $150,000 to $400,000 or more.
A simple app takes about 2 to 3 months, a medium-complexity app 3 to 6 months, and a complex app 6 to 12 months or longer. Discovery and design usually take the first 5 to 10 weeks of that time.
Plan for 15% to 20% of the original build cost each year. That covers bug fixes, operating system updates, security patches and small improvements, with hosting and third-party services billed separately.
The development cost per platform is similar. Android testing often takes longer because of the wider range of devices, while a cross-platform build covering both usually costs 20% to 40% more than a single platform.
RatedFirms checks each listed firm’s business registration, portfolio and client references, and shows verified client reviews alongside its hourly rate and minimum project size.