Sommelio
Your pocket sommelier — AI wine recognition and taste-matched recommendations.
iPhone + Android app Live
Currently Booking projects for Q3 2026
Your app. Architected and shipped.
One architect builds your iOS or Android app, fixed price, code is yours.
One architect plans, builds and launches your app, fixed price, and the code is yours. You talk directly to the person doing the work: 20+ years of engineering, no agency in between.
Marcel R. G. Berger Software Architect · 20+ years Talk to the architect who builds your app
In 30 minutes we go through your app idea, scope, budget range, timeline, and you leave with a clear next step. Free, no obligation.
Free 30-min call · pick a slot in ~20 seconds · no obligation
You talk to Marcel directly, the architect who builds your app. No sales rep, no pitch.
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Prefer to write first? Send your idea, reply with a rough scope & budget within 48 hours.
Fixed price in writing · code yours from day one · staged payments, never more than one milestone at risk.
How the first call works
- 1 Tell me your idea in plain words, no tech knowledge needed.
- 2 We scope it together: what to build, rough budget, timeline.
- 3 You leave with a clear written next step. No prep, no pitch, no obligation.
Twenty years of shipping software meets the modern AI stack.
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20+
years shipping software
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15
apps & tools shipped
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4
apps live in the App Store
- Professional
- , 20+ years in production
- Secure
- , GDPR by design
- Cost-efficient
- , fixed price, in writing
- Modern
- , AI-accelerated delivery
No client logo wall, these are my own products, live in the App Store. I'd rather show you working code than a logo.
Apps I've shipped
These are my own products, live in the stores, not mock-ups. Download them right now and judge the quality yourself.
CivoCloudManager
Tired of MFA codes and browser tabs just to flip one firewall rule? CivoCloudManager fixes that.
Mac app Live
Photo Speed Quiz - SnapShots
Three photos flash on screen. Five seconds. They disappear.
iPhone game Live
DokuAI
Turns a 90-second voice memo and a photo into a structured site report.
iPhone + Android app Live
How I work
01
Plan
We lock outcome, scope, risks and budget before any code is touched, planning is included in the fixed price of the build, never a separate invoice for it.
02
Architect
Built on the right structure and secure from day one, with technology that still makes sense in five years, and easy to hand to any team later.
03
Build
Your app gets built and shipped to the App Store, with a documented, maintainable backend behind it, designed so any team can take it over.
Isn't one person a risk? Four reasons it's the safer choice
Fixed price, in writing
Scope, price and date are locked before any code is written. No open-ended invoices.
You own everything
Full source code, accounts and documentation are yours from day one, no vendor lock-in.
Safe even if I drop out
Code, accounts and documentation are yours from day one and payments are staged, if I ever dropped out, any developer could take over tomorrow, and you'd only have paid for work already delivered.
Covered after launch
30-day bug-fix on an MVP, 90-day on a production app, optional monthly care afterwards.
Honest pricing
Fixed-price starting points, not hourly rates. After a free call you get an exact quote with locked scope. No hourly-rate surprises.
You're not buying hours of typing. You're buying 20+ years of architecture decisions, and a finished app: shipped, in the store, handed over.
MVP
Prove your idea before you fund the full build
from $18,000
in 2-4 weeks
starting point, step one toward the production app
- One platform, iPhone or Android
- Backend and database included
- Published to the store for you (iPhone or Android)
- 30 days of free bug-fixing after launch
Production app
Launch the real product
from $52,000
3-4 months
starting point, your binding quote fixes the exact price before work begins
- iPhone + Android from one codebase
- A backend that scales as you grow
- Automatic updates, monitoring and usage insights
- 90 days of free bug-fixing after launch
Full service
I build it and keep it running
Flat monthly fee, from $2,900/month
months to years
operations, monitoring and a monthly feature budget, final scope set after launch
- Everything in the production app
- I run and maintain the backend for you
- New features every month
- Data protection (GDPR) and store rules handled
Also available: independent architecture review of an existing codebase, fixed price $5,900-$13,900, 1-2 weeks, written report with prioritised actions.
All prices are net (plus VAT where applicable) and are starting points, the final scope sets the price, with no upper limit; your binding quote fixes it in writing before any work starts. Bigger products, deeper integrations or stricter SLAs land higher. Backend hosting and third-party services (Apple Developer, OpenAI) are billed at cost on top, hosting is usage-based, so it scales with real traffic. For context: agencies typically quote $90,000+ and take five months for what ships here in three, at a fixed price.
Honest answers to common questions
How much does an app cost?
A lean MVP starts from $18,000. A polished iPhone + Android product with a real backend typically starts from $52,000, the final scope sets the price, and your binding quote fixes it in writing before work starts. No hourly surprises.
How long does it take?
An MVP in 2-4 weeks. A production-grade app with backend in 3 to 4 months. The plan phase pins this down precisely, from there it's a fixed date, not a target.
Who owns the code?
You. Full source, build pipelines and infra config are handed over at launch under a clean license. No vendor lock-in.
How can I verify your work is actually good?
Because you can check it yourself: the apps I ship under my own name in the App Store, download them and judge the quality, plus the open-source code on GitHub, a published book, and fixed-price terms in writing. I'd rather give you proof you can check in five minutes than praise you have to take on faith.
What does the app cost to run after launch?
Hosting and third-party services are billed at cost and are usage-based, they scale with real traffic. Apple's developer account is about $99 a year. Optional monthly care is a separate flat fee. The exact figures for your app are part of the written quote.
What if something happens to you mid-project?
You own the code, accounts and documentation from day one, everything is documented and operable, so any developer or team can pick it up. You're never locked to me or left stranded. Payments are staged, a start payment, then the remainder only against delivered, accepted milestones, so your money at risk is never more than one stage.
What happens after launch?
For the first 90 days I fix bugs free of charge. After that we agree on monthly support or new features if you want, or you take it in-house.
Can you also run the backend?
Yes, if you want. I host, monitor and maintain the backend for you and stay reachable when something breaks. Pricing depends on scale and the guarantees you need; we settle this during planning.
How can one person be this fast without cutting corners?
Twenty years of shipping means most decisions are already made, proven architecture, proven infrastructure, no meetings, no handoffs. Modern AI tooling handles the repetitive work; I review every line that ships. The result is less code, built faster, that's cheaper to maintain. You pay for outcome, not headcount.
Fixed price or hourly rate?
Fixed price for the build, on a scope locked in writing after our call. Hourly only kicks in for explicit out-of-scope work you request later, and only with your written approval. You never get an open-ended invoice.
What's an MVP, and do I need one?
An MVP is the smallest version of your app that proves the core value to real users. Most first-time founders need one before the full product, it costs less, ships in 2-4 weeks, and tells you whether the idea works before you spend the rest of the budget. If you already have paying users and only need a v2, skip the MVP.
How do I find the right app developer?
Look for three things: someone who plans and operates what they build (not just writes the code), a fixed-price commitment with a written scope, and a clean code handover at the end. Agencies, freelance pools and offshore shops all violate at least one of those. Ask for a free scoping call and a written fixed-price scope before signing anything, that's how you tell a real engineer from a sales pipeline.
What I work with
The same stack that runs my own production apps. Picked for longevity, not for hype.
Apps & Platforms
- macOS · Swift / SwiftUI
- iOS · Swift / SwiftUI
- Android · Kotlin
- Flutter · Dart
Backend & APIs
- Quarkus · Java
- Kafka
- PostgreSQL
- S3-compatible storage
Infrastructure
- Kubernetes (Civo)
- ArgoCD · GitOps
- GitHub Actions
- Liquibase migrations
Security & Identity
- OAuth2 / OIDC
- GDPR by design
- Hardened defaults
AI Tooling
- Claude Code
- IntelliJ AI
- Codex
- Custom agents & skills
Dev Tools
- GitHub
- GitHub Actions
- IntelliJ IDEA
- Xcode
Ready to build your app?
Book a free 30-minute call. You'll leave knowing what to build, what it roughly costs and how fast it can be live, no obligation.