If you want to have an app built, you want a number first. Here it is: a first version (MVP) starts from $27,800, a market-ready iOS and Android app with a real backend starts from $83,300, an independent architecture review of an existing project costs $10,500 to $13,900. If you already have an app and first want to know where it stands, the App Check costs $2,000. These are entry prices: after scoping, your offer fixes the price of each milestone in writing. No hourly invoice; extra scope only through a written change order. The fixed prices at a glance are on How much does an app cost?; this post explains what moves them.
If someone tells you “it depends” without naming a range, you don’t want to buy from them. This is what those numbers are made of.
What you’re actually paying for
An app is not the code. An app is planning, architecture, code, App Store submission, monitoring, onboarding copy, legal text, app icon, crash reporting, push-notification setup, backend hosting, backups, a build system that still works when you want to change something three years from now, and documentation a different engineer can read. The code is the cheapest part. The rest is the engineering work that carries the next five years.
A serious fixed price includes all of that. A “cheap” quote ships only the code and sells you the rest later as “maintenance”. That’s the expensive path, and you notice it in year two.
At a glance
| Tier | Price | Duration | Scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Version (MVP) | from $27,800 | 2 to 4 weeks | One platform, lean backend, App Store submission, 90 days of free bug-fixing |
| Market-Ready App | from $83,300 | 3 to 4 months | iOS + Android, full backend with auth, push, CI/CD, written handover |
| Architecture Review | $10,500 to $13,900 | 1 to 2 weeks | Independent assessment of an existing codebase, prioritized report |
Three price tiers, three use cases
First Version (MVP): from $27,800, 2 to 4 weeks. One platform (iOS or Android), lean backend service, App Store submission included. For a market hypothesis you want in real hands before you spend the full budget. Comes with 90 days of free bug-fixing after launch, on top of the 12-month warranty.
Market-Ready App: from $83,300, 3 to 4 months. iOS and Android (Flutter by default, native in special cases), backend with database, authentication, push notifications, a clean DevOps pipeline. This is the standard tier for a real product launch or an internal company app with a few hundred users.
Architecture Review: $10,500 to $13,900, 1 to 2 weeks. You already have an app and want to know whether the architecture will carry your next stage of growth. Written report with prioritized actions and risk ratings. No marketing speak, just findings with file paths and recommendations.
What drives the price
Three dimensions, in this order:
- Platforms. One platform is meaningfully cheaper than two. iOS alone for a B2B audience is often enough.
- Backend complexity. An app without login and without a database is a different animal than one with multi-tenant auth, roles and an audit trail. The latter lands well above the starting price.
- Third-party integrations. Stripe, SAP, an existing ERP, a legacy SOAP service: every integration eats two to five engineering days. They add up.
What does not meaningfully drive the price: whether the app should be “beautiful”. Good design is hours, not weeks, and bad design costs more later in retention.
What you should refuse to pay for
- Hourly rate without a cap. Every hour where nobody’s counting is one you don’t get back. Fixed price on a written scope is non-negotiable.
- “Maintenance fees” on code you don’t own. If the vendor doesn’t hand over the source, the monthly fee is a lock-in tax.
- $9,000 discovery workshops. The first scoping call should be free, and the written scope belongs in the quote. Anyone selling discovery is selling a sales pipeline.
- Whitepaper architecture without code. You don’t want someone who “advises” architecture and then hands the work off to subcontractors.
How to budget
Plan in this order:
- Build (fixed price). One of the three tiers above.
- Hosting + third-party services. Kubernetes cluster, database, App Store Developer account, transactional email, crash reporting: typically $90 to $350 per month for a production app. I pass these through at cost, no markup.
- Operation (optional). If you do not want to run the app yourself: App Care from $1,400 a month, or Full Service with releases and bug fixes at $2,900 a month. Independent of that, bugs reported in the first 90 days after launch are fixed free of charge.
An honest year-one total for a production iOS + Android app: $83,300 build plus about $2,300 hosting, plus operation from $1,400 a month if you do not run it yourself. That’s the real number.
Where to go next
If the ranges work for you, there’s a dedicated pricing page with every step and its fixed price. If you want to know what your project costs specifically, book a free 30-minute call on the contact page. Afterwards you get a written quote: scope, fixed price per milestone, risks, timeline. No commitment.
Current entry prices are always on the pricing page and in the full cost breakdown.