App development cost in 2026 — the honest price guide with a price table

An app is quick to sketch out — an honest answer to "what does that cost?" is not. Because "an app" can be a lean companion to your business or a full-blown platform with its own backend, login and real-time features. Between those two lies a factor of five to ten in price. In this guide you won't get a wishful number, but real benchmarks, a price table by app type, every cost driver in detail and the levers you can pull to save budget — the same way we calculate it in our own projects.

What does it cost to have an app built?

Short version: Having an app built in 2026 costs somewhere between roughly €7,900 for an MVP with one core feature and €40,000 and up for a complex platform, depending on scope. A full business app for iOS and Android with a backend, login and push notifications typically starts from €14,900. On top of that come running costs from about €149/month for maintenance, store fees and hosting.

Three questions have the biggest impact on the price: what should the app do, which platforms does it run on, and does it need its own backend? Let's go through them one at a time.

Prices by app type at a glance

Those are our real package prices — not bait offers with triple the number hidden in the fine print. They give you a solid ballpark before we look at your specific project together. You'll find more on the packages and what each one includes on our service page for app development.

What determines the price: the five big cost factors

An app quote isn't an off-the-shelf fixed price, it's the sum of clearly nameable factors. Once you understand these five, you can estimate for yourself whether your project lands closer to €8,000 or €30,000.

1. Platforms: iOS, Android or both?

Every platform is work. If you start on iOS only or Android only, you save noticeably compared to "both at once" — assuming you build native. If you want to serve both worlds, the next question is the deciding one: two native builds or a shared codebase.

2. Native or cross-platform?

This is the most important technical fork in the road — and it hits the budget directly.

• Native (SwiftUI for iOS, Kotlin for Android) delivers the best performance and immediate access to every device feature. But for iOS and Android you need two separate builds — roughly speaking, you pay for a lot of things twice.
• Cross-platform (React Native or Flutter) shares one codebase across both systems. With two platforms that often saves 30 to 40 percent — at a quality level that's more than enough for the vast majority of business apps.

Which route you take depends on your features and your goal, not on what's fashionable. We've compared the two in detail: Native app or cross-platform — what's actually worth it?

3. Design and user experience (UX)

A good app feels obvious to use — and that takes work. A clean standard design with clear flows is included in the MVP price. As soon as you want individual brand design, elaborate animations, custom illustrations or particularly well-thought-out user guidance, the effort goes up. Money well spent: an app that feels clunky gets deleted, no matter how much engineering sits behind it.

4. The backend — the underestimated chunk

A lot of people only plan the visible app and forget the backbone behind it. As soon as users log in, data syncs between devices or push notifications get sent, you need a backend — the server that holds the data and runs the logic. That's often half the total cost, and the reason a "simple app with login" is rarely actually simple. We factor that foundation in from the start, usually on Laravel, so app and server work together smoothly and the frontend technology stays swappable.

5. Integrations and interfaces

Should your app talk to other systems — inventory management, payment providers, calendars, a CRM or existing software? Every integration is its own small project: clarifying data formats, catching failure cases, testing. Two or three clean integrations can move the price more than an additional screen. A common case from practice is connecting to an online booking system so appointments stay in sync between the app and the back office.

How the budget spreads across project phases

The quoted price isn't a black box. An app project runs in clearly distinguishable phases, and it helps enormously to know where your money actually goes:

• Concept and requirements (approx. 10–15%). Before anyone writes code, things get sorted: which features are core, which are extras? What do the workflows look like? This phase is the cheapest place to prevent mistakes — a misunderstood requirement costs ten times as much later.
• Design and user experience (approx. 15–20%). Screen drafts, click paths, how the screens work together. This is where it's decided whether the app feels good or frustrating.
• Development of app and backend (approx. 45–55%). The biggest chunk: actually building the interface, logic, backend and integrations. The more features and integrations, the bigger this share.
• Testing and QA (approx. 10–15%). On real devices, across different OS versions, with the tricky edge cases. Skimping on testing comes back to bite you in bad store reviews.
• Store release and handover (approx. 5–10%). Setting up developer accounts, store listings, the review process at Apple and Google — and the handover to you.

Why this matters: if someone offers you an app "in a week for €3,000", that calculation is almost always missing the backend, testing and maintenance. A serious quote names all the phases — then you're comparing apples to apples instead of price tags with no substance.

Running costs: what to expect after launch

An app isn't "done" at launch — it keeps living. That's not a hidden trap, it's normal. These are the line items you should plan for from the start:

• Maintenance and upkeep — from €149/month. Apple and Google ship new OS versions, new devices and new store requirements every year. Without upkeep, an app eventually stops running cleanly or gets pulled from the store. With us, maintenance covers updates for new OS versions, monitoring, bug fixing and smaller adjustments; larger new features we bill transparently at €79/h.
• Developer accounts. To publish, you need developer accounts: the Apple Developer Program costs around $99 per year, registering as a Google Play developer roughly $25 one-time. Small amounts, but they belong in an honest calculation.
• Hosting and running the backend. Servers, database and push services aren't free. For small to mid-sized apps this usually sits in the low double to mid triple digits per month depending on user numbers, and only grows with real success.
• Third-party services. Push providers, SMS delivery, map services or payment providers partly bill by usage. What you need depends on your features.

The honest rule of thumb: factor running costs in across the app's planned lifetime. Over several years, maintenance often adds up to more than the initial build — plan for it early and you won't be surprised later.

Where you can save budget on app development

Saving doesn't mean cutting quality, it means spending the budget wisely. These three levers have the biggest effect:

1. MVP first, expansion later. Launch the app with the one core feature that genuinely helps your users, then extend it based on real feedback instead of assumptions. That doesn't just save money, it also builds the right thing. We show how a lean start works here: MVP development for startups.
2. Cross-platform instead of two native apps. If you need iOS and Android but aren't building a high-performance app with elaborate animations, a shared codebase is almost always the more economical choice — for development and maintenance.
3. Clear requirements before the first line of code. The most expensive cost driver is detours. The more precisely you settle up front what the app should do, the less rework, misunderstanding and "oh, we actually need that differently" you get.

Put your own app package together

Don't want to wait for a reply and would rather get a feel for your budget right now? On our pricing page with the package configurator you can put your app package together yourself: click through platforms, backend, login, push and integrations — and you'll immediately see a transparent ballpark. No sales call needed, no email address required. Exactly how we think about prices: understandable and without surprises.

Frequently asked questions about app development cost

What does a simple app cost?

A simple app with one clear core feature — an MVP — starts with us from €7,900. That gets you a properly built app on one platform or as a cross-platform solution, a lean backend and the store release. "Simple" here means focused, not cheaply thrown together.

What does an app cost per month?

On an ongoing basis you should budget maintenance from €149/month, plus hosting for the backend (usually in the double to triple digits depending on user numbers) and the developer accounts (Apple around $99/year, Google roughly $25 one-time). Without maintenance, an app becomes unusable over the years — this line item belongs firmly in your planning.

What does an app for iOS and Android cost?

A full business app for both platforms with backend, login and push starts with us from €14,900. The most economical route there is usually cross-platform, because iOS and Android share one codebase. If you want both platforms built natively and separately, development and maintenance costs rise noticeably.

Why are some app quotes so much cheaper?

Because "app" can mean anything. A template clone with no backend of its own, no maintenance and no customization is cheap — until you need your first special feature or integration. Pay attention to what's actually included: backend, store release, maintenance, and who owns the code in the end. We put that on the table up front so you can compare quotes fairly.

How long does it take to develop an app?

An MVP is often in the store within a few weeks to around two months, a business app typically takes a few months, complex platforms correspondingly longer. The pace depends on feature scope, integrations and how clear the requirements are at the start.

Do I own the app in the end?

Yes. You get the source code and you're not dependent on us. We deliberately build without hidden dependencies and accompany you all the way into the App Store and Google Play — from developer accounts to approval.

Bottom line: clarity before the first euro

The honest answer to "what does an app cost?" is: it depends — but you don't have to guess. With the price table by app type, the five cost factors and the running line items, you now have enough in hand to roughly place your project. The cheapest route to an app that pays off is almost always: start small and focused, collect real feedback, expand deliberately.

Got an app idea and want to know what's realistic in your case? Tell us about it — in a free initial consultation we'll listen, estimate the effort honestly, and tell you when a leaner MVP is the smarter first step. No obligation, no talking down to you, and you'll know exactly where you stand afterward.