How Much Does It Cost to Build an App?
There’s no straight answer. Asking how much an app costs is a bit like asking how much a house costs.
What we can give you is what actually drives the number, and the real figures we quote against, from a minimum of $7,500 to $35,000 for something as complex as an on-demand marketplace app. For real, itemised examples, see our price estimates for popular apps like Uber, Airbnb, and Spotify.
What Actually Affects the Cost of an App
The obvious factors
- The number of features.
- The types of features, a push notification is more complex to build than, say, a registration form.
- Whether it's just the frontend, or the backend and hosting too.
- Whether design, project management, and testing are included.
- Integrations with other platforms.
The less obvious factors
- The number of role players (people looking for a service, providers, administrators, super-administrators) each adds real complexity to the architecture and security.
- Admin and reporting functions, like dashboards.
- The languages and technologies required, an AI app usually needs Python, and Python developers cost more.
- Whether we can reuse third-party libraries, plug-ins, templates, or low-code tools.
- Whether we've built something similar before.
It’s dangerous to shop on price alone
We’ve had potential clients choose a cheaper vendor, then come back six months later once they discovered the vendor’s no-code platform couldn’t do everything they needed, or carried expensive licence fees, or the developer had simply underquoted to win the job, then raised the price once the client was committed. Compare quotes on what’s actually included, not just the number at the bottom.
App costs are falling
Hybrid languages like Flutter and React, low-code tools like FlutterFlow, off-the-shelf hosting such as Firebase and Supabase, and generally more mature libraries and languages have all made development simpler. Having built more than 100 apps of our own has made us more efficient, too.
Don’t Ask Us to Build an App That Could Be a Website
Many clients ask us to build an app, and we tell them a website is the better place to start: it’s cheaper, people begin their search in Google (which indexes websites, not apps), and having to download and install an app is a real barrier to discovery. Sometimes we suggest starting with a WhatsApp bot instead.
We only build something as an app when it genuinely needs what apps do better than websites, location, push notifications, stored payment details, Bluetooth, or a listing on the app stores. We also almost never use white-label app-builder platforms, because of what they cost you in flexibility, licence fees, and ownership of your own IP. That means the apps we build tend to be more complex, and built from scratch.
So, How Much Does an App Cost?
$7,500 / R150,000
A built-from-scratch app with design, development, project management, and testing.
$20,000 / R300,000
One of our typical, moderately complex, functional apps.
$35,000 / R700,000
Apps like Uber, multiple user roles, payments, geolocation, and push notifications.
From $1,200 / R24,000
A simple, functional eCommerce website on Shopify, no app required.
These figures cover the one-time MVP build only. Want the full picture, including hosting and maintenance over time? Try our free app cost calculator for a Year 0–5 total cost estimate.
What Is Your Hourly Rate?
Our hourly rate depends on the role, the experience level of the team member, and the size and duration of the engagement. We offer hourly consulting, team augmentation, and support retainers, scoped to your specific engagement rather than a single published rate. See how we structure these on our pricing options page, or get in touch for a rate tailored to your project.
Cost FAQs
How much does it cost to build an app?
A built-from-scratch app with design, development, project management, and testing starts at $7,500. A typical, moderately complex app averages $20,000. An on-demand app with multiple user types, payments, and geolocation (something like Uber) typically runs to $35,000.
What factors actually drive the cost of building an app?
The obvious ones: how many features, how complex each one is (a push notification is harder to build than a registration form), whether you need the backend and hosting as well as the frontend, and whether design and testing are included. The less obvious ones matter just as much, the number of different user roles, admin dashboards, whether the project needs specialist, more expensive skills like Python for an AI feature, and whether we've built something similar before.
Why shouldn't I just choose the cheapest quote?
Because price alone doesn't tell you what you're buying. We've had potential clients choose a cheaper vendor, then come back six months later once they discovered the no-code platform couldn't do what they needed, carried expensive licence fees, or the developer had underquoted to win the job and raised the price once they were committed. Compare quotes on what's actually included, not just the number at the bottom.
Why are app development costs falling?
Hybrid frameworks like Flutter and React, low-code tools like FlutterFlow, ready-made hosting such as Firebase and Supabase, and generally more mature libraries and languages have all cut build time. Having built more than 100 apps ourselves has made us faster too.
Does my idea need to be an app, or would a website be cheaper?
Often a website. It's cheaper to build, Google indexes it (not app-store content) and asking someone to download and install an app is a real barrier before they've even tried it. We only recommend an app when the idea genuinely needs something a website can't do well: location, push notifications, stored payment details, Bluetooth, or a listing on the app stores.
What's your hourly rate?
It depends on the role, the experience level of the person, and the size and duration of the engagement. We offer hourly consulting, team augmentation, and support retainers, scoped to your specific engagement rather than a single published rate.
Get a scoped estimate for your app
Tell us what you're building and we'll come back with a structured estimate, built the same disciplined way we build our own products.