A custom iOS and Android app costs $25,000–55,000 with an experienced freelancer when it uses a backend you already have, and $45,000–90,000 when the app is the main product and needs a new backend. Wrapping an existing website as an app costs $4,000–12,000. My local news app cost $25,000 over 12 weeks.
The biggest factor isn't the number of screens. It's whether the accounts, data, and server behind the app already exist. An app on top of a working product is mostly the app itself. An app with nothing behind it needs the whole system built. Below: prices by type, two real apps, what drives the cost, the store fees people forget, whether a wrapped website is enough, and how to spend less. If you're not sure you need an app at all, start with do you need a mobile app.
Mobile app cost by type
Freelance prices in US dollars, for iOS and Android together.
| Type | Cost | Timeline | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your website wrapped as an app | $4,000–12,000 | 2–4 weeks | Your web app in the stores, with push notifications |
| App on your existing backend | $25,000–55,000 | 8–14 weeks | A native-feeling app using your current accounts and data |
| App as the main product | $45,000–90,000 | 12–20 weeks | The app, a new backend, an admin, and both store releases |
| Type | Typical range | Real projects |
|---|---|---|
| Website wrapped as an app | $4,000–12,000 | — |
| App on your existing backend | $25,000–55,000 | — |
| App as the main product | $45,000–90,000 | — |
| Two apps I built | — | Catalog app prototype: $8,000; Local news app: $25,000 |
Two real apps and what they cost
A local news app: $25,000 over 12 weeks
The local news app had been left half-built by an agency. I finished it as one React Native app for iOS and Android, with location-based news, search, bookmarks, and push alerts, plus a backend, an editor admin, and releases to both stores. It now has 50K downloads and 20K monthly readers. Taking over an unfinished app is covered in what a takeover costs.
A catalog app prototype: $8,000 in 3 weeks
A printing and imaging brand wanted distributors to show its product range from their phones, but the real product data wasn't ready yet. I built a working prototype with distributor login, search, filters, and product pages, designed so the real data could plug in later without a rebuild. It shows a cheaper way to start: test the app with real users before paying for the full version.
Why mobile app quotes range from $4,000 to $250,000
If you've searched this question, you've seen much bigger numbers than the ones above. Topflight, a US app agency, puts the typical cost of an app at $60,000–250,000 and North American agency rates at $100–250 an hour. Those figures are real, but they usually describe a different job.
An agency quote often covers a team: a project manager, a designer, separate iPhone and Android developers, and testers, with a discovery phase before any building starts. It's also often for a bigger app than a first version needs. At the other end, a very low quote usually covers the screens and little else: no backend, no admin for your staff, no store release, and no plan for updates.
The ranges in this post are for one experienced developer building both apps from one codebase, for business apps like bookings, ordering, news, catalogs, and customer portals. When two quotes are far apart, compare what they include before you compare the price: how many people, how many codebases, whether the backend and admin are in it, and who handles the store releases.
Why one codebase for iOS and Android costs less
Apps used to be built twice: once for iPhone, once for Android, often by two teams. Frameworks like React Native build both from one shared codebase, so most of the work is done once, and both apps stay in step when you add features. That's how I build apps, and it's the main reason the prices above are well below the two-team quotes you'll see from some agencies.
Separate native apps still make sense for a few products: heavy games, advanced camera or augmented reality features, or apps that push the phone's hardware to its limits. For business apps like bookings, ordering, news, catalogs, and customer portals, one codebase does the job and costs less to maintain for years.
What makes a mobile app cost more
These move the price most, roughly in order:
- No backend yet. Accounts, data, and an admin have to be built too. This is the jump from the middle row to the last.
- Payments and subscriptions.Especially in-app purchases, which follow each store's own rules.
- Phone features. Location, camera, Bluetooth, or background tracking each add work and testing.
- Working offline. Saving data on the phone and syncing it later is much harder than always being online.
- Several types of user. Customers, staff, and drivers each need their own screens.
Most first versions don't need all of these on day one. How to choose is in what to put in a first version.
App store fees and costs people forget
| Cost | Amount |
|---|---|
| Apple Developer Program | $99 a year |
| Google Play developer account | $25, one time |
| Store commission on digital sales in the app | Apple: 15% for developers under $1 million a year, 30% above |
| Hosting, push, and other services | Grows with users |
| Updates for new phone software | Every year, as Apple and Google release new versions |
The developer accounts should be in your company's name, not your developer's. The commission applies to digital goods sold inside the app, like subscriptions; physical goods and services usually use normal card payments. Store review also adds a few days to each release, which matters when you plan a launch date.
What a mobile app costs to run each year
An app isn't paid for once. Topflight puts yearly maintenance at about 25% of the original build. As a worked example, a $40,000 app would need about $10,000 a year just to keep working well. That money goes on:
- Yearly phone software updates. Apple and Google release new versions every year. Apps need testing, small fixes, and a new store release to keep up.
- Hosting and services. The backend, database, push notifications, maps, and email all cost more as users grow.
- Fixes from real use. Real users on hundreds of phone models find problems no test plan catches.
- Store accounts.Apple's $99 a year, and any commission on digital sales.
If you plan to keep improving the app after launch, a monthly plan is usually simpler than paying per change. My care plan for apps costs $400, $900, or $1,800 a month and covers updates, security checks, monitoring, small fixes, and a monthly report. Put a yearly running cost in the budget before you commit to the build, so the app doesn't stall in its second year.
Is wrapping your website as an app worth it?
Sometimes. If your web app already works well on phones, wrapping it and adding push notifications can put you in the stores for a fraction of the cost. It works best for existing customers who want an icon on their home screen and alerts.
The risk is Apple's review. Its guidelines say an app should do more than a "repackaged website", and wrapped sites with nothing app-like can be rejected. A plain marketing website wrapped as an app is the most likely to fail. A web product people log into, with push notifications and some phone-specific features, is far more likely to pass. If your site is mainly marketing, you probably don't need an app at all yet.
Red flags in a mobile app quote
An app quote is harder to judge than a website quote, because most of the work is invisible. These are the signs to ask more questions before you sign:
None of these means the developer is dishonest. They mean the quote is missing work that someone will pay for later, usually you. Ask for each one in writing, then compare the quotes again.
How to lower the cost of a mobile app
- Start on the web. A web app that works well on phones tests the idea without store fees or review.
- Reuse your backend. Build the app on the accounts and data you already have.
- One codebase for both stores. Not two teams.
- Prototype first. A few thousand dollars to test with real users, like the catalog app above.
- Cut features, not platforms. Launch on both stores with less, rather than one store with everything.
If you don't have a web product yet, the web version often costs less and launches sooner. Prices for that route are in what a web product costs.
A brief to get an accurate app quote
Answer these and any developer can tell you which row you're in, and quote it properly:
See how I build apps on my mobile apps page, or send me your answers, and I'll tell you what it would cost and whether an app is the right first step.
Sources
- Apple Developer Program: $99 a year, Apple
- Google Play Console: $25 one-time registration fee, Google
- App Store Small Business Program: 15% commission, 30% standard, Apple
- App Review Guidelines 4.2: minimum functionality, Apple
- App development costs $60,000–250,000; maintenance about 25% of the build a year, Topflight
