The PDF said app. $8,000. I opened it. The live site, wrapped for the stores, aimed at Apple and Google. How much does a custom mobile app cost a business? That quote was a website with a listing they hadn't written.
I build this as mobile apps. I write a brief before I quote. If a tab already finishes it, stop. Do you need a mobile app is that question. The number I mean is $25,000 to $55,000. iOS and Android on a product people already use. The other rows are in the table.
How much a custom mobile app actually costs to build
Briefs I opened, not a rate card. The row is what changes the number. Agency quotes for the same job run higher because you're paying for a room. You might still not have anyone who can ship a build in October.
| What they asked for | Dollars | What you actually get |
|---|---|---|
| A website wrapped for the stores | $4,000 to $12,000 | Signing, a listing, a review that says this is a website. The people who install it get the same pages, slower. Don't budget a real app against it. |
| A companion on APIs you already have | $25,000 to $55,000 | iOS and Android from one codebase. Same accounts. Push if they would tap it. TestFlight, Play Console, listings in an account you control. |
| An app that is the first product | $45,000 to $90,000 | Backend, accounts, and the stores, in one invoice. Usually the first version should have been a URL someone already uses. Then the line above. |
| Two native teams, or like Uber | $150,000 to $400,000+ | Swift and Kotlin in parallel. A marketplace you don't run yet. Agencies write MVP on this. I don't. Hire a room, or cut the job. |
| A live app that already has users | Different quote | Repo, store logins, reviews already on the listing. I repair what's there. Don't price a blank companion next to an app people already open. |
The $25k to $55k line assumes someone already finishes the job in a browser. Starting in TestFlight to skip that is two review queues before you know if anyone comes back. You didn't save money. You bought waiting.
What people mean by how much a mobile app costs
Both PDFs used the word app. That's why the table has five rows. I have forwarded Apple's rejection: the app was a website. You still paid for signing and a month of waiting. The people who did install it got the same pages, slower, with a back button that didn't belong.
The local news app in selected work was for readers checking nearby stories. Location and push on the publishing backend they already ran, then the stores. Five pages and a form is how much a custom website costs. I won't quote stores on that.
What moves the cost of a mobile app
A day rate doesn't move it. Two native teams for one catalog does, and so do store accounts sitting in someone else's Gmail. Name those or the range is a guess.
One codebase or two native teams
iOS and Android from the same app is what I ship. Two teams in parallel is the $200k line. Staffing Swift and Kotlin at once doesn't test the job. It pays four people to wait on one catalog. One codebase still needs store-specific work. It does not double the invoice.
Same APIs or a second backend
The companion uses the accounts and data you already have. A second backend so the mobile hire can have their own admin is two products. I won't start that as a first version. What one person owns on this job includes the wires. It does not include a new database because the phone is smaller.
Who holds the store accounts on Tuesday
Apple and Google in an account you control. Signing, listings, a rejection you can answer without calling a vendor. A quote that stops at an IPA in Slack leaves you with a file and no listing. OS updates keep coming. If nobody can ship a build in October, you bought an icon.
When you should not buy a mobile app yet
The wrong row is how you pay twice. I'd rather say that than take a deposit on the first line, or on two teams you don't have a job for. Sometimes the honest next spend is a site, or taking over what already runs.
You're using the first row as the budget
The wrapper line is sitting in the thread as if it were the companion. Those aren't close. If you only have listing money, you don't have an app budget. Wait, or cut the job until a tab is enough.
You're comparing it to a website quote
Five pages was $12k. The companion is $40k. It feels like a punishment. Signing, TestFlight, two stores, and screens that are not a squeezed desktop. That's the gap. Stop putting them on the same line. If you meant five pages, buy the site.
Nobody can log into App Store Connect
The last person left. The Apple login is their Gmail. You cannot answer a rejection, and you cannot ship a build. That is not an app quote. Get the account into your name, or I'm taking over a listing I can't touch. I won't start screens until that email is yours.
The IPA was in Slack. Nobody had the App Store login.
Forward the quote. If the Apple login isn't yours, say so. Tell me what you're building.
