App Development Cost Calculator
Describe your idea and get a build plan, price range and timeline in about two minutes.
Building web and mobile apps since 2015. Your quote is your price unless the scope changes.
How much does it cost to make an app?
Our apps start from $4,000. A focused first version usually costs $4,000 to $10,000 and takes 4 to 6 weeks; a business app with payments, roles and admin tools costs $10,000 to $20,000; larger platforms start at $20,000. The price depends on how much the first release needs to do, whether it runs on the web, on phones or both, and how complex each feature is. The calculator above designs a build plan for your idea the way our engineers would, then prices it with our real rates. Updated October 2026.
App development cost by stage
These are the ranges most of our projects fall into. Your own plan may land anywhere in a range, or above it, depending on what you select.
| Stage | Typical cost | Timeline | What it usually covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| First version (MVP) | $4,000 to $10,000 | 4 to 6 weeks | One core user journey, sign-in, the main screens and a simple admin view |
| Business app | $10,000 to $20,000 | 6 to 12 weeks | Payments, notifications, several user roles, admin tools and integrations |
| Advanced platform | $20,000+ | 12 to 16+ weeks | Marketplaces, real-time features, reporting, integrations with your systems, scale and security |
Worked examples from this calculator
We ran these ideas through the calculator on 9 October 2026 and kept the items it planned for the first build. AI writes a fresh plan each time, so your result for a similar idea can differ.
| Idea | Stage and platform | Estimate | Timeline | Included in the first build |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salon booking app with card deposits | Just an idea, web and mobile | $8,300 to $10,700 | 6 to 8 weeks | Sign-up, stylist and service catalog, working hours, booking with double-booking prevention, card deposits |
| Staff check-in and leave app for an 80-person company | I have an audience, web | $5,500 to $7,000 | 5 to 7 weeks | Staff and manager roles, check in and out, timesheets, leave requests with manager approval |
| Marketplace for home cooks selling meals nearby | Just an idea, web and mobile | $12,400 to $15,800 | 8 to 10 weeks | Cook and buyer accounts, meal listings, nearby search, cart, checkout and orders |
| Ride-hailing app for one city | Just an idea, web and mobile | $13,200 to $16,900 | 8 to 10 weeks | Ride requests, driver matching, live trip status, card payments, driver payouts, admin dashboard |
| SaaS tool for small agencies: projects, invoices and timesheets | Just an idea, web | $9,300 to $11,800 | 7 to 9 weeks | Sign-up, agency workspaces, team invites and roles, clients, projects and budgets |
| Online clothing store with about 200 products | I have an audience, website | $5,300 to $6,800 | 4 to 6 weeks | Catalog, search and filters, cart and checkout, shipping and tax rules, brand-matched design |
Estimates include AI-assisted development, automated tests, manual QA, design, project management, deployment, launch and 30 days of support.
How it works
Describe your idea in plain words, the way you would explain it to a friend. Tell us where it stands today and where people will use it. In about 30 seconds you get a build plan written for your idea, grouped the way our team would build it. Keep what you need, deselect what you don’t, and add anything marked for later. Confirm your email and your price range, timeline and full breakdown appear on screen, with a copy in your inbox. If you want a fixed price, book a short call and we send a written quote.
Every estimate includes
- AI-assisted tests and code review
- Manual QA before every release
- Design and project management
- Deployment and launch
- 30 days of support after launch
What you can price here
Apps start from $4,000 and websites from $1,400. Describe any of these in your own words; the calculator works out the parts. Pricing a website or online store? Use the website cost calculator.
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Web apps, portals and dashboards
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Mobile apps for iPhone and Android
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Web and mobile together, sharing one back end
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AI features such as chatbots and document reading
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Business websites with contact and booking forms
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Online stores and Shopify builds
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Customer portals and member areas
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Marketplaces, booking and scheduling products
Costs after launch
Building the app is the biggest cost, but plan for these too.
| Cost after launch | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Apple App Store | $99 a year for the Apple Developer Program |
| Google Play | $25 one-time registration fee |
| Hosting, email, maps and SMS | Billed by those providers, based on how much your app is used |
| AI services | If your app uses OpenAI, Anthropic or similar, usage is billed by them |
| Support and changes | 30 days of support included, then $25 to $49 an hour, estimated before we start |
From estimate to fixed quote
Get your estimate here, on screen and by email. Book a 30-minute call and we go through the open points in your plan. We then send a written quote, and your quote is your price unless the scope changes. We build in short cycles, so you see working software every week or two. After launch you get 30 days of support; after that, maintenance is $25 to $49 an hour, estimated before we start.
Got questions?
Well, we've got answers
It is a range built from the same effort figures we use for real quotes. After a short call we confirm the scope and send a written quote. That quote is your price unless the scope changes.
Our apps start from $4,000. With AI-assisted development, a focused first version usually costs $4,000 to $15,000 and takes 4 to 10 weeks, depending on how much it needs to do. A product for a business that already has customers, with accounts, payments and admin tools, usually costs $12,000 to $30,000. Use the calculator for a range based on your own idea.
If your app needs AI features, such as a chatbot, document reading or recommendations, describe them in your idea and the plan will include them. Running costs for AI services, such as OpenAI or Anthropic usage, are billed by those providers and are not part of our build price.
An MVP (minimum viable product) is the smallest version of your product that real people can use. It lets you test demand before investing in everything else. In the calculator, choose “Just an idea” and the plan keeps only what the first version needs; you can add the rest with one click.
iPhone and Android apps need extra build and testing time, plus App Store and Google Play submission. Building for web and mobile adds a second interface on top of the same back end.
Yes. Our engineers use Claude and Codex at every step, from planning to code review. Every release passes automated tests and a manual QA check before it reaches your users.
Work out what the app has to do, estimate the effort for each part, then add testing, design and launch. The calculator does this for you: describe your idea and you get a build plan, a price range and a timeline in about two minutes. Our team then confirms the price in a written quote.
A first version of a SaaS product, with sign-up, team workspaces, user roles and subscriptions, usually costs $9,000 to $15,000 and takes 7 to 10 weeks. A project and invoicing tool for small agencies came out at $9,300 to $11,800 in this calculator. See SaaS and MVP development.
Apple charges $99 a year for its developer program, and Google Play charges a one-time $25 registration fee. We prepare the app for review and handle the submission; we recommend publishing under your own developer accounts so the app stays yours.
AI tools can get an idea on screen quickly, and we use them every day. A product people rely on also needs secure logins, payments that reconcile, app store approval and someone to fix it later. If you already built something with an AI tool, see AI-built app development.
You get 30 days of support. After that, maintenance is billed at $25 to $49 an hour, and we estimate each piece of work before we start.