What drives the cost
- Features and complexity: logins, payments, real-time updates, offline use and integrations all add time.
- Platforms: Android only, iOS only, both, or a cross-platform framework.
- Design: template-based vs fully custom interfaces.
- Back end: the admin panel, APIs, database and hosting behind the app.
- Who builds it: freelancers, small studios and larger firms price very differently, and so does their reliability.
The costs after launch
An app is never finished. Plan for:
- Operating system updates that break things once or twice a year.
- Bug fixes, security patches and hosting.
- App store listings, reviews and releases.
- Marketing to get people to install it, and keep it.
Should you build an app at all?
Ask these questions first:
- Will customers use it at least weekly? If not, most won’t install it.
- Does it need phone features a website can’t use, like offline mode or background location?
- Would a fast mobile website solve 80% of the need at a fraction of the cost?
- Who will maintain it in year two and year three?
From our work: [An app project PURSHO scoped, and whether the client ended up building it]
How to get a reliable quote
Write a one-page brief: who the users are, the five things they must be able to do, the systems it must connect to, and your launch date. Ask each vendor to price the same brief, and to list what’s not included. We help clients write these briefs and compare quotes as part of our technology consulting.
How PURSHO approaches this
See how we help with this in Technology & IT Consulting, or book a free 30-minute consultation. Related case study: [Industry] distributor going online.
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