"How much does an app cost?" is a bit like asking how much a building costs — the honest answer is "it depends," but the factors that drive the number up or down are well understood. Here's what actually determines mobile app development cost.
1. Native vs. cross-platform
Building separately for iOS and Android with native code (Swift/Kotlin) generally costs more than a single cross-platform codebase (React Native or similar) that targets both. Cross-platform is usually the right call for most business apps; native makes more sense when you need deep platform-specific performance or hardware access.
2. Feature complexity, not screen count
Simple screens are cheap. The cost drivers are usually specific features: real-time chat, payments, offline sync, complex search, third-party integrations, or anything involving background location or push notifications at scale. A 10-screen app with a payment flow and real-time data can cost more than a 30-screen app that's mostly static content.
3. Backend and API work
Most apps aren't just a frontend — they need a backend to manage users, data and business logic. If that backend doesn't exist yet, building it is often a larger cost than the app itself, especially if it needs to support both a mobile app and a website.
4. Design maturity
A clickable prototype validated with real users before development starts is cheaper in the long run than discovering usability problems after the app is built. UI/UX design isn't an optional add-on to app cost — skipping it usually costs more later in rework.
5. App Store and Play Store submission
Both platforms have review processes, guidelines and, for iOS, an annual developer fee. Apps involving payments, subscriptions, health data or anything user-generated tend to face more scrutiny and may need extra rounds of review.
6. Ongoing maintenance is not optional
OS updates, new device sizes, security patches and third-party SDK updates mean a mobile app needs continued investment after launch — typically budgeted as a percentage of the original build cost per year. An app that's "finished" and never touched again tends to break within a couple of OS release cycles.
Roughly, what to expect
- A simple single-purpose app (booking, catalog, basic content): lower end of the range
- A mid-complexity app with accounts, payments and an admin backend: mid-range
- A complex, real-time or highly custom app: higher end, often scoped in phases
The bottom line
The biggest cost driver isn't the platform — it's how clearly the features and backend requirements are scoped before development starts. Vague requirements are the single most common reason app budgets blow past their original estimate.
Kordix Labs scopes and builds mobile apps through our Mobile Application Development service — reach out for a realistic estimate based on your actual feature list.