A simple app typically costs €5,000–€15,000, a standard app with a proper backend €15,000–€60,000, and a complex product €60,000–€150,000 or more (the figures are broadly the same in US dollars). The reason the range is so wide is that “an app” can mean a single-screen tool or a two-sided marketplace with payments, chat and a dashboard. What you actually pay comes down to four things: how many features you need, whether you need both iOS and Android, how much backend and integration work sits behind the screens, and how much design, testing and ongoing maintenance the product requires.
What does it actually cost to build an app?
Here are realistic 2026 price bands for a custom-built app, based on scope rather than a headline number.
| App type | What it includes | Typical cost | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple app | One platform, a few screens, login, basic backend | €5,000–€15,000 | 4–8 weeks |
| MVP | Core feature only, shipped to real users to test the idea | €8,000–€25,000 | 6–12 weeks |
| Standard app | iOS + Android, custom backend/API, payments or integrations | €15,000–€60,000 | 3–6 months |
| Complex product | Multiple user types, real-time features, dashboards, scale | €60,000–€150,000+ | 6–12+ months |
Most small and mid-sized businesses do not need the top band. They need a focused product that solves one real problem well, shipped in months rather than years — which usually sits in the simple-to-standard range.
What drives the cost of an app?
Six things move the number up or down more than anything else:
- Number of features. Every screen, every rule and every edge case is time. A login, a payment flow and a chat feature each add real cost. The fastest way to blow a budget is to build everything at once instead of the one feature that matters first.
- One platform or two. Native iOS and Android are effectively two builds. A cross-platform framework (React Native, Flutter) ships both from one codebase and is the main lever for keeping the number down.
- The backend. The part users never see — the API, database and integrations — is often half the work on a serious app. A simple app with no backend is cheap; anything with accounts, payments or data syncing is not.
- Integrations. Connecting to payment providers, a CRM, a booking system or an existing database adds work in proportion to how messy those systems are.
- Design. A template-driven look is cheap. A distinctive, carefully designed interface costs more and is worth it for consumer products where the experience is the product.
- Maintenance. An app is not finished at launch. Operating systems change, dependencies age and servers cost money. Budget for it (see below) or the app degrades.
How long does it take to build an app?
Timeline tracks cost. A simple app is 4–8 weeks; a standard app with a backend is 3–6 months; a complex product is 6–12 months or more. Beware anyone promising a full-featured product in two weeks — either the scope is tiny, or corners are being cut in places you will pay for later.
Freelancer, agency or studio — how the cost differs
Who builds it changes the price as much as what you build. A freelancer is usually cheapest up front but limited in capacity; an agency carries the most overhead because you are paying for a team, sales staff and offices; a studio sits in between — senior delivery without agency-scale overhead. We cover the trade-offs in detail in freelancer vs agency vs studio and in how to choose who builds your app.
What about maintenance and ongoing costs?
Plan for roughly 15–20% of the build cost per year to keep an app healthy — patches, OS updates, server and third-party bills, and small improvements. On a €20,000 app that is €3,000–€6,000 a year. It is not optional: the platforms an app runs on change constantly, and an unmaintained app quietly stops working.
How to build an app for less (without wasting money)
- Start with an MVP. Build the one feature that proves the idea, ship it, and let real usage tell you what to build next. It is the difference between spending €15,000 to learn and €80,000 to guess.
- Launch on one platform first, or use a cross-platform framework, before paying to support every device.
- Own your code and accounts from day one so you are never locked in to one supplier and can bring in help later without starting over.
- Cut features, not quality. A small app built properly beats a big app built badly — the badly built one costs more to fix than it did to build.
Custom mobile app development done end to end — designed, built, shipped and kept running — is how you turn a real business problem into working software without paying for scope you do not need.