How much does it cost to build an app? The arithmetic, by route

How is the cost of an app calculated?

Every quote you see is the same sum in different clothes: hours of work, times the rate for each hour, plus the fixed costs of getting the app in front of people. Pages that give a single average hide the two things that move it most, which are how big the app is and who builds it.

This page does the sum in the open. The hours and hourly rates below are assumptions chosen to show the arithmetic, not market surveys or quotes. Replace them with the figures from real bids for your own project. The store fees and tool prices are read from the vendors’ pages and dated October 2026.

• Build cost = hours of work x hourly rate.
• Fixed costs = store fees, tool subscriptions, domain, any paid services the app calls.
• Running cost = hosting, paid services, and the hours you or a developer spend fixing and updating the app each month.
• First-year cost = build cost + fixed costs + 12 months of running cost.

A fourth term matters if you build it yourself: your own time. It costs no cash, but it is not free, and the time guide helps you estimate how much of it you will spend.

How much does it cost to hire someone to build an app?

Use three scope tiers. The hours are assumptions for illustration; a real developer will estimate from your brief. The rates of USD 50, 100 and 150 an hour are also assumptions, standing in for a low, middle and high freelance or studio rate. They are not a claim about what the market charges in your country.

Read the table sideways to see what moves the number. Doubling the hours doubles the cost. Going from the low to the high rate triples it. Adding a second platform tends to add hours, which is why a first version on one platform is cheaper. Ask each bidder to state hours and rate separately, so you can compare like with like.

Before you pay for any build, have a written brief and some evidence that people want the app. The guide to hiring an app developer lists the questions to ask, and the scoping guide shows how to shrink the scope, which is the cheapest saving available.

What does each route cost in the first year?

The three routes in the guide to making an app have different cost shapes. Hiring is mostly one large build cost. Building with an AI agent or a no-code builder is mostly your time plus a small subscription.

The USD 20 a month is an assumption anchored to a real price: Claude’s pricing page lists the Pro plan at USD 20 a month if billed monthly (USD 17 a month with an annual plan), as of October 2026. Other tools charge differently, so substitute the current price of the one you choose. The Apple fee comes from Apple’s enrollment page, which states that the program is 99 USD per membership year.

Two cautions. The cheap routes assume your time costs you nothing in cash and that your app is simple. And an AI-built or no-code app that handles payments or personal data may still need a paid review by someone experienced, which is not in this table.

What are the fixed costs, whoever builds it?

Apple’s App Review Guidelines require a privacy policy link on every app, so budget a little time for that too. The free app guide goes through what you can avoid paying for.

Why do quotes for the same app differ so much?

• Different scope in each head. One bidder prices a screen, another prices a screen with sign-in, admin tools and analytics. A written brief fixes this.
• Different rates. Rates depend on the person’s experience, location and whether you hire a freelancer or a studio with overhead.
• Different assumptions about design. Custom design takes hours; a template does not.
• Different risk. A fixed price includes a cushion for surprises. An hourly rate does not, and the bill can grow.
• Different definitions of done. Some quotes stop at a build you cannot publish, with store submission, hosting and handover extra.

Hello [name],

I am looking for a quote on a first version of an app. One page of detail is attached.

Please give me:
1. Your estimate in hours, split into design, build, testing and store submission.
2. Your hourly rate, or a fixed price with what it includes.
3. What is NOT included.
4. Who owns the source code and designs at the end, and when ownership transfers.
5. What I receive at handover: source code, accounts, hosting setup, notes.
6. What you charge for fixes in the first 30 days and for monthly maintenance after.
7. A past project I can see running.

Platform: [web / iPhone / Android]. Budget range I can share if useful: [range].
I would also like to start with a short paid discovery phase before we commit to the whole build.

Thanks,
[your name]

Get three replies to the same message and the spread between them is the honest answer to “how much” for your app.

How do you keep the cost down?

1. Test the idea before building anything. The cheapest app is the one you learn not to build. Use the validation guide.
2. Cut the scope until it hurts. Every feature you remove removes its hours.
3. Start on the web. No store review, no store fees, and changes ship in minutes.
4. Build a prototype yourself and hire against it. A working prototype is the best brief you can hand over.
5. Pay for discovery first. A short, paid, fixed-price scoping phase beats an open-ended build.
6. Reuse before you build. Starting from a posted idea and its ready build prompt, on the board, saves the writing stage.