How Much Does It Cost to Develop an App in 2025?

Times are changing, and the answer to the question: "How much does it cost to make an app?" is no longer a matter of the number of screens or development hours. Today, the strategy underlying the entire project is far more important, so when estimating the budget, you have to consider the specifics of the app’s target audience, its monetization model, its requirements for security, scalability, accessibility, and third-party compatibility, as well as the technologies used, too. 

Below, as a seasoned company with practical experience in creating digital solutions for banking, eCommerce, entertainment, and many other sectors, we’ll reveal our criteria for evaluating app development costs.

How Much Does It Cost to Build an App?

Let's start with the gradation of the application's complexity – this is still the fundamental aspect that affects its budget. 

Simple app development cost

A simple app typically refers to either an MVP or a full-fledged project with a limited set of features, such as registration, content displaying, simple forms, an admin panel, and 1-2 integrations. Typically, the cost of such solutions starts at $20,000 and can reach $60,000 (depending on the platform and other requirements), with a development time of 6 to 12 weeks, based on a team of 5-6 specialists.

Medium app development cost

This type of development requires the implementation of a slightly larger number of features, including a user profile, complex forms, offline mode, push notifications, 5-8 integrations, in-app purchasing, analytics, and more. Typically, this scenario covers the vast majority of products for eCommerce, booking, travel, and many other B2C verticals. The most common budget for such development ranges from $60,000 to $150,000, with a timeline of 3-6 months (for a team of 8-10 specialists).

Complex app development cost

If you're going to create an enterprise-level product, a streaming platform, software with a scalable backend, or a multi-user solution with AI/ML algorithms, complex integrations, and/or compliance with strict security/user accessibility requirements, such a project will cost you $150,000 or more. It typically requires a team of 8-20 people, and the process itself lasts from six months to a year or more.

Cost to Develop an App by Type, Smart Technology, and Platform

Now, let's move on to a more detailed description of what makes up the app development budget.

Cost to build an app by type

Different types of applications have different pricing factors. For example, B2B software is more expensive due to the number of integrations and regulatory requirements – therefore, such projects start at $120,000. Meanwhile, B2C solutions are significantly cheaper and typically cost between $70,000 and $150,000. Mobile games, on the other hand, have budgets that range from $50,000 to over $1M (for AA/AAA ones). Another important group of applications – industrial and IoT-integrated ones – has budgets based on the number of devices and firmware requirements; they are typically no less than $150,000. Finally, SaaS applications will cost you $120,000 or even more.

Cost to build an app based on smart technologies

Integrating cutting-edge technologies increases the budget but also positively impacts the product's value. For example, for personalized recommendations or predictive analytics, you should calculate the ML or AI app development cost – it will add $20,000+ to your project. If we’re talking about computer vision, then you should add about $30,000+, and for AR/VR technologies integration, about $80,000+. Meanwhile, blockchain and IoT technologies increase the budget by $80,000 or more due to the complexity of ensuring scalability, as well as the need to implement complex architectures and meet security standards.

Cost to build an app by platform

Native iOS or Android app development for one platform costs from $40,000, while for two, it doubles the budget unless you use a shared backend. Cross-platform development using Flutter and React Native will cost less for two apps, starting from $50,000, but require more time for quality assurance. If you're looking to save money, you should consider a web-first approach and PWA development – the budget for such projects typically starts at $30,000.

App Development Cost Worldwide

The price of app development naturally depends on the specialist's salary. For example, in the US, according to ZipRecruiter, the average app developer salary is around $53 per hour, while in Western Europe it's significantly lower (in Germany, for example, it averages €29 per hour). 

If you're looking for the best balance between the cost to develop an app and its quality, you should consider developers from Eastern European countries, such as Ukraine, where hourly rates average around $22. Lower rates can only be found in Southeast Asian countries (from $20 per hour and below), but like in any other overly cheap service, there may be increased risks associated with poor communication and quality control.

What Factors Affect Application Development Cost?

The cost of developing an application is the sum of many interrelated factors, which we’ll highlight below.

App complexity

If an application has simple CRUD logic and static content, its budget will be as low as possible. However, the need to implement real-time features such as chat or streaming, distributed business logic, offline mode, big data synchronization, as well as complex routing or transaction rules significantly increases the amount of engineering work and the architectural burden. Furthermore, all this requires specific architectural solutions such as sharding, event-driven design, CQRS, and microservices, which ultimately increase the cost of development in the name of fault tolerance and scalability.

Customization of UI/UX design

Developing a custom UX/UI design with preliminary user research, prototyping, interactive testing, animation implementation, and adaptation to accessibility requirements is considered the easiest way to achieve high conversion rates and ensure good user retention. On the other hand, a template-based interface is much cheaper, although it risks diminishing brand perception and negatively impacting user churn. Ultimately, depending on the scope of work, you'll need to allocate 20% to 50% of your total budget to this stage.

Development team location and expertise

Finally, the location of your tech team and its level of expertise directly impact their rates and risks. For example, hiring a senior developer in the United States will cost significantly more than in India, but both the speed and maturity of solutions he or she will provide will likely be significantly higher. This is why it's recommended to test a hybrid approach, where product management and architecture are located onshore, while experts involved in product implementation and support are located nearshore.

How Much Does It Cost to Create an App: By Development Stages

The project budget is formed in stages, so you should understand which stages influence it.

Stage 1. Cost of the discovery phase in app development

The discovery phase includes market research, user interviews, competitor analysis, as well as user journeys and technical architecture. Its cost for an average project typically accounts for 5-15% of its total budget, but can also have a fixed price of $5,000-$30,000 depending on your vendor's pricing model.

Stage 2. Cost of the UI/UX design stage in app development

Design involves creating wireframes, interactive prototypes, a UI kit, and a design system, as well as testing them in stages with user groups. On average, design accounts for 10-20% of the project cost, but for enterprise solutions with multiple scenarios and a role-based interface, it can reach $30,000-$50,000.

Stage 3. Mobile App Development Cost

This stage accounts for the bulk of the budget (approximately 40-60%), as it involves work on the frontend, backend, integrations, and CI/CD automation. It's also important to consider the expenses of testing on real devices, load testing, and preparing the project for release in app stores.

Stage 4. Project Management Cost in App Development

Project management ensures deadlines are met and quality control is maintained. The percentage of the overall budget allocated to team members responsible for this typically amounts to around 10-15%. 

Additional App Development Costs

After the development process is complete, a project still requires investment in its ongoing support. Specifically, you have to consider the following aspects.

App administration

Software administration includes server configuration, database management, uptime and security monitoring, as well as backups and DevOps support. For a product with daily users, this requires regular maintenance with constant performance monitoring, so the average administration budget typically amounts to 5-10% of the total project cost per year.

Functional services

Modern apps almost never exist in isolation. At the same time, integrations with CRM, payment systems, analytics, push services, geolocation platforms, and other services require regular updates and license management. These are typically billed on a pay-as-you-go basis, which also impacts the budget.

Support and updates

After release, a project requires regular updates, including library updates, adaptation to new iOS/Android versions, bug fixes, and the addition of new features. With an average release cycle of 4-8 weeks, the support budget will amount to approximately 15-30% of the annual project cost.

Mobile app promotion

Promotion, especially in the first year after release, is considered the main mobile app development cost item. This includes app store optimization, social media advertising, content marketing, PR activities, and blogger outreach, which ultimately adds approximately 20-50% to the initial project budget. 

Approaches to Building an App and How It Affects the Cost

There are three main approaches to interacting with a technical team – so, let's take a closer look at each of them.

Form an in-house team

Forming an in-house team gives you the greatest control over processes and enables building a product culture within the company. However, hiring specialists, training them, purchasing software, and setting up DevOps processes require investment: for example, a team of 5-7 specialists, including a project manager, a UX/UI designer, a frontend engineer, a backend developer, a QA specialist, and a DevOps expert, will cost you from $150,000 per year. However, if you're planning to work on a long-term project where knowledge accumulation and rapid iteration are essential, this is likely the only viable option.

Cooperate with an outsourcing company

Outsourcing development involves delegating a project to a third-party contractor with well-established processes and existing expertise. This approach reduces time-to-market and overall risks, especially if you choose a seasoned technical partner with relevant case studies.

Hire freelancers

Even if you manage to hire a good specialist, this will only be beneficial for small tasks; otherwise, building a systematic process with multiple contractors will be difficult. This is why the actual savings on the app development price are illusory, as rework and support after freelancers are 1.5-2 times more expensive than development by an in-house team, whether in-house or contractor-side.