How Much Does It Cost to Make an App in 2026? Real Fixed Prices

Ask how much an app costs and most answers are a range so wide it tells you nothing. We build apps for small businesses at three fixed prices, and they are published: $5,950, $11,500 or $19,500 for the build, then a monthly care fee that is free at first. This post explains what sits behind each number, what you pay Apple and Google, and how to tell which price is yours before you talk to anyone.

The short answer

• App Starter: $5,950 to build. App Care is free for the first 3 months, then $99 a month.
• App Growth: $11,500 to build. App Care is free for the first 6 months, then $179 a month.
• App Authority: $19,500 to build. App Care is free for the first 12 months, then $299 a month.

Every one of those is a single app that runs on iPhone and Android from one codebase. You are not paying for two builds. The full breakdown is on our app development page.

What actually moves the price

An app's cost is not about how it looks. It is about how many moving parts sit behind the screens. Four things decide which tier you land in.

1. Does anyone sign in?

An app that shows the same thing to everyone — a loyalty card, a booking button, a check-in — needs no accounts and no database of people. That is App Starter: up to six screens, push notifications and one real feature your customers use.

The moment customers sign in, you need accounts, a hosted database and somewhere for you to see and change what they see. That is the step up to App Growth, which adds customer accounts, an owner admin screen, online ordering or booking, and analytics.

2. Does money move through it?

Taking payments inside an app is more than a checkout button. It means handling failed cards, refunds, receipts and the rules Apple and Google set for what can be sold in an app. Payments are part of App Authority.

3. Does it have to talk to software you already run?

If the app must read from or write to your point-of-sale, your CRM or your calendar, each connection is its own piece of work and its own thing to keep working when the other company changes something. Integrations, several staff roles and offline support are what App Authority is for.

4. Who looks after it once it is live?

This is the cost most quotes leave out. Phones update every year, and Apple and Google change their requirements with them. An app nobody maintains stops working, or gets pulled from the store. Our App Care covers backend hosting, store releases, basic analytics, monthly minor updates, and rebuilds when Apple or Google change the rules. It is free for the first 3, 6 or 12 months depending on tier, then $99, $179 or $299 a month with the backend included in one bill.

If you would rather hold the backend accounts yourself and pay the provider directly, App Care is $69, $129 or $269 a month — the same as our website hosting, because the work is the same.

What you pay Apple and Google

Two fees go to the stores, not to us, and the accounts are opened in your business name:

• Apple Developer Program: $99 a year. Needed to publish on the App Store.
• Google Play Console: $25 once. Needed to publish on Google Play.

The app is published under your name and stays in your accounts if we ever stop working together.

What an app should not be

Some businesses ask for their website wrapped in an app. Do not pay anyone for that. Apple's App Review rejects apps that are only a repackaged website (Guideline 4.2, Minimum Functionality), and a fast website already does that job. Every app we build has at least one feature that gives a customer a reason to keep it on their phone.

Do you need an app at all?

Often, no. Most businesses need the website first — and if yours is slow or hard to find, fix that before anything else (here is what a website costs in Rochester). An app earns its cost when the same customers come back often — members, regulars, repeat orders — and you want to reach them with a push notification instead of hoping they open an email. If that is not your business, a fast website will do more for less, and we will tell you so.

How to work out your number in five minutes

• Write down the one thing a customer would open the app to do.
• If they can do it without signing in, start at App Starter ($5,950).
• If they sign in, order or book, you are at App Growth ($11,500).
• If it takes payments or talks to your POS, CRM or calendar, you are at App Authority ($19,500).
• Add $99 a year for Apple, $25 once for Google, and the monthly App Care after the free months.

That is the whole calculation. Larger work later — new screens, new features — is quoted in writing before it starts.

FAQ

Is it cheaper to build for iPhone only? No. We build once with Expo and React Native and submit the same app to both stores, so there is no second build to skip.

How is a fixed price possible? Each tier has a defined scope: a number of screens and a list of features. Work outside that scope is a written change request, not a surprise on the invoice.

What does it cost to keep an app running? The monthly App Care fee above, plus Apple's yearly developer fee. There is no per-download charge from us.

Want to know which tier fits before spending anything? Tell us what the app needs to do and we will reply with the tier and a written scope.