How Much Does It Cost to Build a Mobile App in 2026?
How much does it cost to build an app? One reference app costed three ways in days, plus year-one running costs, store fees and a brief that makes quotes comparable.
How much does it cost to build an app? For a customer-facing app with accounts, payments, push notifications and an admin screen, plan on 110 to 155 working days of studio time. At UK day rates of £500 to £800, that is roughly £55,000 to £125,000. A simpler app with one core job can land well below that, and one with offline working or a hardware connection can land well above it.
A single headline range hides why quotes for the same app differ so much. Most published guides, such as MobiLoud's cost guide, which puts mid-level apps at $40,000 to $100,000, give you a band and stop there. Below, one reference app is costed three ways in days, so you can multiply by the day rate you have actually been quoted. Platform prices were checked in October 2026.
How much does it cost to build an app, line by line?
The reference app has around 25 screens: sign-up and login, a browsable list of items, a detail view, one payment flow, push notifications and a simple admin screen for staff. It is deliberately ordinary. The three columns differ only in how it is built: one codebase on a managed backend, separate native iOS and Android apps on a managed backend, and one codebase on a custom backend.
| Line item (days) | A: cross-platform, managed backend | B: two native apps, managed backend | C: cross-platform, custom backend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product definition and user flows | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| UI design | 15 | 19 | 15 |
| App build | 40 | 66 | 40 |
| Backend setup and data rules | 8 | 8 | 30 |
| Admin screen | 10 | 10 | 14 |
| Payments and push notifications | 8 | 10 | 8 |
| Monitoring and deployment | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| QA and device testing | 10 | 14 | 10 |
| Store release | 4 | 5 | 4 |
| Project management (10%) | 10 | 14 | 14 |
| Total days | 113 | 154 | 149 |
| At £500 a day | £56,500 | £77,000 | £74,500 |
| At £800 a day | £90,400 | £123,200 | £119,200 |
These are UZO planning estimates for the scope described, not a quote, and the day rates are examples rather than a survey of the market. Cheaper published bands usually assume less scope, so check whether a low quote includes the admin screen, QA and store release lines.
In these estimates, building two native apps costs about 36% more than building one cross-platform app of the same scope (154 days against 113), and a custom backend adds about 32%.
Five decisions that move the price
Platforms. Cross-platform frameworks are not web pages in a wrapper. React Native's own documentation says its primitives render to native platform UI, so the app uses the same platform APIs as any other. Our default for a first version is one codebase. Native pays for itself when the product depends on heavy graphics or platform features that the framework does not expose well.
Backend. A managed backend gives you login, a database and file storage as a service. A custom one gives you control over data rules and integrations at the cost of roughly 30 extra days here. Start managed unless you already know the data model will outgrow it, because moving later is a project of its own.
Offline working. An app that must keep working without signal needs a local database and a sync strategy with conflict handling. Budget 15 to 25 extra days. A facilities firm whose inspectors work in basements and plant rooms needs this; a booking app for a gym does not.
Payments. Taking a card payment through a provider adds 5 to 10 days once refunds, receipts and failed-payment states are included. Selling digital content or subscriptions inside the app brings the store's commission into the model, covered below.
Device connectivity. A companion app for a physical product, one that pairs over Bluetooth, shows live readings or updates firmware, typically adds 15 to 30 days plus testing time on real hardware that you must supply. It is the line most often missing from a first quote.
The same logic applies if the app is really an internal tool for staff. In that case the build-or-buy question for internal tools should come before any store submission. If the app has an AI feature, add the running costs from our token-cost breakdown and the build line items from the AI MVP cost guide.
What it costs to keep the app live in year one
Fixed platform costs are small next to the build. Prices checked October 2026:
| Item | Price | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Apple Developer Program | $99 a year | Apple |
| Google Play developer account | $25 once | |
| Expo build and update service | Starter $19 a month, Production $199 a month, plus usage | Expo |
| Supabase managed backend | Free tier, Pro from $25 a month | Supabase |
| Firebase managed backend | Free Spark tier, pay-as-you-go Blaze plan | Firebase |
With the Apple and Google accounts, Expo Starter and Supabase Pro, the fixed cost of year one is $652. Moving to Expo Production raises it to $2,812. Neither figure includes usage charges above the included allowances.
Store commission is separate. Apple's Small Business Program sets a 15% rate for developers with up to $1 million in proceeds, and Google's service fee page lists 15% on the first $1 million of annual revenue in the markets it covers. The rates apply to sales through the stores, so an app that sells nothing in-app pays no commission.
The larger line is maintenance. MobiLoud cites 15 to 20% of the build cost per year as the industry norm, which is about £8,500 to £25,000 a year on the range above. For a stable app we plan one to two days a month, more in a month when a major iOS or Android version needs testing. Leaving the app unmaintained is the expensive option, because a release blocked by a new OS version costs more to fix in a hurry.
How to brief a studio so quotes compare
Send every studio the same one-page list and ask for days per line item. It takes about an hour to write and removes most of the spread between quotes.
- Platforms: iOS, Android, or both, and the oldest OS versions you must support.
- Sign-in method and who the users are (consumers, staff, or both).
- Every third-party system the app must talk to, with a link to its documentation.
- Whether the app must work offline, and for how long.
- Any hardware or Bluetooth connection, and who supplies test devices.
- Whether you need an admin screen, analytics and an accessibility target.
- Who owns the Apple and Google accounts and the source code at handover.
A quote that cannot be broken down by these lines is a number someone chose, not an estimate.
If you would like a day-by-day estimate for your own app, we run a free 30-minute workshop where we go through this list with you. Book one at uzolab.com/contact.
Sources: Apple Developer Program enrolment; App Store Small Business Program; Google Play registration; Google Play service fees; Expo pricing; Supabase pricing; Firebase pricing; React Native; MobiLoud cost guide, updated June 2026. Prices checked October 2026.
