Short answer: a working mobile app for both iOS and Android in 2025–2026 costs from €3000 for an MVP to €30,000+ for a full product. The €3000 MVP is one app on both platforms in 4–8 weeks — not the "$99" you see in ads.
The long answer is below. Concrete numbers in euros, no agency ranges like "$15K to $300K" that you can't budget against.
What drives the price
Three things:
- What the app does. A content list with push notifications is one thing. A marketplace with auth, payments, chat and maps is another.
- How it's built. Native (separate Swift code for iOS, Kotlin for Android) or cross-platform (one React Native + Expo codebase for both).
- Who builds it. A junior at €1000 who never ships to the stores, an agency at €50,000, or one senior who builds the whole thing — three different products.
Native vs cross-platform
This is the fork in the road that decides half your budget.
Native means two separate apps. One developer on Swift for iOS, another on Kotlin for Android. You pay twice for the same functionality. It makes sense for games, heavy graphics, or low-level camera and Bluetooth work pushing the hardware.
Cross-platform (React Native + Expo) means one codebase that compiles to real native apps on both platforms. Around 90% of the code is shared. That cuts the budget by 40–60% versus native, and leaves you with one codebase to maintain instead of two.
For 90% of business apps — delivery, booking, services, loyalty, internal tools — React Native is the right call. Instagram, Discord and Shopify run on React Native. It is not a compromise.
I build on React Native + Expo. That's why an MVP starts at €3000 instead of the €15,000 a native team quotes.
Pricing by complexity
| Type | What's included | Price | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| MVP | 1 app iOS+Android, 5–8 screens, auth, basic backend, published to both stores | from €3000 | 4–8 weeks |
| Standard product | Payments (Stripe / RevenueCat), push, profiles, content feed, admin panel, analytics | €6000–15,000 | 8–14 weeks |
| Complex app | Real-time chat, maps/geolocation, offline mode, role-based logic, CRM/ERP integrations | €15,000–30,000+ | 14–24 weeks |
MVP — from €3000
A minimum viable product. 5–8 screens, sign-up and login, a simple backend, data, and — non-negotiable — submission to the App Store and Google Play is included. This is the first version you put in front of real users to test the idea before sinking €20,000 into it.
For €3000 you get one working app on both platforms, not a Figma prototype.
Standard product — €6000–15,000
When the app has a business model. This is where payments come in: one-off purchases and checkout via Stripe, in-app subscriptions via RevenueCat (it handles both Apple and Google billing in one integration). Plus push notifications, user profiles, a content feed, analytics, and an admin panel you run yourself.
Complex app — €15,000–30,000+
Real-time chat, maps with geolocation, offline sync, roles and permissions, integrations with your CRM or inventory. This is no longer "an app" — it's the product the business is built around.
Ongoing costs (the ones people forget)
The build price is not the whole cost. What comes next:
- Apple Developer Program — $99/year. Required to publish on the App Store.
- Google Play Console — $25, one time. Pay once, keep forever.
- Backend and hosting — €0–50/mo at launch (Supabase, Railway, Vercel have free tiers that cover an MVP). Scales with traffic.
- Push notifications — free via Expo at launch.
- Maintenance and updates — budget 15–20% of build cost per year. iOS and Android ship new versions annually, and the app has to stay compatible.
What estimates usually leave out
These turn "€3000" into €5000 after kickoff if you don't agree on them up front:
- Design. Custom branded UI instead of system components adds 20–30%.
- Content and copy. Store listing, screenshots, icon — who makes them?
- Store accounts. Apple Developer registration can take up to a week (review). Start early.
- Apple rejections. First submissions sometimes get rejected over a small detail. Budget for 1–2 iterations.
What I charge
I'm one senior fullstack dev in Warsaw, not an agency. I build the whole app: design, code, backend, submission to both stores.
- MVP from €3000. iOS+Android, 4–8 weeks, submission included.
- Standard product from €6000. Payments, push, admin panel.
- Complex — quoted individually. After a 30-minute discovery call you get a fixed quote with a release date.
The final price is locked before we start. No surprise add-ons. More on the mobile app development page.
FAQ
How much does it cost to build a mobile app, and what does the price depend on? From €3000 for an MVP to €30,000+ for a complex product. Three things set the price: what the app does (a content list vs a marketplace with payments and chat), how it's built (native vs cross-platform), and who builds it (junior, agency, or one senior). Everything else is padding the seller adds to cover themselves.
Do I need separate iOS and Android builds, or is one platform enough? One is enough. With React Native + Expo, a single codebase compiles to real native apps on both platforms — around 90% of the code is shared. Two separate apps (Swift + Kotlin) only make sense for games or heavy graphics; for a normal business app it's paying twice for the same thing.
How much does an MVP cost and how long does it take? An MVP starts at €3000 and ships in 4–8 weeks. That's one working app on iOS and Android: 5–8 screens, login, a simple backend, and submission to both stores included. The first version you put in front of real users to test the idea before sinking €20,000 into it.
Is it cheaper to build the app myself in no-code? Up front, yes — a builder (FlutterFlow, Bubble, Glide) runs €20–100/mo and is fine for a prototype or internal tool. The trouble starts with payments, App Store submission, performance, and scaling: that's usually where you end up rewriting it in code anyway. If the app needs to make money, it's cheaper to build it properly from the start.
How much does it cost to maintain an app per year? Budget 15–20% of the build cost per year — roughly €600–3000 for most apps. On top of that: Apple Developer at $99/year, hosting at €0–50/mo at launch (scales with traffic), and Google Play is $25 one-time. iOS and Android ship new versions every year, and the app has to stay compatible or it slowly breaks.
Where do I start, and what does the process look like? With a 30-minute discovery call to lock the scope. Then you get a fixed quote with a release date — no surprise add-ons. From there: design, code, backend, payments (Stripe / RevenueCat), and submission to both stores. You don't need a finished spec or a developer account to begin — just an idea and an audience.
Short version: a working app for iOS and Android in 2025–2026 costs €3000–15,000 for most use cases. Less than that is a compromise on quality or an unfinished release.
Want specifics for your project? Get in touch — you'll have a fixed quote with a release date within 24 hours.
