Apps
How much does an app cost to build in the UK?
App development cost depends on what the app has to do. That sounds like a dodge, but it's the only answer that holds up. A simple booking app and an app with customer accounts, payments and live updates are very different jobs.
This post explains what moves the price, what you'll pay after launch and how to keep the first version affordable.
Why every answer is a range
An app is software built for your business. The cost is mostly the time it takes to plan, design, build and test it.
Two apps can look alike on screen and still take very different amounts of work. What happens behind the screens is usually what costs the most.
That's why anyone quoting a price before hearing your idea is guessing.
What moves the price
These are the things that make the biggest difference to how much it costs to develop an app.
How many screens and features
Every screen has to be designed, built and tested. An app with ten screens costs less than one with forty.
Accounts and logins
If people need to sign in, the app needs a secure way to store their details and reset passwords. That adds work.
Payments
Taking payments in an app means linking to a payment provider and handling refunds and failed payments. It also has to meet each app store's rules.
Links to your other systems
An app that reads your diary, updates your CRM or checks stock needs those connections building. Often this is the biggest single cost.
iPhone, Android or both
Building for both costs more than building for one. Starting with the phones most of your users carry can keep the first build smaller.
A system behind the app
Many apps need a place to store data and a way for your team to manage it, such as an admin screen. That's a second piece of work alongside the app itself.
The costs after launch
The build isn't the only cost. Plan for these too.
- App store accounts. Apple charges 99 US dollars a year for its developer programme. Google charges a one-off 25 US dollar registration fee.
- Hosting for the system behind the app, if it has one.
- Updates. Phones and operating systems change every year, and apps need updating to keep working. We support the apps we build after launch.
- New features, once people start using the app and ask for more.
How to keep the first build affordable
Simple apps are the ones most likely to be finished and used. Here's how to keep yours simple.
- Build one job first. Pick the main thing people will open the app to do, and do that well.
- Try it before it's built. Clickable screens let you tap through the app before any code is written, when changes cost least.
- Start on one platform if your users allow it.
- Leave nice-to-haves for version two, once the first version has proved itself.
- Ask if a website would do. If people will only use it now and then, a mobile website may do the job for far less.
The question to ask before the price
Before asking what an app costs, ask what it needs to do on a busy day. Think of the double booking, the customer who's running late or the engineer with no signal.
The answers to those questions shape the app, and the app shapes the price. They also tell you if you need an app at all.
How to get a real number
We start every app with a brief. You tell us what the app is for and who will use it, and we ask a lot of questions.
If an app is the right answer, we scope it screen by screen and send a written quote. If the brief changes later, the quote changes, and you see it first.