How much does an app cost? iOS, Android and cross-platform in 2025

Having an app built is a milestone for many entrepreneurs. It marks the moment an idea becomes serious — something people can download, use, and recommend. But before embarking on that journey, the question "what does this actually cost?" is often the biggest stumbling block.

The answer is inevitably: it depends. But that is no excuse for not explaining precisely what it depends on. Below you will find a realistic picture of costs by project type, an explanation of the choice between native and cross-platform development, and a strategy for starting smart without wasting budget.

The three levels of app development

Simple app or MVP (€20,000 – €50,000)

A Minimum Viable Product is the smallest possible version of your app that delivers real value to real users. No bells and whistles, but the core functionality that proves your proposition.

In this segment you are talking about apps with limited screens and flows: a booking app, a loyalty programme, an information app with push notifications, or a simple tool that solves one problem. The backend is straightforward, there are few or no integrations with external systems, and the UI largely follows the standard design patterns of iOS and Android.

This is the budget for founders who want to validate before making a large investment. It is also the riskiest phase: the app must be available quickly enough to test, but good enough not to deter users. Striking that balance is a craft in itself.

Note: €20,000 is at the lower end, and many projects in this segment end up higher due to scope expansion. Define the MVP strictly before you start, and save the extensions for after initial validation.

Mid-complexity app (€50,000 – €150,000)

This is the segment for apps that genuinely work as a product: multiple user roles, integrations with payment providers, a fully-fledged backend with user management, notification logic, and perhaps real-time functionality such as chat or live updates.

Think of a marketplace app, an on-demand service (such as an Uber-style model at a smaller scale), a B2B platform for customers and employees, or an app that integrates with IoT hardware.

In this segment costs rise due to multiple factors simultaneously: the backend is more complex, the app has more screens and flows, more extensive UX research is required, and the test matrix is larger (more devices, more scenarios, more edge cases).

Enterprise app (€150,000 and above)

Complex access structures, offline functionality, advanced data synchronisation, compliance requirements (GDPR, ISO, NEN 7510), integrations with ERP or legacy systems — this is the domain of enterprise app development.

In this segment, the technical architecture is the heaviest work. How do you scale to 50,000 users? How do you ensure the app works on an older Samsung model as well as the latest iPhone? How do you process sensitive data in compliance with legislation and regulation? These questions cost developer hours, and rightly so.

Native versus cross-platform: what is the cost difference?

This is the question that determines almost every app brief.

Native development (iOS and Android separately)

Native means: separate codebases for iOS (Swift) and Android (Kotlin). The result is optimal performance, maximum access to platform-specific features (Face ID, HealthKit, ARKit, platform-specific animations), and the most "native" user experience.

The price: you are essentially paying twice. Two teams, two codebases, debugging twice, maintaining twice. For most startups and scale-ups, this is not a wise first step.

Cross-platform development (React Native or Flutter)

React Native (JavaScript/TypeScript, developed by Meta) and Flutter (Dart, developed by Google) are the two dominant cross-platform frameworks. Both allow you to serve both iOS and Android with a single codebase.

Cost saving: 30–50% compared to native development for the initial build.

Warning: Cross-platform is not free. If your app relies heavily on platform-specific features, or if performance is critical (games, heavy visualisations, AR), the limits of cross-platform are quickly reached. For the vast majority of business applications, however, cross-platform is more than sufficient.

Most apps you use daily — Airbnb, Shopify, Discord, Skyscanner — were built on or at some point migrated to cross-platform frameworks. The quality gap with native has shrunk dramatically in recent years.

What drives costs up?

Real-time functionality

Chat, live tracking, collaboration features — anything where data is synchronised in real time between users and devices. This requires specific backend infrastructure (WebSockets, serverless functions) that demands significantly more design and testing effort.

Payment integrations

Integrating Stripe or Mollie sounds straightforward, but once you add subscription logic, refunds, multiple payment methods, and legal compliance (PSD2), the complexity and testing effort grow quickly.

Authentication and security

Social login, two-factor authentication, biometric login, role-based access control — each additional security mechanism adds hours. For apps in regulated sectors, security audits and penetration tests are mandatory.

Offline-first architecture

If your app must work without an internet connection (and sync later), the architecture is fundamentally different and more complex than an app that is always online.

Multiple user roles

An app with a customer app, a supplier app, and an admin dashboard is effectively three apps running on the same backend. Each role has its own screens, its own logic, and its own test scenarios.

The App Store and Google Play: costs people forget

Getting your app into the App Store and Google Play is not an automatic process. It takes time and has costs separate from development costs.

Apple Developer Program: $99 per year. Your app goes through a review process that can take days to weeks. Apple rejects apps that violate their guidelines — something an experienced agency accounts for during development.

Google Play Developer Account: $25 one-time fee. The review is faster, but here too there are guidelines your app must meet.

App Store Optimisation (ASO): Just like SEO for websites, ASO exists for apps. Screenshots, description, keywords — these partly determine how well your app is found in the stores. Factor this in as part of your launch strategy.

Updates and version maintenance: Each new iOS or Android version can break existing functionality. Count on two to four updates per year purely for platform compatibility, separate from new features.

Why MVP thinking pays off

The biggest pitfall in app development is building everything at once. Every feature sounds logical — but together they can triple the budget and the time to market, while you have no idea yet whether users will find the app valuable at all.

A good MVP focuses on one user question and answers it as directly as possible. Everything not needed for that proof waits. After launch, real usage data tells you what actually needs to be built — rather than what you assumed upfront.

Agencies that immediately want to map out a complete two-year roadmap before a single line of code has been written are not necessarily client-focused. They are budget-focused.

What does that investment stand against?

An app that automates internal processes can save dozens of hours per week. A customer app that enables self-service demonstrably reduces pressure on customer support. A B2B platform that handles order processing digitally eliminates human errors.

The business case for an app depends on the use case — but the companies that have built the most valuable digital products are those who invested early in a solid foundation, validated quickly, and then iterated. Not those who waited years until they could afford "the perfect app."