How Much Does it Cost to Develop an App in 2025?

There’s an app for everything. That is the talk of the Silicon town. But every new app ends up in a never-ending race against its lookalikes. So, how does your app stand out? For example, before ChatGPT, AI was a distant concept. However, as soon as OpenAI launched the coveted LLM, GPT 3, others started following suit. In a year, there are now several such LLMs readily available. Gemini, Copilot, Llama, and the list goes on. The point is that ChatGPT was the disruption needed for such a trend to evolve. 

This example establishes the need for a disruptive, not necessarily a never-thought-of but uniquely executed idea, to thrive in the market. One factor, for instance, could be to introduce features and functionalities centric to user convenience. This can be said for widely accepted apps like Uber (a ride-hailing app), Evernote (a note-taking and task-management app), Snapchat (a multimedia instant messaging app), and many more.

When businesses get clarity about their modern app idea, they look for imperative aspects before beginning the development process. This drives the app development cost questions, such as, how does the Android app development cost differ from the iOS app development cost? Can there be ways in which the app development cost can be reduced? All these questions eventually assist them in making a concrete decision. Understanding the pretext and bringing forth a bifurcated guide are among our responsibilities to drive a clear decision. With that pretext in the background, let us segmentize and evaluate all the aspects that eventually impact the app development cost. 

Cost to Develop an App Based on App Types

The app type for the mid-sized business or enterprise targets diverse audiences. For instance, the native app primarily focuses on a single device-based audience, while a cross-platform app does not create a difference. Similar is the case with web apps and PWAs. The target audience-specific needs of businesses ultimately decide their fixation. This brings us to the question of the difference among the type-based costs. To clarify, let us understand their specific functioning and app development cost. 

 

• Native App Development

When businesses and enterprises across industries determine native app development, they target an audience specific to one platform. For instance, they can choose to target the USA-centric audience with an iOS app but to target the global market, they can build an Android app. This distinction affects the overall mobile app development cost. The cost to develop an app with Native features lies between $50,000 and $100,000. 

• Cross-Platform App Development

Heading onto a different concern, as mentioned above, is that customer-centric businesses often need functional apps on both iOS and Android. For obvious reasons, building two different apps for different platforms means that the app development cost doubles. Cross-platform app development comes into play to rescue businesses from spending immense capital. The cross-platform app developers build a single code base that functions intuitively on iOS and Android without creating two separate apps. Ultimately, the cross-platform app development costs are between $25,000 and $60,000.

• Web App Development

Businesses need web apps that run on browsers across diverse devices and offer user-centric use feasibility. These web apps tend to simplify cross-platform compatibility and reduce costs. They are also scalable and easily maintained. The web app development cost often begins at $15,000 and ends at $50,000.

• Progressive Web App Development

Combining the features and functionalities of web and mobile apps, the progressive web apps provide a native-like experience to the users on the web browsers. Often, businesses and enterprises find the accessibility and usability worth investing in PWAs to engage with their targeted audience. Heading to the PWA development cost, the figures range from $15,000 to $100,000 for businesses and decision-makers to invest. 

How Much Does It Cost to Develop an App Based on Operating System

It would need to be completed to mention the app types and not mention the operating system. The operating system holds imperative value when discussing the mobile app development cost as the entire app runs on it. These businesses choose from a limited range of operating systems, including Android app development, iOS app development, and Windows app development. You should comprehend the cost that goes into operation systems and ultimately make a decision.

• Android App Development Cost

When talking Android, it focuses on building applications for OS devices that leverage the efficiency of programming languages like Java and Kotlin. With Android experts at your end, the cost of Android app development often ranges from $20,000 to $250,000.

• iOS App Development Cost

The programming languages for iOS app development are Swift or Objective-C for Apple devices. Ultimately, the cost of iOS app development ranges between $20,000 and $250,000.

• Windows App Development Cost

Coming to the windows app development focuses on the devices running MS Windows operating systems. The cost to develop an app in Windows is $20,000 to $200,000 or more for extended applications built custom to the Windows platform.

Cost of Creating a Mobile App Based on Technology

The technology you use to build an app also affects the app development cost. It becomes crucial for business owners to understand the variations of functionalities and the reflected cost of choosing from the ton. It is time to concentrate on the technology and apprehend how it changes the final mobile app development cost.

• React Native App Development

React Native app development concerns utilizing the React Native framework to create a cross-platform application for iOS and Android. Consequently, the cost of developing React Native apps ranges from $20,000 to $150,000, depending on the needs of the business owners.

• Flutter App Development

The range-based Flutter app development costs $15,000 to $200,000, relying on project intricacies, target audience, and the added features and functionalities. Suppose you want to build an app with straightforward and necessary features. In that case, it will cost you around $8000 to $60,000, while creating a Flutter app with high complexity and considerable integrations will cost around $140,000 to $200,000.

• Swift App Development

Swift app development concentrates on native iOS applications operating the Swift programming language. The cost of sophisticated Swift apps with progressive functionality custom for iOS devices generally ranges from $10,000 to $250,000.

Mobile App Development Cost Based on Development Stages

As we conclude the types, technologies, and operating systems, the next step is understanding the cost of developing an app based on the development stages. These stages require diverse experience from experts in planning, designing, development, and deployment, which costs on varied levels. It is preferable to comprehend each stage and the estimated cost of strategically developing an app.

•  Cost of Discovery Stage

Beginning with this phase implies that your mobile app development company will ask you many questions concerning your business and application objectives. Approximately 10% of the total mobile app development cost goes into this stage, and fulfillment will take 20-200 hours. The estimated cost to develop an app during the strategy phase ranges from  $1,500 – $11,000.

• Cost of Design Stage

The second phase concentrates on prototyping and wireframing, user experience design, and visual (UI) design, which are essential for app development. The first appearance is everything, so you ought to build a layman-friendly app to keep users engaged. It will take 10-15% of the cost of developing an app, and the designers’ hours might be more heightened due to custom components, complicated screens, visual complexity, etc. The estimated cost for the designing stage lies between the range of $2,500 – $10,000.

• Cost of MVP Development Stage

After the designing stage, businesses and decision-makers often choose to proceed with MVP development to assess the app’s market feasibility. The MVP development cost ranges from around $10,000 to $50,000, and a small team of experts incorporates significant features for users. 

• Cost of Development Stage

The more intricate the features are in the app you build, the longer it will require for the development to assemble them. Such a premise increases the overall mobile app development cost. This stage also mandates comprehensive collaboration and the subtle attention of your developers, as the coding and programming capital investment is much more increased than that of all the mentioned stages in the app development process. The estimated cost for the development stage lies between $3,000 to $60,000.

• Cost of Testing and Deployment Stage

The next step in the app development process is testing, which validates an app’s usability and quality. The testing phase is imperative in assessing the cost of developing an app, as you do not have to needlessly spend aids on post-launch bug fixing. The testing and deployment cost again hinges on how complicated and feature-rich your app is. The estimated cost is often above $5,000.

App Development Cost Breakdown Based on Industry-Specific Type

Another concerning factor that differs in cost is the industry-centric inclusion of features and functionalities. Such inclusion makes the apps different from each other and specific to the industry. For example, the development approach, agile methodology, valuable insights, and feature listing will be distinctive in the context of game and healthcare apps. The guidelines and protocols for deploying the apps would also be different. Such a dissimilarity also impacts the healthcare, education, entertainment and enterprise app development cost.

The table below represents the variation based on industry to provide straightforward mobile app development cost differentiation.

Industry-Specific Type	Mobile App Development Cost
Healthcare Apps	$35,000 to $250,000
Finance Apps	$25,000 to $150,000
Food Apps	$20,000 to $200,000
Education Apps	$20,000 to $250,000
Entertainment Apps	$35,000 to $150,000
Ecommerce Apps	$15,000 to $150,000
Travel Apps	$20,000 to $200,000
Booking Apps	$15,000 to $100,000
Social Media Apps	$15,000 to $200,000
Mobile Game Apps	$25,000 to $250,000
Real Estate Apps	$35,000 to $240,000
Sports & Fitness Apps	$15,000 to $100,000

Hidden Factors Affecting Mobile App Development Cost

So far, we have mentioned the evident factors when calculating the mobile app development cost. However, it is time to mention the costs of factors that are somewhat hidden but do get calculated to bring forth an overall cost. These hidden factors are often mentioned when the client decides to proceed with the app development company and makes their choice concretely with the discussions.

• Design and User Experience

Developing an app that resonates with the vision and is layman-friendly demands much design work. This can incorporate everything from designing the user interface to building engagement-centric icons and graphics. Such app design costs can quickly grow, particularly if you require an experienced designer.

• API Integration

API integration is among the factors that are often hidden and do impact the ultimate mobile app development cost. Keeping the reusability, simplicity, single codebase, and performance, the mobile app developers can incorporate a concise API integration, reducing the ultimate app development. 

For instance, integrating a smooth payment gateway in an ecommerce app becomes imperative to provide users with a functional shopping experience. Since Razorpay is among the trusted payment suites available in the USA, integrating it into your source code offers scalability. 

The code below is how app developers integrate the Razorpay payment gateway into the app:

/ / Code to integrate Razorpay API

<button id="pay-button">Pay Now</button>

    <script>
        document.getElementById('pay-button').onclick = function() {
            var options = {
                "key": "YOUR_RAZORPAY_KEY_ID", // Razorpay Key ID
                "amount": "5000", // Amount in dollars
                "currency": "USD",
                "name": "Your Company",
                "handler": function (response) {
                    alert("Payment successful! Payment ID: " + response.razorpay_payment_id);
                    // Use AJAX or fetch to send this to the server for processing
                },
                "theme": {
                    "color": "#3399cc"
                }
            };
            new Razorpay(options).open();
        };
    </script>

• Testing and Debugging

Once you develop the customer-centric app, you should run tests thoroughly to ensure it works as expected. This process can involve the quality assurance functioning on different devices and platforms and can take time. Further, if any bugs or problems require mending, this can count toward the app development cost.

• Maintenance and Updates

Apps demand continuous maintenance and updates to remain serviceable and keep pace with cognitive and intelligent technologies. This can comprise everything from fixing bugs to including new trendy features. The cost of app maintenance can be significantly consequential if you prefer to keep your app efficient and updated.

• App Store Fees

Store fees are associated with each download if you circulate your app through app stores like the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. These store app fees can differ depending on the platform and your preferred pricing model.

Cost of Making an App Like the Most Popular Global Apps

Now that we have considered all the reasons that can ultimately affect the cost of developing an app based on business-centric needs, it is time to consider popular apps. This way, you can estimate how much it would cost to develop an app similar to them yet distinctive in terms of features.

Often, you will notice that the choice of these brands in context to the platform they chose made a difference. For instance, choosing Android app developers over iOS app developers or vice versa would have helped them navigate through the market. 

The table below brings forth the cost of popular globally accepted apps to represent the variation in the cost.

Popular Application Development Cost	Approximate Range
WhatsApp App Development Cost	$30,000-$70,000
Tik-Tok App Development Cost	$60,000-$100,000
Coursera App Development Cost	$60,00-$120,000
Uber App Development Cost	$30,000-$100,000
Snapchat App Development Cost	$45,000-$100,000
Netflix App Development Cost	$25,000-$200,000

How Can SparxIT Assist Decision-Makers with App Development Cost Estimation?

SparxIT, a trusted mobile app development company, carefully examines your project’s intricacies, scope, and expected features to assist with cost calculations for developing a mobile app. As a leading custom mobile app development company, we evaluate factors like platform, design complexity, type of mobile application developers, integration requirements, and development schedule. 

We assist you in obtaining efficient funding by providing an exact breakdown of app development costs. Hence, if you want to build futuristic mobile applications or obtain a rough cost estimate to develop an app for your business, contact our app specialists to get started.