A Complete Breakdown of Mobile App Development Costs for 2025
You must have heard the phrase – “There is an app for everything!”. It’s not just a relevant statement in 2025, but it has become more of a trend because web, mobile and desktop apps are reigning over everything like never before. Whether you seek ways to improve your lifestyle or make travel plans, there is an app for everything! Play Store and App Store recently celebrated their 16th anniversary, and the number of apps is not slowing down.
Currently, there have been almost 36 billion app downloads from the Play Store and App Store combined. There is always room for more. This encourages companies to develop impressive apps that help them solve problems for their target audience. Whether it is the boomers, millennials, or Gen Z, individuals of every category are using mobile apps in one way or the other. This massive growth in mobile apps has led to another question – what is the cost of mobile app development?
App Development Cost Breakdown
There are multiple times when you have a consultation regarding the mobile app development costs, and you may not know exactly what the app development companies will talk about. This blog will help you with that. Know this: when any agency shares a cost estimation with you, it is a part of the equation. App development is a complicated process. The trick to know how much it costs is to do an in-depth research.
Crucial Elements of an App Development Process
There are five basic elements of an app development process. They are:
1. The app functionalities – What will the app do, and what does it need to fulfil for the customers?
2. Complexity of the app – The complexity of the features determines the complexity of the development as well. The cost will vary accordingly.
3. Targeted devices and platforms – You can opt for native or cross-platform app development to support a specific platform or multiple platforms.
4. Maintenance – This is another costly yet crucial aspect of the app development process. Even after the app is launched, you need technical support to ensure the app works flawlessly. Also, the app will require updates periodically.
5. Third-party integration – Integrating third-party services (payment or location sharing) with the app will increase the cost.
Some Unique Statistics on Mobile App Development in Different Aspects
| SL NO. | Aspects of mobile app development | Statistics |
| 1. | Market overview | The global mobile app market is estimated to reach $756 billion by 2027 (Statista). |
| 2. | Downloads | The Apple App Store and Google Play Store have 35-36 billion app downloads every quarter. (Statista) |
| 3. | Daily usage | Individuals use 9 mobile apps daily and 30 apps monthly. (Tech Jury) |
| 4. | Age group | Individuals aged 45-54 years allocate approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes daily to using mobile apps. This duration is only 27 minutes less than individuals in the 25-34 years age bracket. Even mobile users over 65 dedicate nearly an hour to mobile apps daily. (Buildfire) |
| 5. | Purpose of use | Majority of app users use apps for communication purposes. (Global App Testing) |
| 6. | Digital media consumption | Mobile applications account for 70% of all American digital media consumption. (Vlink Info)
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| 7. | Revenue from video streaming | The revenue from the OTT market is estimated to reach $476.60 billion by 2027. (Statista) |
| 8. | Geography | The USA and Asia-Pacific (APAC) countries emerged as the primary powerhouses in the world’s mobile app development landscape. |
Cost to Develop an App Based on the Development Stages
You might have checked Google and used some calculators to get an estimation of the app development cost. However, those numbers can be misleading. The cost of app development will depend on the design, features, technologies used, and the location of the development team. In the following section of the blog, we are going to break down the cost of the app development according to the different stages of the development.
1.Discovery/Strategy Stage
Pre-research, discovery, planning, or strategy – all of this means ONE thing – market analysis, business plan, and documentation. During this phase, any competent development firm shall ask you many questions about the business and application goals. If they are ignoring the questions, it is a big red flag.
The final document should have:
- A competitive analysis
- Objective declaration
- MVP concept
- User and market research
- A clear roadmap of the project
10-15% of the total mobile app development cost will go into the discovery stage, which will take 20-200 hours to complete. The estimated cost ranges from $5000 to $40,000 within a timeline of 1-4 weeks.
2.Cost of the Design Stage
This is the second phase of software prototyping, wireframing, user experience, and visual design. The first impression is everything. Therefore, it is crucial to develop a beautifully designed app that wins the hearts of the users. The design phase shall take 20-25% of the total mobile app development cost. The manual labour hours can be crucial because of the intricate screens, custom components, visual complexity, etc. The estimated cost is around $5000 to $50000, with a timeframe of 2 to 12 weeks.
3.Cost of the Development Stage
This is one of the most important and expensive stages of mobile app development. The complications of the functionalities define the app’s cost. The more complex the features of the app are, the more time it will take for the development team to create them, leading to higher costs.
Apart from the features, it is also important to consider the application architecture, data encryption and storage, userbase, third-party integration, and more. This stage requires a lot of collaboration and the minute attention of developers because the cost of coding and programming is higher than all the other stages combined.
However, building the app with cross-platform mobile app development frameworks is better. It will save you a lot of time and resources. The development phase will account for 40-55% of the total cost. The estimated price is around $30,000-$3,00,000, with a 2 – 12-month timeline.
4. Cost of Testing and Deployment Stage
The next step is the testing phase, which determines the quality of an app. This phase is crucial in estimating the cost of creating an app. Proper testing by the quality assurance team means the customers shall face lesser crashes, glitches, bugs, and lags. It is crucial to ensure the users are satisfied, and you MUST release the app with minimum issues. The cost at this stage will also depend on how complicated and feature-rich the app is. 15 to 20% of the overall budget should be allocated for testing and deployment. The estimated cost will be around $5000-$50,000 with a timeline of 2-8 weeks.
5.App Development Cost Based on Its Platform, Type, and Technology
Regarding mobile app projects, one of the most important factors is to be highly strategic regarding the type of app you want to build, the platform, and the type of tech stack you should rely on.
App Development Cost Based on Type
The choice of application type will influence the development cost. For instance, mobile apps need to work on both Android and iOS platforms. This makes things more complicated and adds a lot of expenses. Here is a list of the different types of apps and their development costs.
1. Native app development: This includes creative apps specifically for one platform, like Android or iOS. Platform-specific languages like Kotlin for Android or Swift for iOS are used. It needs double the effort, cost, and time. Developing a native app will cost around $10,000 to $250,000 based on the features, complexity, and the rates of developers.
2. Cross-platform app development: Cross-platform app development uses frameworks like React Native or Flutter. This is to develop apps that can smoothly run across devices or platforms using a single codebase. Cross-platform app development will cost around $20,000 to $150,000. This is similar to native app development because you don’t have to build different apps.
3. Hybrid app development: Hybrid apps combine native and web-based technologies. These apps are similar to the cross-platform apps. They can run on both Android and iOS devices. However, it needs added flexibility to integrate native features. Working on one codebase for both platforms will reduce the development time and costs. The hybrid app development will cost around $15,000 to $150,000.
4. Web app development: Web app development includes developing applications that run on web browsers throughout mobile devices. The cost to build a web app will range from $10,000 to $100,000, along with ongoing hosting and maintenance fees.
5. Progressive web app development: Progressive web app includes the combination of features of web and mobile apps. These apps offer a native-like experience on web browsers. The development cost for a progressive web app ranges from $15,000 to $200,000, along with additional factors for offline functions and app-like features.
App Development Costs Based on Operating Systems/Platform
Mobile app development costs will vary based on the operating system or platform it shall run on. Here are the details of it.
1. iOS app development: This includes creating apps specifically for the Apple devices and their OS. It uses Swift or Objective – C programming languages. The cost of iOS app development ranges between $25,000 and $250,000 based on complexity, features, and developer rates.
2. Android app development: This method focuses on developing apps for Android OS devices that use different programming languages like Kotlin or Java. The cost of Android app development will range from $20,000 to $250,000.
3. Windows app development: This app development method targets users that run on Windows operating systems. The average cost of Windows app development ranges from $20,000 to $200,000 for comprehensive applications tailored to the Windows platform.
App Development Cost Based on Technology
For the mobile app development cost based on the technologies, here are the details you must know.
1. React native app development – The React native app development includes using the React native framework to develop cross-platform applications for iOS and Android. The cost to build React native apps ranges from $20,000 and it can go up to $150,000 or more.
2. Flutter app development – The average cost of developing a Flutter app ranges between $15,000 and $200,000 based on the project scope, budget, and target audience. If you want to get an app developed on Flutter with basic features, it will cost around $8000 to $60,000. A flutter app that has mid-level complexity will cost within the range of $60,000 to $120,000. Developing a flutter app with high complexity and multiple integrations will cost around $140,000 to $200,000.
3. Swift app development – Swift app development focuses on developing native iOS applications using the Swift programming language. This development cost ranges from $10,000 to $250,000.
4. Kotlin/Java app development – These are the two primary programming languages for Android app development. The cost difference between Java and Kotlin app development is not very high because both languages are used for similar projects and share the same Android ecosystem. The cost to develop an app with Kotlin/Java will range between $10,000 and $250,000, depending on the level of complexity and integration required.
5. Xamarin app development – This is a cross-platform app development framework. Xamarin is highly useful for building Android, iOS, and Windows apps through a shared codebase. The development cost of a Xamarin app starts from $10,000, and it can go up to $150,000.
6. Ionic app development – Ionic uses web technologies that include HTML, JavaScript, and CSS to create hybrid apps. The basic ionic apps will cost $8000 to $40,000. The mid-level complexity apps fall within the range of $40,000 to $100,000. The advanced apps with a lot of integrations require more than $150,000 for development.
Note: Data updated till March 2024
How do We Estimate App Development Costs?
To get a mobile app development cost estimate, here is what you must know.
What is the Type of Your App?
There are different types of apps, and each one has a specific price range. They are as follows:
1. Basic app: Basic or simple apps cost between $5000 and $60000 because they don’t need heavy front-end and backend development. Their costs will vary based on the developer rates and platform.
2. Data-driven apps: Creating a data-driven app will cost you from $25,000 to $80,000 because they depend greatly on data processing and analysis. Such apps retrieve thousands of data, analyze it, and present it to the users. The data-driven apps include calendars, weather forecasting tools, and maps—their cost increases with the increase in complexity.
3. Social network apps: The charges for developing a social network app will vary between $30,000 and $100,000. They need user profiles, social interactions, messaging and media sharing. Their costs can vary depending on the features like real-time updates, push notifications, and scalability.
4. On-demand service apps: On-demand service apps connect users with services or products in real-time. Developing such an app could cost you around $60,000 to $120,000. The cost will mostly depend on the features, payment integration, geolocation, and service provider management.
5. E-commerce apps: Developing an e-commerce mobile app can cost between $80,000 to $150,000. The costs can escalate with functionalities like inventory management, secure transactions, and multi-platform support.
6. Gaming apps: A gaming app development cost will range from $30,000 to $2,00,000, considering the design requirements from simple 2D games to complicated 3D experiences. Gaming apps have high graphics, and they are intensive on the backend. They need a lot of processing power and complex UI. This leads to high development costs.
7. Enterprise app: Enterprise apps are meant for the in-house purposes of an organization, such as sales, CRM, marketing, HRM, and more. Creating an enterprise-level app will range between $50,000 and $3,00,000. It varies according to the complexity of business processes and integration requirements.
8. Healthcare apps: Healthcare apps cost high because they must comply with healthcare regulations, data security, and integration with medical devices. The cost of healthcare app development falls between $45,000 to $2,50,000.
9. E-learning apps: The development of an e-learning app is expensive, ranging between $60,000 and $3,00,000. These apps allow online learning along with multiple educational resources. It includes virtual classrooms, course distribution, training and more. Their cost might increase further with features such as multimedia content, progress tracking, and user engagement tools.
10. Video streaming apps: The video streaming applications enable app users to watch videos over the internet in real time, and they won’t need to download the content. Creating a video app will cost in the range of $50,000 to $350,000. Sometimes, it may cost more due to bandwidth requirements and server infrastructure.
In Conclusion
In conclusion, understanding the costs of mobile app development in 2025 is crucial for businesses and developers. The overall budget is influenced by several key factors, including the app’s complexity, the choice of platform, design requirements, and ongoing maintenance. As technology advances, adding elements like AI integration and better security measures may increase initial investments, but the potential for a high return on investment is significant.
Outsourcing development to regions with competitive pricing can offer cost savings without sacrificing quality. Also, the choice between native and cross-platform development can impact costs. It should be carefully considered based on the target audience and app functionality.
A well-planned budget considering all these variables will ensure a mobile app’s successful launch and sustainability. Staying informed about the latest trends and cost factors allows businesses to make strategic decisions that align with their goals and resources. By understanding and anticipating these costs, companies can better navigate the complexities of mobile app development and achieve long-term success.
