There is no flat answer to this question, and anyone who gives you one without knowing your app is guessing. What you pay depends on how much has to be built. Here is what the price is made of and how to recognise a good proposal.
What determines the price
- Screens and features: An app with three screens is less work than one with thirty.
- Accounts and database: As soon as users need to sign in or data has to sync between devices, a server comes into play.
- Connections to other services: Payments, maps, calendars, health data or an existing API.
- Design: An app in Apple's own style is quicker to build than one with a fully custom look and animations.
- Platforms: An app for the iPhone costs less than the same app for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Android.
Hourly rate or fixed price
When billing by effort, the price is only known at the end. You carry the risk if something takes longer. With a fixed price, the amount is in the proposal up front, together with what will be built for it. If it takes longer, that's on me. In return we agree the scope beforehand, and we discuss any changes before I build them.
What I charge
My fixed prices for the first version of an app start at €999. That is the starter package for clearly defined apps of manageable scope, for example an app with three screens and no sign-in or server. Here is an example. The more the app needs to do, the higher the quote. You get the exact amount in writing after a first conversation, before anything begins.
It includes everything that goes with an app you can publish: the development, a new build every week through TestFlight, a website for the app with a privacy policy and a support page, the release in your own App Store account and the handover of the source code. On request, Roadlight comes with it at no extra charge, my feedback board for user requests.
How to recognise a good proposal
- It states in writing what will be built, not only how much it costs.
- The price is a fixed price or has a clear upper limit.
- The app runs in your App Store account, and the source code belongs to you.
- You regularly see a working build, not only at the end.
- The provider can show apps they built themselves that are in the store.
Running costs that are yours
Three items run in your name and are paid by you: the Apple developer account, the domain and the hosting for the app's website. I set them up for you and take care of them, but the invoices go to you. That way you own everything in the end.
What costs money after launch
An app isn't finished once it's released. Apple ships a new iOS every year, and users report bugs and ask for features. For that I offer ongoing development: fixed days each month, cancellable monthly. On top of that come the running costs above.
How to find out what your app costs
Send me a few sentences: what the app should do, who it's for and when you need it. We talk for half an hour, at no cost. After that you receive a written proposal with a fixed price.