Straight answers on cost and timeline.
How much does it cost to build a custom mobile app?
Most custom mobile apps for operational businesses fall between $60K and $220K to build, depending on category, features, backend complexity, and compliance. Simpler internal tools and dashboards land lower; two-sided marketplaces, logistics platforms, and healthcare-ops apps land higher. The calculator above gives a ballpark by adjusting baseline ranges with the multipliers that actually drive cost.
How long does it take to build a mobile app?
A focused mobile app typically takes 10 to 26 weeks from kickoff to a production-ready release. Internal tools and dashboards can ship in 10 to 16 weeks; marketplaces and integration-heavy logistics apps usually take 18 to 28 weeks. Accelerated timelines add roughly 20 percent to cost.
Onshore vs offshore app development cost — what's the real difference?
Offshore sticker prices are typically 40 to 55 percent of onshore for the same feature list. The gap usually narrows over the first 12 months as rework, coordination overhead, security and compliance gaps, and adoption friction surface. The calculator shows the sticker comparison; the diagnosis is where we map real total cost of ownership.
What drives mobile app cost the most?
In order of impact: app category and scope, platforms (iOS and Android together costs ~35 percent more than one), backend complexity (real integrations are where projects balloon), feature complexity (offline mode, payments, in-app chat, and admin panels each add notable scope), compliance (HIPAA and SOC 2 add ~20 percent), and timeline urgency.
Do you build for iOS, Android, or both?
Both. We ship in React Native when sharing a codebase is the right call, and native iOS when the product needs it. We can also build a companion web app or admin panel that uses the same backend.
Is this estimate binding?
No. It's a ballpark designed to give you a realistic order of magnitude before any conversation. Real scoping happens in our two-week diagnosis, where we walk your workflow with the people who run it and hand back a written plan you own.