SizeMedium
To build$50,000to $150,000
Upkeep, a year$7,500 to $30,000
App cost calculatorOpen the calculator
How much does it cost to build an app?
Pick what your app needs and four receipts print: an agency, a freelancer and a vibe coding tool at typical published prices, and Lynqly at the prices we print.
Or start from:
Free to plan · no signup
App cost calculator
Pick what it needs. Watch the receipts print.
The first three receipts use typical published ranges, with the sources printed underneath. The last one uses only the prices we publish, and the full price of your build is shown before you spend a dollar.
Cost to build an app like
SizeMediumLogins and saved data · 4 connected parts
SizeMedium
To build$20,000to $60,000
Changes, an hour$100 to $200
You build itYourself
Paid plan$18to $30 / mo
UsageCredits or tokens
Every retrySpends them
The codeYours to look after
PlanningFree
Pages + contact formAlready working
Customer loginsAlready working
Card payments0.75% per sale
BookingsAlready working
Automatic emailsAlready working
Your own domain$8 / mo
To buildYou see it firstFixed price from $29, or pay as you go
Each month$8Live plan $8
Medium app. Agency, typical published range: $50,000 to $150,000. Freelancer: $20,000 to $60,000. Vibe coding tool: paid plans from $18 to $30 a month. Lynqly: free to plan, fixed price from $29, $8 a month.
✓ Free to plan · no signup
How sizes work: the guides price apps as simple (a few screens, nothing saved), medium (logins and connected data) or complex (native iPhone and Android apps, live features, many connected parts). Live features, a phone app with three or more connected parts, or five or more parts read as complex; any connected part or a phone app reads as medium. Ranges are typical published ranges, not quotes.
Sources: Netguru, app development cost guide (Aug 2026) · BizToolkit, freelance app developer rates (Jun 2026) · Tech.co, vibe coding platforms compared (May 2026) · DreamHost, vibe coding tools (Aug 2026) · Apple Developer Program · Google Play Console Help
What drives the cost of an app?
At an agency, every part is its own line item.
Four things move an app’s price more than anything else. A quote that skips one of them is leaving it for later.
- How many parts it has. Logins, payments and an admin each add their own line, from $3,000 to $25,000 at an agency.
- How many platforms. A website, an iPhone app and an Android app can mean building the same thing more than once.
- Who builds it. Published US rates for a senior developer run about $160 to $220 an hour.
- What happens after launch. Yearly upkeep commonly runs 15 to 20 percent of the build, every year the app is live.
The other cost: time
How long does it take to build an app?
About 11 months, on average. Or a first version today.
App projects reviewed on Clutch take about 11 months on average. Here, a first version is ready in minutes, usually under half an hour, and you watch it build the whole time.
$90,780The average app project on Clutch
11 moThe average timeline
$10,000 to $49,999The most common project range
What are the hidden costs of building an app?
Every app has four bills. Ask to see all four.
01Planning
Working out the screens, who signs in, what gets saved. Agencies often bill it on its own.
HereFree
Describe it in plain words and see the plan and the full price first.
02Building
The first version, then every change after it. Each change is often a new quote.
HereFixed from $29
Real dollars on a receipt, or one fixed price locked before the build starts.
03Hosting
A server, a database, backups and updates. This bill runs as long as the app does.
Here$0 or $8 / mo
The Free plan never sleeps and includes about 25,000 visits a month. $8 a month adds your own domain.
04The phone stores
Apple charges $99 a year and Google $25 once, whoever builds the app.
Here$19 / mo
The Mobile App add-on, per app. Your first phone build is included. Turn it off any month.
Taking payments? Sales go straight into your own Stripe account, and we take 1% or less of each sale. Apple and Google only take a cut of digital goods sold inside a phone app.
Sources: Apple Developer Program · Google Play Console Help
Start from your business
Skip the estimate. Plan the real thing.
Free to planFixed price from $29No credits
QuestionsApp costs,
App costs,
answered.
How much does it cost to build an app?$5,000 to $300,000+
Typical published ranges run from about $5,000 for a simple freelance build to $150,000 and up for a complex agency app. On Clutch, the most common app project lands between $10,000 and $49,999. Here, planning is free and building is paid per job: in real dollars on a receipt, or one fixed price from $29, and you see the full price before you spend a dollar.
Why do app quotes vary so much?Size and who builds it
Two things move the number most: what the app has to do (logins, payments, an admin, a phone app on two platforms) and who builds it. Published US rates for a senior developer run about $160 to $220 an hour, so every extra part adds paid hours.
What does an app cost after launch?Upkeep, every year
Published guides put yearly upkeep at 15 to 20 percent of the original build cost, for updates, fixes and security. Here, hosting starts free and never sleeps, and $8 a month adds your own domain. Your balance pays for builds, never for staying online.
How much does it cost to put an app in the App Store and Google Play?$99 a year + $25 once
Apple charges $99 a year for its developer program and Google charges $25 once, whoever builds the app. Here, the Mobile App add-on is $19 a month per app, your first phone build is included, and you can turn it off any month. Both apps are published under your own Apple and Google accounts.
Do Apple and Google take a cut of my sales?Only digital goods
Only on digital goods sold inside the app, like a subscription or an unlock, where they take 15 to 30 percent. Bookings, services and physical products go through your own Stripe with no store cut.
Is a vibe coding tool cheaper than hiring a developer?The plan is
The plan usually is: paid plans start at about $18 to $30 a month. Most meter use in credits or tokens, so every fix and every retry spends them, and the code it writes is yours to look after.
How does Lynqly work out my price?You see it first
You describe the app and see the plan and its price before anything is built. Then pay as you go, in real dollars on a receipt, or lock one fixed price from $29: never a dollar over the quote, and your money back if it doesn’t work.
When my app takes payments, where does the money go?Into your own Stripe
Straight into your own Stripe account. Lynqly never holds it. We take 1% or less of each sale, and nothing when you sell nothing.
Can I take my app with me?Yes
Yes, on every plan. Export your pages, data and member logins as a project that runs on any server with Node and Postgres. The engine is Fair Source, and every release becomes MIT two years after it ships.
What can’t it build?Live, real-time features
Live, real-time features: GPS tracking, video streaming, instant chat. It builds the working version (statuses, uploads, messages) and tells you up front.
Stop guessing the price. See yours first.
Describe your app in one sentence. Plan it free, and see the full price before you spend a dollar.
Or start from:
Free to plan · no signup