App Cost in 2026: What You Pay to Build It and Keep It Running
App cost in plain English: the build, the store accounts, the monthly services and the store's cut, with sourced 2026 prices and a year-one budget.
App cost is more than the build price. A small business pays for an app three ways: once to build it, to list it in the stores, and every month to keep it running. Most quotes only show the first. Here is each one with a sourced 2026 price, so the number you budget is the number you pay. For the build itself, our free app cost calculator gives a range for your feature list in about thirty seconds.
The three parts of an app cost
Think of an app like opening a shop. There is the fit-out, the license to open, and the rent.
- 01Build: the one-time work of designing and coding version one. This is the number on the quote.
- 02Launch: the developer accounts that let you list in the App Store and Google Play.
- 03Run: the services the app uses every day, the store's share of what you sell, and the updates that keep it working.
Launch: the store accounts
Apple charges $99 a year for its Developer Program, the same for an individual or an organization. Without it, the app cannot be listed in the App Store.
Google Play charges a one-time $25 registration fee for a developer account. Open both accounts in your business's name, not your builder's, so the app stays yours if you ever change teams.
Run: the bills that arrive every month
Most small business apps need a backend, meaning the database and logins behind the screens. They also need a service that builds the app and sends updates. Both usually start free.
- 01Supabase, a common backend, has a free plan with a 500 MB database and up to 50,000 monthly active users. Its Pro plan starts at $25 a month.
- 02Supabase pauses free projects after a week without activity and allows two active free projects.
- 03Expo's EAS, which builds and updates React Native apps, has a free plan with up to 15 iOS and 15 Android builds and updates for up to 1,000 monthly active users.
- 04EAS Starter is $19 a month plus usage. Production is $199 a month plus usage.
The build is paid once. The app is paid for every month after.
Price your own build in thirty seconds
Our free app cost calculator takes the features your first version needs and returns a build range. It shows our team's price and the cost of building it yourself with AI tools, and it is linked at the end of this post.
The store's share of what you sell
If the app sells digital goods, such as a subscription, a membership or unlocked content, the store takes a share of each sale.
Physical goods and services used outside the app work differently. Apple's review guidelines require a pickup order or a booked appointment to be paid another way, such as Apple Pay or a card. That means your normal card processing fees, not a store commission.
- 01Apple's Small Business Program charges 15 percent on paid apps and in-app purchases for developers with up to $1 million in proceeds a year.
- 02Google Play's fee page lists a 10 percent service fee plus a 5 percent billing fee on U.S. auto-renewing subscriptions paid through Google Play Billing.
- 03Google's rates changed in the U.S. on June 30, 2026 and differ by country, program and type of sale. Read the fee page for your case before you set a price.
A year-one budget you can fill in
Put these lines in a spreadsheet before you sign anything. Then ask your builder who pays each line and whose name is on each account.
If you want a fixed number for your idea, see how we work or send us a note through the contact page.
- 01Build: the fixed price, in writing.
- 02Apple Developer Program: $99 for the year.
- 03Google Play registration: $25, once.
- 04Backend: $0 to start, $25 a month at Supabase's Pro plan.
- 05Builds and updates: $0 to start, $19 a month at Expo's Starter plan.
- 06Store share: 15 percent of digital sales on Apple under $1 million a year, and Google's rate for your case.
- 07Fixes and updates: phones and store rules change every year. Over-the-air updates let most fixes ship the same day, which keeps this line small.
Want this built for your business?
One call. A written scope, fixed price and ship date the next day. A working version in your hands by the end of week one.
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