How Much Does an App Cost? Real 2026 Numbers for a Small Business
How much an app costs in 2026, in plain English: what traditional teams quote, what the stores charge, what runs every month, and how to cut the number.
How much does an app cost? The honest answer is anywhere from a few hundred dollars to several hundred thousand, and that range is useless on its own. What decides your number is how many features version one needs, who builds it, and what it costs to keep running. Here is each piece with a sourced figure. If you want a range for your own feature list, our free app cost calculator gives one in about thirty seconds.
What traditional teams quote
Published guides agree on the shape even when the numbers differ. Bubble's 2026 guide puts traditional app development at $5,000 to $300,000 or more. It splits that by complexity.
- 01Simple app: $5,000 to $50,000.
- 02Medium complexity, such as a booking system or membership platform: $50,000 to $120,000.
- 03Complex app, such as a marketplace or social network: $120,000 to $300,000 or more.
Source: Bubble, How much does it cost to create an app in 2026 (August 17, 2026)
What a first version costs
Most small businesses should not build the full app first. They should build a minimum viable product, the smallest version customers will actually use. SoftTeco's 2026 figures put a simple MVP at $5,000 to $15,000, with two to four months of work.
An average MVP runs $15,000 to $45,000 in their estimate. A complex one starts at $45,000. The timelines grow with the price, from months to most of a year.
Smaller teams that build with AI tools often land below these ranges. Our own builds, shown in the calculator, start at $2,500 for a mobile app and $750 for a website. Scope still moves the number most.
The cheapest feature is the one that waits for version two.
The costs nobody puts in the quote
The build is a one-time cost. These keep coming after launch.
- 01Apple Developer Program: $99 a year, required to list on the App Store.
- 02Google Play developer account: a $25 one-time registration fee.
- 03Store commission: Apple takes 15% of paid apps and in-app purchases for developers earning up to $1 million a year. Google Play charges a similar fee; check its fee page for your case.
- 04Hosting, database and email services, which often start on free tiers and grow with use.
- 05Updates and fixes, because phones, stores and rules change every year.
Five things that move your number
If two quotes for the same idea are far apart, one of these is usually why.
- 01Features in version one. Every feature is screens, data and edge cases.
- 02Platforms. One codebase can cover iPhone and Android, so both stores need not mean two builds.
- 03Integrations. Payments, calendars and your point of sale each add wiring and testing.
- 04Design. Using a brand you already have costs less than creating one.
- 05Who builds it. Teams, freelancers and do it yourself tools all price time differently.
How to cut the cost without cutting the point
Write down the one job the app must do for a customer. Build that, and put everything else on a list for version two. A live app with real users tells you what to add next better than any planning meeting.
Ask every builder the same three questions. What is the fixed price? What happens after launch, and what does it cost monthly? Who owns the code and the store accounts?
If you want a fixed number for your idea, see how we work or send us a note through the contact page.
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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