"How much does an app cost?" is the most common question we hear — and any agency that answers with a single number before understanding your idea is guessing, lowballing, or both. Here's the honest version.

The real cost drivers

Scope, not screens. A five-screen app with payments, live tracking and chat costs multiples of a fifteen-screen brochure app. Features with server-side complexity — auth, payments, real-time sync, notifications — are where the effort lives.
One platform or two. Cross-platform frameworks (Flutter, React Native) deliver both stores from one codebase at roughly 60–70% of the dual-native cost, and are the right default for most business apps.
The invisible half: backend. Every serious app is two products — the app and the API/admin behind it. Budgets that ignore the backend are the #1 source of mid-project surprises.
Design depth. Template UI vs. custom design vs. motion-rich brand experience — each level roughly doubles design effort.
Integrations. Payment gateways, maps, CRMs, ERPs, logistics APIs — each is days, not hours, once testing and edge cases are counted.

Realistic 2026 ranges (India)

For a competent, accountable team: a focused MVP typically lands in the ₹2.5–8 lakh range over 8–16 weeks. A full product with backend, admin and integrations runs ₹8–25 lakh. Complex platforms go beyond. Freelancer quotes can be a third of that — sometimes brilliantly, often with code you'll pay to rewrite within a year.

Questions that expose a lowball quote

"What's excluded from this price?" (Backend? Admin panel? Store submission? Bug-fix window?)
"Who owns the code and accounts?" (You should. Completely.)
"What happens after launch?" (OS updates break unmaintained apps within a year.)
"Can I see working software at milestones?" (Never fund a black box.)

Get a real number in 60 seconds

We built a free AI project estimator that turns your idea into an investment range, timeline, and a draft brief. It's the range we'd quote from — no email address required. And when you're ready for an exact number, we'll scope it properly, free.