Mobile App Development: Costs and the Web App Option

At some point most business owners have the thought: "we should have an app". Sometimes a customer plants it, sometimes a competitor launches one, sometimes it just feels like the professional thing to do. Then you ask for a quote or two, see the numbers, and quietly park the idea.

This guide gives you the real numbers, explains why quotes vary so much, and covers the question most developers will not ask you: whether you need a native app at all. For a lot of small businesses, a web app does the same job for a fraction of the cost. Since that is often the honest answer, we will spend proper time on it.

What does mobile app development actually cost?

Broad but honest ranges for 2026:

• Simple app, freelance developer: £5,000 to £15,000. A booking tool, a loyalty card, a simple catalogue. One developer, basic design, limited testing.
• Simple to mid-size app, agency: £15,000 to £40,000. Proper design, project management, testing on real devices, app store submission handled for you.
• Complex app: £40,000 to £100,000+. User accounts, payments, real-time features, integrations with other systems.

Then the costs that rarely make it into the first conversation:

• Maintenance: plan for 15 to 20 percent of the build cost per year. Operating systems update, phones change, libraries age. An unmaintained app breaks.
• Store fees: Apple charges 99 dollars a year for a developer account; Google Play is a one-off 25 dollars. If you sell through the app, both stores take a cut of up to 30 percent.
• Two platforms: if you need iPhone and Android as separate native builds, you are paying for much of the work twice. Cross-platform tools soften this but do not remove it.

Why quotes vary so wildly

Ask three companies to quote "an app for my business" and you can get £6,000, £25,000 and £80,000 back. None of them is necessarily wrong. The spread comes from what each one assumes: how many screens, whether there is a backend server to build, whether designs exist or must be created, how much testing happens, and who carries the app through Apple's review process. A vague brief produces a wild range. A precise brief produces comparable numbers.

The question to ask before any of that

Not "how much does an app cost" but "what do I want it to do". Write the answer down in plain words. For most small businesses it is some mix of: let customers book or order, show prices and photos, send the occasional offer, and be easy to reach. Here is the thing: none of that needs a native app.

The option nobody quotes you: a web app

A web app is an application that runs in the browser. Modern web apps can be installed on a phone home screen with their own icon, work offline, and send push notifications. Built well, on a phone they feel like an app. The difference is what is underneath:

• One build for every device. iPhone, Android, tablet, laptop. No separate versions, no doubled cost.
• No app stores. Nothing to submit, no review delays, no 30 percent commission, no annual developer fees. Customers reach it from a link, a QR code or a Google search.
• Instant updates. Change a price or fix a bug and every user has the new version on their next visit.
• Google can find it. This one is underrated. A native app is invisible to search; nobody finds your business by browsing the App Store. A web app is also a website, so the tool your customers use IS the thing Google indexes and ranks.
• A fraction of the cost. A web app with booking or ordering typically lands between the price of a professional website and the bottom of the native app range, not at £20,000+.

The catch, so this stays honest: no barrier to adoption also means no icon pre-installed from a store, and a handful of deep hardware features remain native-only. Which brings us to the real dividing line.

When you genuinely need a native app

• Heavy hardware use: continuous GPS tracking, Bluetooth devices, intensive camera work.
• Serious offline behaviour: field tools that sync large amounts of data with no signal.
• Games and rich media that need every drop of the phone's performance.
• Daily-habit products whose whole business depends on owning a home-screen icon and store presence.

If your idea sits in that list, get native quotes and budget properly. If it does not, and for most local businesses it does not, you are probably about to pay five figures for something the browser already does.

The sensible order for a small business

Start with a fast professional website that takes bookings or orders, effectively a web app. It costs a fraction of a native build, Google can rank it, and it starts paying for itself immediately. Run it, measure what customers actually do, and only consider a native app once you have real evidence the browser version is holding you back. At that point you will also have the user numbers to justify the spend. Our website service covers exactly this first step, and if the goal is fewer missed calls and bookings that handle themselves, see how we approach automation for small businesses.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a simple app cost?

From a freelance developer, roughly £5,000 to £15,000. Through an agency, £15,000 to £40,000. Add 15 to 20 percent of that per year for maintenance. A web app doing the same job usually costs a small fraction of those figures.

Which is cheaper, an app or a website?

A website, by a wide margin, and a modern website can behave like an app: installable on the home screen, offline support, push notifications. For booking, ordering and showcasing work, the browser version is nearly always the better investment first.

Can I turn my website into an app later?

Yes, and it is the sensible route. A well-built web app can later be wrapped or rebuilt as a native app, and by then you will know exactly which features earn their keep, so you buy the right thing.

How long does an app take to build?

A native app typically takes three to six months including store review. A web app with booking or ordering is usually live in a few weeks.

Thinking about an app for your business? Tell us what you want it to do and we will give you a straight answer, including "you do not need an app" if that is the truth.