“How much does an app cost?” is the first question in almost every brief, and the honest answer is always the same: it depends on five things. Once you know them, you can steer the budget yourself instead of waiting for a number from a vendor.
1. How many platforms, and how
Two native apps for iPhone and Android cost more than one. That sounds obvious, but the gap is smaller than people expect when the heavy logic lives in one shared core. In Reshu VPN the networking engine is written once in Go and compiled for Android, iOS, macOS and Windows; each platform only gets its own interface. The second app then costs a fraction of the first.
If your audience already spends its day in Telegram, a Telegram Mini App can replace both native apps for the first release. It opens from a chat, knows the user without a sign-up form and can take payments.
2. What happens outside the screen
A list of screens is only half of an app. The other half is what users never see:
- a backend and an admin panel for your team;
- payments, subscriptions and receipts;
- push notifications and background work;
- integrations with a CRM, a warehouse or your own API;
- AI features, which also have a running cost per request.
This part is where estimates most often go wrong, so we map it in the brief, before any number is written down.
3. Design depth
A clean interface on a proven design system is fast. A custom visual language with motion, illustrations and a dark theme takes longer, and it is often worth it for consumer products. The important thing is to decide early. Changing a frame in Figma costs minutes; changing code that already shipped costs days.
4. How the release happens
App Store and Google Play have their own review rules. Some products also need a direct APK with signed updates, a RuStore build or a TestFlight beta for early users. Each channel is a bit of extra work, and each one is cheaper to plan than to bolt on later.
The stores themselves take little, but it is worth knowing in advance. Their official pages on 23 September 2026:
| Store | Developer account | Fee on sales |
|---|---|---|
| App Store | US$99 a year, in local currency where available | 15% in the Small Business Program, up to US$1M in proceeds a year |
| Google Play | US$25 once | 15% on the first US$1M a year, 30% above it, 15% on subscriptions |
For buyers in the EEA, the UK and the US, Google moved to separate fees on 30 June 2026.
5. Who owns what after launch
Support is part of the price. New OS versions arrive every year, libraries age, stores change their rules. A good estimate includes a support plan, and a good contract makes sure the code and all developer accounts belong to you from day one.
How long “after launch” lasts: 100 apps from the top
We took the 100 most downloaded free apps in the US App Store, from Apple’s own chart on 23 September 2026, and asked Apple’s public API for each one’s first release date, latest update and minimum iOS version.
- Apps are updated all the time. Three in four shipped an update in the last week, 97 of 100 in the last month, and none has gone half a year without one. New iOS versions, fixes after reviews and new features never stop, so plan support into the budget from the start instead of discovering it after launch.
- A successful app lives for years. The median app in the top is 11.6 years old, and 57 of the 100 first came out more than ten years ago. An architecture that survives years of changes pays for itself.
- Older iPhones still count. 31 of the 100 run on iOS 15 or older, while 46 need iOS 17 or newer. Every supported version widens the audience and adds devices to test, so the minimum version is a price decision too.
Data for all 100 apps, plus the top of the Russian App Store: JSON.
How to spend less without getting less
Start with a clickable prototype. It takes about a week and costs a small part of the project. You tap through it on your own phone, show it to users and investors, and only then decide what goes into the first release.
Cut the scope, not the quality. One scenario done well beats five done halfway. The first version should prove that people want the product; the rest can wait for real numbers.
Ask for a fixed price per stage. An hourly meter hides risk inside the invoice. A fixed price for each stage makes the trade-offs visible and lets you stop or change direction at any point.
Reuse what already works. A shared core, a proven backend, ready-made payment flows. There is no prize for writing the same login screen from scratch.
What we ask in the brief
To give a useful estimate we need to know the goal, the audience, the one thing the app must do well, the platforms, the integrations and the deadline. A short brief covers it, with no calls, and within 24 hours you get an estimate with a fixed price for each stage.
If you want to go through your idea, write to us. We will tell you honestly whether it should be a native app, a Mini App or a bot, even if the answer is the cheapest one.