How much does it cost to develop an app?

On average, mobile app development ranges between R$20,000 and R$200,000, and may exceed this value in large-scale projects, depending on the size and complexity of the app. These are the results collected by industry studies and surveys such as Clutch and GoodFirms.

But to better understand which factors influence the price of developing an app, continue reading this post.

How much does it cost to develop an app in 2026?

The main factors that impact the costs of creating an app are:

• Number of existing features;
• Complexity of the features;
• Integrations with other software;
• Number of users;.
• Target platform (Android, iOS).

In addition, there are also secondary factors that influence this cost:

• Size, level, and experience of the development team;
• Customizations and usability features, such as animations, gamification, and the like;
• Required working hours;
• Implementation of robust software architecture to support high flows of users and/or transactions.
• Installation of updated security and privacy protocols.

Based on this, you will have an estimate of the value to be invested in your project. However, other variables can influence the budget, such as hiring external teams specialized in development. In this case, there is the temporary hiring of teams for the production of custom apps.

But to know how much it costs to create a custom app, it is necessary to structure the project outline, even if not all the information is available yet. This phase can also be carried out internally or by an outsourced team. Tip: do not hire an app development service without first analyzing which processes and tools will ensure the quality of the software delivered.

Generally, medium-sized projects, developed with quality architecture and providing a good user experience, require between R$60,000 and R$120,000 of investment. And, obviously, there are projects with lower values, starting from 20 thousand, and very high ones, in complete large-scale digital platforms and ecosystems, which can exceed 1.5 million.

Plan the investment

Based on the draft created to illustrate your app, you can research budgets and find out, approximately, what the investment value will be.

At this point, also evaluate other options such as hiring an external development team, which can be hired exclusively for the service for a short period of time, and whether there will be investment in Marketing to acquire users, according to the goals defined for your product. In addition, also consider the costs of publishing the app: a one-time fee of 25 dollars for the Play Store (Android) and 99 dollars annually for the App Store (Apple).

Normally, around 10 to 15% of the total development investment of the app is allocated to the phases of research, planning, and strategy (Discovery). It is at this stage that there is the objective definition of the project and its MVP.

Take maintenance into account

Even if you do not plan to expand or add new features and functionality to your app, it is important to consider maintenance costs in the budget. It is fundamental for:

• Solving any bugs during operation;
• Responding to user feedback;
• Improving stability and performance;
• Adding more recent versions of the operating system;
• Supporting new third-party integrations.

This is why collaboration with the development team does not end as soon as the project is delivered. Custom app development is a continuous process: make sure your software development company includes post-launch maintenance and support in its contract.

Outsourcing

Outsourcing is one of the biggest trends in software and app development today due to its excellent cost-effectiveness and dedicated squads with experienced and highly qualified professionals. With this, by hiring an IT team with specialists capable of handling the high complexity of application development, you gain agility and ensure the ROI of your project: less investment in resources and time compared to the cost of hiring (think about researching, selecting, testing, and recruiting professionals) or using an internal team.

Finally, with the understanding of the factors presented here, you can now understand what you can or cannot pay, what fits or does not fit your business goals, and what makes sense for the specific needs of your company.