Where the numbers come from
Every figure the calculator shows is taken from the typical 2026 market ranges in our mobile app development cost guide. The feature tier you pick sets the band. Platform, backend, integrations, design and store release move the estimate inside that band: a single-platform app on existing APIs sits near the floor, and two native codebases with a full backend, payments, maps, chat and AI near the ceiling. The calculator never produces a number outside a published range. When your inputs look like a bigger project than the tier you chose, it tells you which band to compare instead of quietly inflating the figure.
| App type | Typical market range (INR) | Typical timeline |
|---|---|---|
| MVP / simple appA handful of screens and a light backend: catalogue, content or event app, simple booking without payments. | ₹3 lakh – ₹8 lakh | 6 – 10 weeks |
| Standard (mid-complexity)OTP login, payments, user profiles, admin dashboard, push notifications. | ₹8 lakh – ₹25 lakh | 10 – 16 weeks |
| Complex appTwo-sided marketplace, real-time tracking, chat, field-team apps with offline sync. | ₹25 lakh – ₹75 lakh+ | 16 – 30+ weeks |
What you are actually paying for
Buyers picture an app as its screens. Developers price it as five pieces of work: product and UX design (usually 10 to 15% of the budget), the mobile app itself on each platform, the backend (APIs, database, auth, storage, notifications), the admin panel your team uses every day, and QA plus store release. A quote that only describes screens has priced one of the five. The features that move the price most are real-time anything, offline mode, payments, multiple user roles, maps, media, Indian-language support and integrations with ERPs, CRMs or government APIs.
Native, cross-platform, or one platform first
For most business apps, cross-platform React Native or Flutter is the cost-effective default: one codebase for both stores, with industry estimates putting the saving at 25 – 40% compared with two native apps. Native Swift and Kotlin builds cost more and give the best access to hardware, heavy graphics and background processing. If your users are overwhelmingly on Android, as they are for many Indian field-team, logistics and consumer apps, launching Android first and adding iOS later roughly halves the first bill. That is what we did for The Hotel Media. See how we scope app development and Flutter and React Native development.
Frequently asked questions
How accurate is this app cost calculator?
It is a market-range estimator, not a quote. Every number comes from the 2026 ranges published in our mobile app development cost guide: ₹3 lakh to ₹8 lakh for a simple app, ₹8 lakh to ₹25 lakh for a mid-complexity MVP, and ₹25 lakh to ₹75 lakh and up for a complex app. Your inputs move the estimate within the band for your feature tier; they never push it outside a published range. A real quote needs a scope conversation and usually a short paid discovery.
How does platform choice change the cost?
Our guide puts cross-platform (React Native or Flutter) at 25 – 40% less than building two native apps, because logic, screens and tests are written once. Launching on one native platform first, usually Android in India, is a legitimate way to roughly halve the first bill. In the calculator, two native codebases sits at the top of the band and a single platform near the floor.
Why is the dollar figure a straight conversion?
The guide publishes rupee ranges only, so the dollar range is converted at 1 USD = ₹84 for readers who budget in dollars. It reflects what the same scope typically costs from teams in India, not US or UK agency rates.
What costs arrive after the app is built?
Maintenance commonly runs 15 to 25% of the build cost per year for OS updates, store policy changes and fixes, and it is not optional: Apple ships a major iOS release every year and Google Play requires a recent target API level. Add backend hosting (₹2,000 to ₹50,000+ a month), the Apple Developer Program (US$99 a year), the Google Play developer account (US$25 one-time), and usage-based SMS, maps and email APIs. The calculation runs in your browser; nothing you select is stored.
Need a web dashboard or marketing site alongside the app? Try the website development cost calculator.
Want a fixed-scope quote instead of a range?
Tell us who will use the app, what the first version must do and where your users are. In 30 minutes we'll recommend a platform, outline the scope and tell you what it should cost.
Read how we build native Android and iOS apps and cross-platform apps in Flutter and React Native.