How much does an app cost to build in the UK in 2026?

A business app built by a UK agency typically costs £10,000 to £30,000 for a simple app, £30,000 to £80,000 for a mid-sized app with accounts, payments and a custom back end, and £80,000 or more for a complex platform. A clickable prototype or small proof of concept can cost £2,000 to £10,000. The price is driven by the number of features, whether you need a custom back end and admin panel, and whether iPhone and Android are built separately or from one codebase. We build iOS and Android apps in Flutter at £70 an hour + VAT, so a 100-hour first version costs £5,250 + VAT after our volume discount, and a typical booking app with its back end comes to about £15,000 + VAT. The worked budgets below show where every pound goes.

Typical UK app development costs

These are typical ranges for UK agencies in 2026, based on what we see in the market and in competing quotes our clients show us. They are ranges, not a survey: offshore teams and solo freelancers may be cheaper, large London studios considerably more.

If those figures feel high, remember that an app is rarely just the thing on the phone. It usually needs a back end (the server or cloud service that stores data and talks to the app), an admin panel so your team can manage users and content, and connections to payment providers or your existing software. On many projects the parts the customer never sees take a third or more of the budget.

What drives the cost

Features and screens

Each feature means design, development and testing, on two platforms. Log-in, profiles, bookings, payments, maps, chat, push notifications, offline mode: each adds days. Chat and real-time tracking are the classic budget-busters, because they look simple on a wireframe and are not.

The single most effective way to control cost is to launch with the smallest set of features that is genuinely useful, then add the rest once real users show you what they want. We have seen far more apps fail from building too much before launch than from launching too little.

Native or cross-platform

Separate native apps (Swift for iPhone, Kotlin for Android) mean two codebases and, broadly, close to double the build and maintenance. Cross-platform frameworks such as Flutter use one codebase for both. We use Flutter for most business apps because performance is close to native, the interface is consistent on both platforms and every future change is made once. Native still makes sense for apps that depend heavily on specialised device hardware, advanced background processing or the very latest platform features on release day.

The back end

Simple apps can run on Firebase, which handles log-in, databases, file storage and notifications without a custom server. That is cheaper to build and fine for many apps. Apps with complex business rules, integrations or reporting usually need a custom back end, often a Laravel or Node API with an admin panel. Our API development and integration work covers this side.

Design

Good UI/UX design happens before code. Decisions made on screen in a prototype cost hours; the same decisions made in code cost days. Skimping here is a false saving.

Integrations

Connecting to Stripe, a CRM, Xero or another accounting package, a booking platform or a piece of hardware adds work. The cost depends heavily on the quality of the other system’s API. A well-documented modern API might take a day; an old system with no documentation can take weeks.

Testing and store submission

Apps must be tested on a spread of real devices and screen sizes, and both Apple and Google review submissions. Apple in particular may send an app back for changes, and new Google Play developer accounts face a closed-testing period before they can publish to the public. Build two to three weeks for this into any launch plan. Our pre-launch testing checklist shows what we check.

Three worked budgets at our rates

We price app work by the hour. Our Mobile Application rate is £70/h, UI/UX Design £55/h and Custom Web Development (back ends and admin panels) £60/h, all excluding VAT. Hours never expire and get cheaper in bulk: 5 % off 10 hours, 10 % off 15, 15 % off 20, 20 % off 50 and 25 % off 100. Hours are estimates until scope is agreed.

1. Prototype to test an idea

A founder in Manchester wants to test a dog-walking marketplace with 30 local users before raising money. Scope: sign-up, walker profiles, a request form and simple messaging, on Firebase.

2. Simple content app for an existing business

A gym in Glasgow wants members to see the class timetable, news and offers, pulled from its existing WordPress site, with push notifications.

3. Booking app with payments and an admin panel

A chain of beauty salons across Bristol and Bath wants customers to book, pay a deposit through Stripe, get reminders and manage appointments. Staff need an admin panel for diaries and reports.

All three sit at or below the lower end of the UK ranges above. That is mostly down to Flutter’s single codebase and to our overheads: we are a small team with an office in St Albans, not a large central London studio. If your idea needs more hours than you hoped, we will say so before you spend anything. You can buy hours on our hire us page, paying in full or with a 50 % deposit.

Running costs after launch

An app is never really finished. The costs most first-time quotes leave out:

• **Developer accounts.** Apple’s Developer Program costs US$99 a year (charged in local currency) and Google Play charges a one-off US$25 registration fee, at the time of writing.
• **Hosting and cloud services.** Firebase and similar services have free tiers and then charge by usage; small apps often cost little or nothing, busy ones tens or hundreds of pounds a month. A custom back end needs hosting, typically £20 to a few hundred pounds a month.
• **Operating system updates.** Apple and Google release major versions every year, and stores require apps to target recent versions. Expect a round of updates annually.
• **Fixes and improvements.** Real users find things testers never do, and they will ask for features.
• **Store commission.** If you sell digital content or subscriptions inside the app, Apple and Google take a commission, typically 15 % for smaller developers and 30 % above their thresholds. Physical goods and real-world services such as bookings are normally paid through a provider like Stripe at a much lower fee. The Competition and Markets Authority has been scrutinising app store rules, so check current terms.

A sensible rule of thumb is to budget 15 to 20 % of the build cost a year for maintenance and small improvements. For the salon booking app above, that is roughly £2,300 to £3,000 + VAT a year.

Do you need an app at all?

Before committing to an app, ask whether a fast mobile website or a progressive web app (PWA) would do the job. A PWA runs in the browser, can be added to the home screen, works offline and can send notifications on most devices, with no store approval or commission.

An app earns its keep when customers use it repeatedly (weekly or more), when it needs device features like the camera, location or background tracking, or when the app is the product. For many service businesses, a fast website with online booking delivers most of the value for a fraction of the cost. See our progressive web app development page and how much a website costs in the UK for comparison.

How to reduce the cost without cutting corners

• **Write down the one job the first version must do.** Everything else goes on a “version two” list.
• **Use Firebase or an existing system for the back end** where business rules are simple.
• **Use Flutter for both platforms** unless you have a specific reason not to.
• **Prototype first.** A £4,000 to £5,000 test with real users is cheap insurance against a £20,000 mistake.
• **Supply content and decisions quickly.** Waiting weeks for sign-off costs more than most people expect, because the team loses context.
• **Use proven services** for payments (Stripe), maps and email rather than building your own.

Apps we have built

Our mobile work includes Washy, an on-demand car-wash app, and the Flutter app for Tattoo-Art & Obsession, built alongside the studio’s WordPress website. We also built KDMasterKey, web-based keyword-analysis software with a companion app for self-publishers. Each started with a deliberately small first version. You can see more on our clients page.

How to get an accurate quote

Any agency can only quote accurately against a clear scope. Before you ask, prepare:

• who the users are (customers, staff, both) and what each needs to do;
• a list of screens or features, split into “launch” and “later”;
• any systems the app must connect to, with links to their documentation;
• examples of apps you like, and why;
• your budget range and any fixed launch date.

Send that to two or three agencies and compare the hours, not just the totals. A quote with no breakdown is hard to hold anyone to. If you want us to price it, get in touch or read more about our mobile app development service. We work with businesses across the UK and are happy to meet in London or St Albans.

Photo: Hal Gatewood via Unsplash