How this estimate is calculated
Most online calculators multiply a number of screens by a flat price. Real projects are scoped differently: each feature carries engineering effort, the platform choice multiplies that effort, design is mostly fixed, and testing, project management and compliance scale with everything else. This tool follows that order.
- Foundation. Every project needs architecture, environments, CI/CD and store setup: 40–64 hours before any feature exists.
- Features. Each feature has a low and high effort range for one experienced engineer (see the table below).
- Platform multiplier. Engineering hours are multiplied by the platform factor. Design is not, because one design system serves every platform.
- Testing and management. QA adds 18–25% and project management 8–12% of the build effort.
- Compliance. Privacy work (consent, data export and deletion, audit logs, DPDP Act or GDPR processes) adds 4–35% depending on how sensitive the data is.
- Price and time. Hours are multiplied by the team's hourly range; calendar time assumes 30 productive hours per person per week.
Feature effort (hours, one engineer)
| Feature | Hours |
|---|---|
| Sign-in (email, Google, Apple) | 24–40 |
| User profiles & settings | 16–32 |
| Push notifications | 12–24 |
| Payments or subscriptions | 40–80 |
| In-app chat or messaging | 60–120 |
| Maps & location | 24–56 |
| Photo / video upload | 20–48 |
| Works offline (sync later) | 40–96 |
| Admin dashboard | 48–100 |
| AI feature (LLM chat, summaries, search) | 40–110 |
| Search & filters | 16–40 |
| Booking or calendar | 40–90 |
| Social feed (posts, likes, comments) | 48–110 |
| Multiple languages | 16–40 |
| Third-party integrations | 24–64 |
| Product analytics | 8–20 |
Hourly rates by team
| Team | Clients abroad | Clients in India |
|---|---|---|
| Freelancer in India | $15–$30 | ₹600–1,500 |
| Agency in India | $25–$50 | ₹1,200–2,800 |
| Agency in Eastern Europe | $40–$80 | converted |
| Agency in the UK | $75–$140 | converted |
| Agency in the US | $100–$200 | converted |
Rounded from published 2026 rate cards and agency pricing guides. Indian teams charge Indian clients in rupees at domestic rates, which are well below their export rates, so rupee estimates for Indian teams use domestic rates. Very junior freelancers (below about ₹600/hr) are excluded because their quotes rarely include testing, store release or support. Other conversions use approximate rates (₹95, £0.75, €0.86 per $1).
Multipliers
| Web app (PWA) | ×0.8–0.9 |
| One platform (iOS or Android) | ×1–1 |
| iOS + Android, cross-platform | ×1.2–1.35 |
| iOS + Android, fully native | ×1.8–1.95 |
| Standard privacy (policy, consent, data export/delete) | ×1.04–1.08 |
| Personal data at scale (DPDP Act / GDPR programme) | ×1.1–1.18 |
| Regulated (health, finance, children) | ×1.22–1.35 |
| Design: clean, based on a ui kit | +24–48 h |
| Design: custom design system | +60–120 h |
| Design: custom + motion & illustration | +110–200 h |
Three worked examples
These run through the same model as the calculator above, so you can compare your own idea against them.
Booking web app for a local business
PWA with sign-in, booking calendar, payments and a small admin panel, clean UI-kit design. Built by: Freelancer in India.
₹1.5 – 9 lakh
$3,700 – $18,000 for a client abroad
245–600 hours, 9–20 weeks
Two-sided marketplace MVP
iOS + Android in Flutter: profiles, search, chat, payments, media upload, admin, custom design. Built by: Agency in India.
₹6.7 – 40 lakh
$13,900 – $71,800 for a client abroad
555–1435 hours, 8–20 weeks
AI assistant app
iOS + Android: sign-in, subscriptions, an LLM feature with cost controls, offline notes, polished motion design. Built by: Agency in the UK.
₹0.4 – 1.8 crore
$39,000 – $187,600 for a client abroad
520–1340 hours, 6–15 weeks
Five ways to bring the number down without hurting the product
- Ship one platform or a PWA first. Validate demand with the audience that pays most, then add the second store.
- Choose cross-platform for two stores. Flutter and React Native share most code; that is the biggest single saving in the model.
- Buy commodity features. Use managed sign-in, payments and chat services instead of building them, and spend engineering time on what makes your app different.
- Cut version one ruthlessly. Admin panels, social feeds and offline sync are expensive and rarely needed on day one. Read how to scope an MVP for a method.
- Pay by milestone. It doesn't lower the price, but it caps your risk. The milestone contract guide explains how.
For a deeper breakdown with real-world ranges, read how much it costs to build an app in 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How accurate is this app cost calculator?
It is designed to land within the range of honest quotes for a clearly scoped first version. It cannot see hidden complexity such as legacy integrations, unusual hardware or large data migrations, so treat the result as a budgeting range and a way to sanity-check quotes, not as a fixed price.
Why is building for iOS and Android natively almost twice the cost?
Native development means two codebases (Swift and Kotlin) and usually two specialists, so most engineering is done twice. Cross-platform frameworks such as Flutter or React Native share most code, which is why the calculator applies roughly 1.2–1.35× effort for both stores instead of about 1.9×.
What costs come after launch?
Plan for maintenance of roughly 15–20% of the build cost per year (OS updates, library upgrades, bug fixes), plus hosting, third-party services, AI usage if any, and store fees: Apple charges $99 a year and Google Play a one-time $25.
Is it cheaper to hire a freelancer than an agency?
Hourly rates are lower, but one person delivers fewer hours per week and carries all the risk. Freelancers suit small, well-defined scopes; agencies suit larger builds that need design, QA and project management in parallel. Either way, insist on milestone-based payments.
Why is the rupee estimate so much lower than the dollar one?
Indian teams charge Indian clients in rupees at domestic rates, which are far below the rates they charge clients abroad. When you choose ₹ with an Indian team, the calculator uses domestic rupee rates (about ₹600–₹1,500 an hour for experienced freelancers and ₹1,200–₹2,800 for agencies) instead of converting dollar prices.
Can I build my app with AI instead and skip these costs?
AI app builders are excellent for prototypes, demos and internal tools, and can save you the whole budget at the validation stage. A public product with accounts, payments and personal data still needs security review, privacy compliance, store approval and maintenance, which is where most of these hours go. An engineer who uses AI tools well can bring the cost down without skipping those parts.
Does the calculator store my answers?
No. Everything runs in your browser. Your choices are kept only in the page address so you can bookmark or share the estimate.