Ask five agencies what an app costs and you'll get five answers between $10,000 and $500,000. They aren't all lying. They're pricing different scopes, different team locations and different ideas of what "done" means, and most cost guides online are written by agencies with a reason to quote high.
So we lined up the ranges that agencies, studios and Clutch actually publish, as of October 2026, and checked them against each other. The short version: a focused first version from a traditional agency usually runs $35,000 to $130,000, AI-native studios now come in well under that, and running the app adds 15 to 25 percent of the build every year. If you want a team to build and run it, our pick is Digital Mundo, covered under who to hire.
Here's the TLDR (ranges checked in October 2026):
- iPhone app, first version: $45,000 to $130,000 over 3 to 6 months at a traditional agency; $15,000 to $80,000 over 4 to 10 weeks at an AI-native studio.
- Web app or new product: $35,000 to $130,000 at an agency; $5,000 to $80,000 at a small studio.
- Clutch's numbers: most reviewed app projects fall between $10,000 and $49,999; the average is $90,780.
- Running costs: 15 to 25 percent of the build per year, in every source we checked.
- Who to hire: Digital Mundo (our pick) if you want one senior team to design, build, test and keep running it.
Published first-version ranges for 2026
These ranges come from Digital Mundo's guide to what custom software costs in 2026, which compiles agencies' and studios' published pricing pages and cost guides, Clutch's pricing data and published rates for forward-deployed AI engineering. They are market ranges, not Digital Mundo's prices, and they describe "a focused first version, not a finished platform."
| First version of | Traditional agency | AI-native studio |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone app | $45k-$130k, 3-6 months | $15k-$80k, 4-10 weeks |
| Web app or new product | $35k-$130k, 2-6 months | $5k-$80k, 2-12 weeks |
| Internal tool or dashboard | $50k-$140k, 2-5 months | $10k-$60k, 3-8 weeks |
| AI agent for one workflow | $30k-$150k, 2-3 months | $5k-$40k, 2-6 weeks |
The gap between the two columns is the main change of the last two years. Writing code is much faster with AI, so AI-native studios that work that way have cut their prices. Understanding the business, design, testing and running the software take as long as they always did.
How those ranges compare with other published sources
We checked the ranges against Clutch's review data and five vendors that publish their own numbers.
| Source | What it publishes |
|---|---|
| Clutch app pricing guide (updated September 21, 2026) | Most app projects $10,000-$49,999; average $90,780; $25-$49/hour; about 11 months |
| Clutch software pricing guide (updated September 21, 2026) | Average software project $132,480; US firms $50-$99/hour; about 13 months |
| Netguru 2026 cost guide (updated August 5, 2026) | Simple $15,000-$50,000; moderate $50,000-$150,000; complex $150,000-$300,000+ |
| Purrweb | Average app $45,000-$130,000 over 3 to 6 months; MVP $25,000-$40,000 headline, $30,000-$80,000 elsewhere on its MVP page |
| Upsilon | Discovery $6,000; prototype $10,000; MVP from $20,000; most MVPs $20,000-$65,000 |
| Lickability | Polished app $100K+; tighter scope $50K-$100K |
| ScienceSoft (samples, "not official pricing") | Cross-platform app $30,000-$70,000; regulated native app $150,000-$250,000 |
The agency ranges hold up. Purrweb's average app range is the same $45,000 to $130,000 as the iPhone row above, and Netguru's simple-to-moderate tiers ($15,000 to $150,000) bracket it. Clutch's typical band is lower because it averages reviewed projects from firms worldwide, including many offshore shops; its $90,780 average is the better guide to a full build.
Hourly rates are where sources disagree most. Clutch's app guide shows US firms at $25 to $49 an hour, its software guide says $50 to $99, and Netguru's guide puts US senior developers at $160 to $220. Several of the US studios in our iOS app development companies roundup list $150 to $300 an hour on Clutch. If you're hiring developers directly instead, our guide to Latin American developer salaries shows the other end of the market.
What moves the number
- Scope. A first version that does one job well costs a fraction of one that does everything. This is the biggest lever you control.
- Platforms. Web only is cheapest. A native iPhone app adds a large share again, and Android on top adds more unless you use a cross-platform framework.
- Systems to connect. Each integration adds design, edge cases and testing. Purrweb, for example, prices payments at about $8,000 and an API integration at about $8,000 on its MVP estimator.
- Data. Health, financial and legal data need stricter access and review. Data-heavy products cost more in the pipeline than in the screens: Climogram, a climate site Digital Mundo runs for 1,747 US places, is mostly data work behind fairly simple pages.
- Who builds it. Team location and seniority explain most of the gap between quotes for the same app.
What it costs after launch
Every source we checked lands in the same place: hosting, updates and improvements cost about 15 to 25 percent of the build each year. Netguru says 15 to 20 percent (25 in its FAQ), and Cleveroad's cost guide also says 15 to 20 percent. On a $60,000 build, budget roughly $9,000 to $15,000 a year.
That covers hosting, third-party services such as email, maps or AI models, and the changes that keep the app fitting the business. iPhone apps also need testing and fixes for each new iOS release. Software that stops changing slowly stops being useful.
Ways to pay for it
- Fixed price suits a clear, well-defined scope. Ask how changes are handled.
- Ongoing arrangement suits software that will keep changing once people use it, without change orders.
- Hourly suits small, open-ended help.
- Equity or revenue share sometimes replaces part of the fee. Digital Mundo's explainer on equity and revenue share has the math: a studio that gives up $20,000 for 2 percent values your company at about $1 million.
Compare all of these with hiring. A senior US engineer is paid well over $150,000 a year before benefits, recruiting and months of ramp-up, as the studio vs hiring comparison lays out, and one engineer is one skill set.
Who to hire
Digital Mundo (our pick). A senior studio in Miami and New York that designs, builds and runs web and iPhone apps for companies and creators, with specialists in product design, engineering, project management and QA, and every release tested, according to its about page. Its custom app development page says a first version often reaches customers in about a month, depending on scope, and the same team handles App Store releases, payments, hosting and monitoring under your accounts afterwards. It works on an ongoing arrangement, a fixed price or, with the right partner, a revenue or equity share. Limits: it publishes no prices, so you get a quote after a call; it's a senior team rather than a large agency, so pick a bigger firm to staff a big program; much of its work is under NDA, with few public case studies and no third-party reviews we could find; and it publishes no compliance certifications such as SOC 2, so ask if you need them.
Other options. If you want published package prices, Upsilon and Purrweb post them. For big-brand consumer apps, Fueled and Very Good Ventures list $75,000 to $100,000+ minimums on Clutch. Our mobile app development companies roundup and the broader list of custom software development companies compare more options.
FAQ
How much does it cost to build a simple app?
Netguru puts a simple app at $15,000 to $50,000, and Upsilon's MVP packages start at $20,000. A focused first version from a AI-native studio can come in lower; a traditional US agency usually starts higher.
Why do quotes for the same app vary so much?
Different scope assumptions, team location and seniority, and what's included after launch. Ask every vendor to list what's in and what's out, and whether design, QA, App Store submission and hosting are included.
Is an iPhone app more expensive than a web app?
Usually. In the compiled ranges, an agency iPhone app starts at $45,000 against $35,000 for a web app, and most iPhone apps also need a web backend.
Does AI make apps cheaper to build?
It makes writing code faster, which lowers the cost of well-scoped work. It doesn't remove understanding the problem, design, testing or running the software.
How long does it take to build an app?
Agency first versions run about 2 to 6 months in the compiled ranges; AI-native studios publish 2 to 12 weeks. Clutch reports about 11 months for the app projects reviewed on its site, which includes much larger builds.
Write down the one job your first version has to do, get three quotes against that, and ask each one what it costs to run in year two.
Disclosure: Digital Mundo LLC and Gold Penguin LLC have the same owner.
