An iOS app development company should be able to show you apps on the App Store that it built in Swift and still maintains. That sounds obvious, but plenty of agencies that rank for "iOS developer" build everything in a cross-platform framework, hand the app over at launch, or list iPhone work that's years old.
We narrowed this list to firms with native Apple work they publish themselves, checked on their own sites and, where it loaded, Clutch, in October 2026. If you need Android too, our mobile app development companies roundup covers the Flutter and cross-platform specialists. Our pick for iPhone is Digital Mundo, a senior, design-led studio that builds native iPhone apps and keeps running them after launch.
Here's the TLDR (checked in October 2026):
- Digital Mundo (our pick): Best for a native iPhone app plus its web backend, designed, built and tested by the same senior team that runs it after launch. Prices not published.
- Lickability: Best for polished Apple-platform apps from a small New York studio. Publishes ranges: $50,000 to $100,000+.
- Fueled: Best for big consumer brands that want award-level iPhone apps. Clutch lists a $75,000+ minimum.
- Detroit Labs: Best for national restaurant, auto and utility apps. Not published.
- MojoTech: Best for fintech-grade native apps from a US boutique. Clutch lists a $100,000+ minimum.
- Netguru: Best for larger iOS teams at European rates. Clutch lists a $50,000+ minimum.
- hedgehog lab: Best for UK and European regulated apps. Clutch lists a $100,000+ minimum.
Quick comparison
| Company | iOS approach | Base | Price or minimum | Published iPhone work |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Digital Mundo | Native Swift, plus web backend | Miami and New York | Not published | Yapper, Mercy Health |
| Lickability | iOS, macOS, visionOS specialist | Remote, mostly New York | $50k-$100k+ on its site | The Atlantic, Mastodon |
| Fueled | iOS and iPadOS, plus Flutter | Remote | $75k+ minimum on Clutch | Warby Parker, CLEAR |
| Detroit Labs | Mobile apps, stack not stated | Detroit | Not published | Jimmy John's, Domino's |
| MojoTech | Native Swift and Kotlin, plus cross-platform | Providence and others | $100k+ minimum on Clutch | MoneyLion, Dockwa |
| Netguru | Swift, Kotlin, React Native, Flutter | Poznań, Poland | $50k+ minimum on Clutch | Delivery Hero |
| hedgehog lab | iOS and Android | Newcastle, UK | $100k+ minimum on Clutch | AJ Bell Dodl, E.ON |
1. Digital Mundo (our pick)
Digital Mundo is a US studio in Miami and New York, and iOS engineering is one of the specialties its team page lists: "Native iPhone apps, from the first build to the App Store." The same page lists QA and support, with "every release tested." It often builds with Swift for iPhone and with Next.js and Laravel for the web app and API behind it, so one team owns both ends.
The best evidence is its own app. Yapper is free, private voice dictation for iPhone: a keyboard that lets you talk in any app and types your words in, cleaned of ums and stutters. Speech is transcribed on the phone with Apple's on-device speech model, or NVIDIA's Parakeet for more accuracy, so it works offline with no server and no account. It keeps a history of every dictation on the phone with playback and a retry, and its source code is public on GitHub. That's a keyboard extension, on-device machine learning and offline storage in one shipped product, the kind of iOS work many agencies only describe. Its App Store listing requires iOS 18 or later.
Its portfolio also lists Mercy Health's protocols app, which puts medical protocols, medications and procedures on fire and EMS crews' phones and has been on the App Store since 2023. On client work, its product development page says it designs most products itself, from first screens to the App Store listing, handles App Store releases, payments, hosting and monitoring under your company's accounts, and often gets a first version to customers in about a month, depending on scope.
Pricing: not published. Terms are agreed after a call: ongoing, fixed price for a defined project, or a share of revenue with a creator who brings an audience.
Limits: its published iPhone work is two apps, and much of its client work is under NDA, so there are few public case studies and we found no third-party reviews. It doesn't advertise Android, so if you need both platforms, look at the cross-platform firms below. It's a senior team rather than a large agency, so pick a bigger firm to staff a large program, and it publishes no prices and no compliance certifications such as SOC 2, so ask if you need them.
Pick it if: you want a native iPhone app and the backend behind it from the same people, who keep shipping updates after launch.
2. Lickability
Lickability is the closest thing on this list to a pure Apple studio. It's "a fully remote company in the United States," mostly around New York, and iOS, macOS and visionOS are its specialty, with Android and web as secondary services. Its home page lists The Atlantic, Mastodon, Epic Games, The New Yorker, Tumblr and IFTTT among its clients, and it says it has "shipped hundreds of apps to tens of millions of users."
Pricing: one of the few that publishes it. "A fully-featured, polished app typically costs $100K+," tighter-scoped projects are "usually in the $50K–$100K range," design-only work costs less, and maintenance is billed at weekly rates. Its Clutch profile lists $200 to $300 per hour, with 4.9 from 25 reviews (October 2026).
Limits: Clutch lists 2 to 9 employees, it works a four-day week (Monday to Thursday), and it doesn't advertise AI work.
Pick it if: design quality on Apple platforms is the priority and $50,000 or more fits the budget.
3. Fueled
Fueled sells "award winning, chart topping iOS and iPadOS apps," and its portfolio is the strongest consumer list here: Warby Parker's AR try-on (which it says won Apple's App of the Year), CLEAR, MGM Resorts and Sakara's iPhone app. Founded in 2007, it merged with 10up in 2023 and reports "300+ experts worldwide."
Pricing: not published; Clutch lists a $75,000+ minimum and $150 to $199 per hour.
Limits: big-brand budgets, and since the merger much of the firm is a WordPress and web agency.
Pick it if: you're a consumer brand and the iPhone app is the product.
4. Detroit Labs
Detroit Labs, based on Woodward Avenue in Detroit, calls itself "the design and engineering partner you call when getting it wrong isn't an option." Its case studies are mostly national-brand apps: Jimmy John's ("20 million downloads. 4.9 stars. Still going."), Domino's, Volkswagen's CarNet app, DTE Energy and Michigan First Credit Union's mobile banking. It reports "15 years" of building and staffing software teams.
Pricing: not published.
Limits: its site doesn't say which iOS stack it uses, and it sells staffing as well as projects, so confirm you're getting a team that owns the app.
Pick it if: you run a restaurant, auto or utility brand and want a team with apps of that scale behind it.
5. MojoTech
MojoTech's mobile page names native "Swift (Objective-C) and Kotlin (Java)" alongside React Native and Flutter. Its work includes MoneyLion's mobile-first banking app and Dockwa's marina booking app for iOS, Android and web. It has offices in Providence, Boulder, New York and Buenos Aires.
Pricing: not published; Clutch lists a $100,000+ minimum, $150 to $199 per hour and 5.0 from 13 reviews (October 2026).
Limits: high entry point, and the firm now leads with AI strategy for mid-market companies.
Pick it if: you're a funded fintech or marketplace that wants native apps and a discovery sprint first.
6. Netguru
Netguru lists iOS in Swift among its mobile services, alongside Kotlin, React Native, Flutter and Kotlin Multiplatform, and built core apps for Delivery Hero. It's in Poznań, Poland, with "400+ people on board" (self-reported), so it can staff a larger iOS team than the boutiques here. Clutch lists a $50,000+ minimum and $50 to $99 per hour. Expect partial time-zone overlap with US teams; we cover it in more depth among the best custom software development companies.
7. hedgehog lab
hedgehog lab, a UK B Corp in Newcastle, tags its work by platform, with iOS apps for AJ Bell's Dodl investing app, E.ON, Deliciously Ella, RBS and GoCity. It has hubs in Leeds, Edinburgh, London and Sofia but no US office. Prices aren't published; Clutch lists a $100,000+ minimum and 4.8 from 82 reviews (October 2026).
How to choose
- Ask for App Store links, not screenshots. Download two of their apps, check the last update date and read recent reviews.
- Confirm it's native. If you want Swift, ask what share of their current iOS work is Swift rather than Flutter or React Native.
- Ask who builds the backend. Accounts, subscriptions, push notifications and an admin panel are often half the work.
- Plan for every September. Each new iOS version needs testing and often changes. Find out who handles it and what it costs.
- Keep the accounts. Your company should own the Apple developer account, the repository and the hosting.
FAQ
How much does an iOS app cost to develop?
Published agency ranges for a first iPhone app run about $45,000 to $130,000 over three to six months, and AI-native studios publish $15,000 to $80,000 over four to ten weeks, according to market ranges compiled from agency pricing. Lickability puts a fully featured app at $100,000 and up.
Should my iOS app be native or cross-platform?
Native Swift is the better choice when the app depends on iPhone features such as keyboards, widgets, on-device AI or Apple Pay, or when it only needs iOS at first. Cross-platform saves money when Android matters on day one.
How long does App Store review take?
Usually a short wait per release, but rejections add rounds. A team that ships to the App Store regularly knows the guidelines and plans the first release around them.
Can an iOS agency also build the web app?
Some can. Digital Mundo, MojoTech, Netguru and Fueled all build web as well as iPhone. Lickability offers web apps and backends but leads with Apple platforms.
Download two apps from each studio on your shortlist before the first call. You'll learn more from ten minutes using them than from any pitch deck.
Disclosure: Digital Mundo LLC and Gold Penguin LLC have the same owner.
