Engineering 2 November 2026
What Determines the Cost of an App or Custom Software?
Yazan Allahham
"How much does an app cost?" is the first question most clients ask, and the honest answer is: it depends on a handful of decisions. Two quotes for what sounds like the same app can differ several times over because they assume different answers to those decisions. Understanding them helps you compare quotes and spend where it matters.
What drives the cost of software the most?
The number and complexity of features. Every screen, user role, rule and report has to be designed, built and tested. A login screen is small; a booking engine with availability, payments, cancellations and refunds is large. The fastest way to understand a quote is to ask how many features and screens it assumes.
Does it matter which platforms the app runs on?
Yes. An app for iOS and Android, plus a web dashboard for your staff, is three interfaces. Cross-platform frameworks such as React Native and Flutter reduce the cost of the two mobile apps, but the dashboard and the server behind them still need to be built.
What other factors change the price?
- Integrations: payment providers, maps, SMS, accounting or ERP systems each add work, especially older systems with no documentation.
- Design: a custom, animated interface costs more than one built from standard components.
- Languages: supporting Arabic and English properly, including right-to-left layouts, needs design and testing time.
- Data migration: moving existing records from spreadsheets or an old system.
- Security and compliance: handling payments, health or personal data raises the bar.
- Infrastructure: hosting, backups and monitoring are ongoing costs, not one-off.
What costs continue after launch?
Hosting, store accounts, third-party services, and maintenance: security updates, new iOS and Android versions, and bug fixes. Budget for them from the start, because software that is not maintained gradually stops working.
How can you keep the first release affordable?
- Start with the one problem that costs your business the most, and build only what solves it
- Write a clear brief, so suppliers quote for the same thing
- Use standard components where custom design adds little
- Plan later features as later releases instead of adding them now
How do you compare quotes fairly?
Ask each supplier to list the features, platforms, integrations and post-launch support their price includes. A low quote that leaves out testing, deployment or maintenance is not cheaper. Our guide on writing a project brief helps you get comparable quotes, and you can ask us for an estimate based on yours.