Building an app for your business: what does it cost in 2026?

First question: who is the app for?

Most price guides assume an app you publish in the App Store and Google Play. But many businesses looking for an app mean something else. There are roughly three kinds:

• A consumer app. New users need to find and install it. The app store is a sales channel here.
• A customer app. Your existing customers log in to book, view documents or follow the status of their project.
• An employee or operations app. Your team plans, records, closes shifts and works together in one overview, in the office and on the move.

With the second and third kind, you already have the users. You send them a link. Then the app store isn't an advantage but an extra step with extra cost. That difference drives a large part of the price.

What does an app cost? Market prices

Dutch developers use roughly these ranges in their 2026 price guides. They work from hours times hourly rate; a simple first version easily takes 150 to 400 hours.

Per platform, the same guides put a native app, built separately for iOS or Android, at €15,000 to €150,000 or more per platform. A cross-platform app, one codebase for both stores, comes in at €10,000 to €100,000 for both.

Native, cross-platform or web app: three routes

A PWA (Progressive Web App) opens full screen from an icon, sends push notifications and runs on iPhone, Android and desktop from one codebase. Updates go live for everyone straight away. Read the full comparison in PWA or native app.

The costs after launch

The build is only part of the bill. Also budget for:

• Maintenance. The common rule of thumb is 15 to 20 percent of the build cost per year, for updates, security and adapting to new operating systems.
• New iOS and Android versions. A native app has to keep up with each year's operating system releases, or it works worse or not at all on new phones.
• App store accounts. Apple charges an annual fee for its Developer Program, Google a one-off registration. On top of that, the stores take 15 to 30 percent commission on digital purchases inside the app.
• Hosting and back end. The server, database and integrations behind the app keep running every month.
• Support. Someone has to answer user questions and fix bugs.

With a web app or PWA, the store fees and yearly store updates disappear. Hosting, security and maintenance remain; every app needs those.

What drives the price of your app?

1. The number of processes. One process, like planning or quoting, is a different project from a platform that carries the whole operation.
2. Roles and permissions. An app where everyone sees the same thing is simpler than one where customers, staff, planners and management each see their own part.
3. Integrations. Accounting, calendars, email, payments, or an existing Excel file that needs to be imported.
4. Real-time collaboration. Several people working in the same overview at once takes more than one user per screen.
5. Offline use and notifications. Does the app need to work without a connection, and who gets notified when?
6. Security and accountability requirements. Larger organisations often want a record of who changed what, and when.

For operations teams: what matters in practice

In larger organisations, the question is rarely whether an app gets built, but whether it fits how the team works. An app for the floor has to be fast on a phone, support handovers between shifts, and show each role what it needs.

For an aviation company, Vorteca built an operations portal for flight handling, end-of-day close, rosters and procedures. Staff install it from the browser on desktop or phone, with no separate iOS or Android app. It works with what was already there: the flight schedule is still imported from Excel, then everyone works in the same overview. More than 3,000 flights have now been handled by 15 daily users across 7 roles.

For smaller businesses: one app for the whole company

For Van der Linden landscaping, Vorteca built a CRM with quoting, invoicing, a calendar and a financial overview, as a PWA on phone and computer. Push notifications arrive for new website enquiries, expired quotes and unpaid invoices. A quote is now ready in twenty minutes at most, where it used to take whole evenings in Word.

You see the same approach at Beauty Salon by Maxime's: managing the calendar, treatments and clients sits on phone and tablet as an app, with no app store.

How to keep costs under control

1. Start with one process. Build what costs the most time or causes the most mistakes first, then expand.
2. Choose the route that fits your users. Existing customers or your own team? Then a web app or PWA is usually enough.
3. Ask about monthly costs after launch. Hosting, maintenance and support belong in the quote, not on the first invoice.
4. Settle ownership up front. Who owns the code and the data, and what happens if you want to switch? See custom vs off-the-shelf software.
5. Build in steps. Test with real users along the way, so you don't discover what's missing at handover.

What does an app cost at Vorteca?

Vorteca builds business apps as web apps or PWAs, on one codebase for phone, tablet and desktop.

Vorteca Core covers hosting, monitoring, security and technical maintenance. There are no app store fees. The exact price follows an intake, once it's clear which processes, roles and integrations you need. If it turns out you really need a native app in the stores, we'll tell you. All packages are on the pricing page.