---
title: App Development Cost Calculator
url: https://tools.usappteam.com/tools/app-cost-calculator/
date: 2026-07-29
---

# App Development Cost Calculator

A free browser tool that turns four questions about your app idea into a real fixed price, a build
timeline in weeks, and a plain-language explanation of which of your answers drove the number. No
email, no signup, no wizard steps — the estimate updates the instant you click.

## How to use it

1. **Pick your platforms** — iOS only, Android only, or both. Both is the default, because the app is
   built once and shipped to both stores.
2. **Choose the app type** — simple (a few screens, no accounts), standard (accounts, saved data,
   notifications), or advanced (payments, live data, integrations, or something custom).
3. **Tick the features you need** — accounts, payments, push notifications, maps, chat, photo/video
   upload, offline mode, third-party integration, admin dashboard.
4. **Choose the design route** — a proven template styled to your brand, or a custom design.
5. **Read the result**, then copy it or start a brief to lock the scope in.

## How the estimate works

The calculator does not guess at an hourly rate or produce a range. It scores your answers and maps
the score onto one of US APP Team's three published fixed-price tiers.

**Points that decide the tier.** The app type sets the floor: simple contributes 0 points, standard
contributes 3, advanced contributes 9. Each feature you tick adds its own weight — payments or
subscriptions add 3 (the heaviest single item, because billing, receipts, refunds and extra store
review all come with it); chat or messaging, offline mode, third-party integration and admin
dashboard each add 2 (each needs backend work beyond the app itself); user accounts, push
notifications, maps or location and photo/video upload each add 1, because they are well-trodden
ground. A custom design adds 1 point on top. Platform choice adds nothing to the score — the same
build ships to both stores.

**Where the thresholds sit.** A total of 2 points or fewer lands in the **Starter app** tier, from
$3,500. A total of 3 to 8 points lands in the **Standard app** tier, from $7,500. A total of 9 or
more lands in the **Custom app** tier, quoted individually up to $12,000. In practice: a simple
content or booking app with light features stays in the first tier; anything described as standard
starts in the second immediately; anything advanced, or a standard app carrying payments plus two or
three heavy features, moves into the third.

**How the timeline is computed.** Each app type carries a base window — simple is 3 to 5 weeks,
standard is 6 to 9 weeks, advanced is 10 to 14 weeks. One extra week is added to both ends of the
window for every 3 feature points you accumulate. A custom design adds a week to the upper end.
Choosing a single platform instead of both takes a week off each end, because there is only one
store submission to prepare — it does not reduce the build price. Finally, each tier carries a floor
so the timeline never contradicts the price: a Starter-tier build never shows less than 3 weeks, a
Standard-tier build never less than 5, and a Custom-tier build never less than 8.

**What the Care plans cover.** Care is the optional monthly plan that keeps a shipped app working:
hosting, monitoring, iOS and Android OS updates, store compliance, and a block of small changes. The
tool suggests $199 per month for a Starter-tier app, $399 per month for a Standard-tier app, and $799
per month for a Custom-tier app. One override applies — if you tick payments while otherwise landing
in the Starter tier, the suggestion moves up to $399 per month, because anything handling money needs
closer monitoring than a content app does.

**What sits outside the tier.** Store launch — preparing and submitting the app to the Apple App
Store and Google Play — is a separate one-time $749.

**What the estimate is not.** A starting point, not a contract. Scope is confirmed in the app brief,
and that is where the fixed price is agreed — after which it does not move.

## Privacy

Everything runs locally in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, nothing is stored, and there is no
email field on the page. The copy button writes a plain-text summary to your clipboard.

## Questions

**How much does it cost to make an app?** One of three published fixed prices, not an open-ended
range: from $3,500 for a simple app, from $7,500 for a standard app, up to $12,000 for a custom one.

**Does building for both iOS and Android cost twice as much?** No. Both stores are served by one
build. A single platform saves about a week of store preparation, not half the price.

**Which features cost the most?** Payments and subscriptions, followed by chat, offline mode,
third-party integrations and an admin dashboard.

**Do I have to give my email to see the number?** No. There is no gate of any kind — no signup, no
download, no email field on the page.

## About US APP Team

US APP Team builds custom mobile apps for founders and small businesses — idea to live on the App
Store and Google Play, done for you, at a fixed price, and you own everything. Start a brief at
https://usappteam.com/app-brief or book a free intro call at https://usappteam.com/book-call