How much does it cost to build and publish an app?

Start with three separate budgets

Development covers the app, backend, integrations, testing and release preparation. Store accounts cover registration and verification. Operations cover hosting, monitoring, third-party services and ongoing improvements.

A useful estimate names the first version people will actually use. A booking app with payments, staff schedules and an admin panel is a different scope from a catalogue with a contact button, even if both have ten screens.

What you pay Apple and Google

Apple lists its standard Developer Program at USD 99 per membership year, with local pricing and applicable taxes varying by region. Google lists a USD 25 one-time Play Console registration fee. These are account fees, not development quotes or a charge for each screen.

Store commissions on eligible digital sales, payment processing and other services are separate. Check the applicable rules for your product and market before choosing a payment flow. Keep the developer accounts under your business and invite the delivery team with appropriate access.

What changes the development budget

Existing code: can the app be built, tested and maintained, or does the first delivery need to repair the foundation? Screenshots alone cannot answer that.

Business rules: subscriptions, refunds, permissions, offline use, notifications and account deletion need behavior beyond the happy path.

Connected systems: a backend, web dashboard, CRM, payments or AI service each adds integration and operational work. We develop the mobile app and backend, and identify the systems the first release depends on.

Release readiness: test devices, store assets, declarations, reviewer access and production services belong in the plan, not in a surprise task list after coding.

How Tg Apps prices the work

Our public monthly references are Starter USD 1,500, Growth USD 2,000 and Embedded from USD 3,500. We agree the monthly amount in your billing currency before kickoff. Your monthly plan keeps development moving, with clear priorities and regular deliveries.

Starter uses a biweekly planning rhythm. Growth adds weekly planning and intelligent allocation across the work that matters most. Embedded adds closer coordination and more capacity for parallel work.

We align your scope, priorities and delivery timeline before kickoff, then keep your product moving forward with a fixed monthly plan. We define a useful first milestone before work begins, with contract and NDA, no upfront payment and the First Milestone Guarantee.

A practical way to estimate the first release

Write one core journey: for example, a customer books a service, pays and receives confirmation while an operator sees the booking. This is an illustrative planning example, not a quoted client project.

List the dependencies: developer accounts, design, payment account, existing APIs and who can approve decisions. Separate launch requirements from improvements that can follow.

Ask for a first delivery with observable acceptance criteria. A working booking flow in a test environment is more useful than a percentage-complete claim. We use working demonstrations and release planning to show what has actually moved.

Budget for life after launch

Include hosting, database and storage, transactional email or SMS, paid APIs and ongoing maintenance. Usage, reliability requirements and existing infrastructure determine these costs; a generic flat estimate can hide the largest expense.

Official sources

• Apple Developer Program enrollment
• Google Play Console registration