01 Cost guide · apps

App development cost in India: how much does it cost to build an app?

App development cost in India is typically ₹3–6 lakh for a simple single-platform app, ₹8–15 lakh for a cross-platform MVP, ₹15–30 lakh for a mid-complexity app and ₹30–80 lakh or more for a complex platform. Screens, integrations, user roles and compliance move the price most. Budget 15–20% of the build cost a year for maintenance.

A simple app from ₹3 lakh

Get an estimate for your app Find your band

Written by

Siddharth Kajaria, Founder and CEO

Last updated

19 October 2026

Illustration: four buildings growing from a small house to a tower

02 Ranges · draft

How much does an app like mine cost?

Find the row closest to your app. The four bands run from a simple single-platform app to a complex platform, in rupees and in dollars.

App development cost by app type

App development cost by app type
App type	What it usually includes	INR	USD
Simple app	One platform, under 10 screens, basic backend	₹3–6 lakh	$4,000–7,500
MVP	Cross-platform, one core flow, admin, analytics	₹8–15 lakh	$10,000–18,000
Mid-complexity app	Flutter or React Native, web admin, APIs	₹15–30 lakh	$18,000–36,000
Complex platform	Marketplace, fintech, multi-role, compliance	₹30–80 lakh+	$36,000–95,000+

The four bands on one scale

Each band is a range because scope decides the figure: the low end is a tight scope, and the high end adds roles, integrations or compliance.

Dollar figures are rounded conversions for readers in the UK and the US, not a separate price list.

If your app sits between two rows, the features in what drives the cost decide which way it goes.

Draft ranges set by Tailwebs; final figures in your quote · pricing draft of 16 October 2026

03 By type

Mobile app development cost by type and complexity

Each band has a typical feature set and timeline, so you can check your own app against it.

How much does a simple app cost?
A simple app costs ₹3–6 lakh ($4,000–7,500): one platform, under 10 screens and a basic backend. It suits a first product with one job to do for one kind of user, such as a booking, ordering or information app.
Needing both stores from day one, an admin panel or analytics usually moves an app into the MVP band, which includes all three.
Typical timeline
6–8 weeks
Example feature setIllustrative
- Sign-up and login
- A list and a detail screen, such as services or products
- One form or booking flow
- Push notifications
- A basic backend to manage the content
How much does an MVP cost?
A cross-platform MVP costs ₹8–15 lakh ($10,000–18,000): one core flow on Android and iOS, with an admin panel and analytics. It is built to test one idea with real users before more is spent on it.
The band assumes one core flow. A second core flow, such as a buyer side and a seller side, is the usual reason an MVP estimate moves towards the mid-complexity band.
Typical timeline
8–14 weeks
Example feature setIllustrative
- Sign-up with a phone number
- The core flow, such as search and book
- An admin panel to manage users and content
- Analytics on sign-ups and the core flow
- One integration the core flow depends on, such as payments
What moves an MVP within its band is in the MVP development cost guide, and how we build one is on MVP development.
How much does a mid-complexity app cost?
A mid-complexity app costs ₹15–30 lakh ($18,000–36,000): a Flutter or React Native app with a web admin and its own APIs. Roles, real-time features, offline mode and integrations decide where it falls in the band.
An app usually reaches this band when more than one kind of user relies on it every day, such as customers, staff and an office admin.
Typical timeline
10–16 weeks
Example feature setIllustrative
- Two or three user roles, each with its own screens
- Live updates, such as order or delivery status
- Offline use for part of the app
- A web admin with reports
- Integrations such as maps, SMS and payments
How much does a complex platform cost?
A complex platform costs ₹30–80 lakh or more ($36,000–95,000+): a marketplace, a fintech product or a multi-role system with compliance work. Security, payments, scale and audits drive the cost at this end.
At this end, plan the compliance work with the people who will sign it off before design starts: it shapes the data model, the logging and the release process.
Typical timeline
4–6 months
Example feature setIllustrative
- Several user types, such as buyers, sellers and admins
- Payments, payouts and refunds
- Identity checks (KYC) where the rules require them
- Audit logs and access controls
- Load testing before launch
How much do Android and iOS apps cost to build?
An Android app and an iOS app cost about the same to build at the same scope. Two separate native apps cost more than one Flutter or React Native codebase that serves both.
What differs is the store fee: Apple's developer account costs $99 a year and Google Play's $25 once. Each platform also needs testing on its own devices. The platform choice is the last row of what drives the cost, below.

04 Cost drivers

What drives the cost of an app?

Screens, roles and integrations drive the cost of an app most, because each adds design, build and testing time. Here is each feature, why it adds cost and the cheaper path that still works.

What drives the cost *of an app?*
Feature	Why it adds cost	What to ask for instead
Screens	Every screen is designed, built and tested on each screen size, so the count moves the price more than most single features.	Launch with the screens your core flow needs, and add the rest after launch.
Login	Each sign-in method, such as phone, email, Google or Apple, adds its own flow, recovery path and edge cases.	Start with the one sign-in method your users already use.
Payments	A payment gateway brings checkout, failed payments, refunds and receipts, each to build and test.	Start with one payment provider and one way to pay.
User roles	Each role sees its own screens and permissions, and every combination needs testing.	Launch with the one or two roles your first users need.
Real-time features	Live updates, chat and tracking need extra backend work and careful testing under load.	Refresh on demand first, and add live updates where users ask for them.
Offline mode	Working offline means storing data on the phone and syncing it safely when the connection returns.	Make the one screen users need on the move work offline, not the whole app.
Integrations (maps, SMS, KYC, WhatsApp)	Every outside service has its own data, limits, fees and failure cases to handle.	Connect the one service the core flow depends on, and add the rest later.
Security and compliance	Audits, data rules and access controls add reviews, logging and documents.	Name the rules that apply to you early, so they are planned in, not added later.
Design depth	Custom illustration, motion and a full design system take longer than a clean layout on standard components.	A clean first version on standard components, with custom design once the flow is proven.
Platforms	One cross-platform codebase, in Flutter or React Native, serves Android and iOS. Separate native apps make sense for some device-heavy features, and two apps cost more to build than one codebase.	One cross-platform codebase for both stores, unless a device-heavy feature needs native code.

Choosing the stack for both stores? See Flutter app development and React Native development. Planning a team of your own instead? See what app developers cost to hire in India.

05 Adding AI

What does adding AI to an app cost?

An AI feature in an existing app typically adds ₹2–8 lakh to the build, plus a monthly bill for model usage.

Build and running costs, what drives the monthly bill and how to keep it down are in our AI app development cost guide.

Usual first AI features

Search over your content
Summaries
An in-app assistant

06 After launch

What does an app cost to run after launch?

An app costs 15–20% of its build cost a year to maintain, plus hosting, store fees and the outside services it uses, each billed at cost.

Billed at cost, line by line

Cloud hosting
Apple and Google developer accounts
SMS, maps and payment services
WhatsApp messaging
AI model usage, if the app has AI

What they usually cost

What they usually cost
Maintenance	15–20% of the build cost a year
Cloud hosting	₹2,000–40,000 a month, by scale
Apple developer account	$99 a year
Google Play developer account	$25 once
AI usage, low (under 5,000 conversations)	₹3,000–15,000 a month

Monthly plan

Or cover upkeep with one plan

Care and Growth

Maintenance, monitoring, small changes, analytics review and optional growth marketing.

₹50,000–2 lakh a month

$600–2,500 a month

Ask about Care and Growth

Where the code, the accounts and the documentation sit after launch is answered under code ownership in our FAQ.

07 Spend less

How can you reduce app development cost?

You reduce app development cost by deciding what to leave out before the build starts: one core flow, one codebase and a written scope. Five habits do most of the work.

Building for the web rather than the stores? See web app development. For Android and iOS, see mobile app development.

Start with a Discovery Sprint: A 2–3 week sprint at ₹1.5–3 lakh ends with a ranked feature list, a clickable prototype and a build estimate, so the build is priced against a scope rather than a guess. See product consulting.
Launch one core flow first: Build the one flow that proves the idea, with an admin and analytics, and let real usage decide what comes next. See MVP development.
One cross-platform codebase: One Flutter or React Native codebase for Android and iOS, unless a device-heavy feature needs native code.
Client-owned accounts: Cloud, store and domain accounts are set up in your name from the start, where possible, so nothing has to be moved later.
A written change process: Changes are estimated in writing and approved before work starts, so the budget moves only when you decide it should.

08 How we price

How does Tailwebs price app projects?

Two ways: a fixed price against a written scope, or a monthly team. The exact figure comes in writing after a call.

Fixed-scope packages. A Discovery Sprint at ₹1.5–3 lakh comes first. The MVP Launch package is then ₹8–25 lakh, priced by the scope the sprint agrees.
Monthly teams. A dedicated developer costs ₹1.8–4 lakh a month. A product squad of a PM, a designer, 2–3 developers and QA costs ₹6–12 lakh a month.
What we build. Consumer apps and the systems businesses run on, such as the web app we built for Metropolitan Anesthesia Consultants to handle contractor credentialing, document compliance and timesheets. We never publish what a client paid.

See every package

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09 FAQ

Questions about app costs.

How much does it cost to build an app in India?

Typically ₹3–6 lakh for a simple app and ₹8–15 lakh for a cross-platform MVP, rising to ₹30–80 lakh or more for complex platforms.

Can I build a good app on a small budget?

Yes, if it is a simple single-platform app with under 10 screens and a basic backend, which typically costs ₹3–6 lakh; most cross-platform MVPs need ₹8 lakh or more.

How long does it take to build an app?

A simple app usually takes 6–8 weeks, an MVP 8–14 weeks, a mid-complexity app 10–16 weeks and a complex platform 4–6 months.The Discovery Sprint ends with a build estimate and timeline for your scope.

What does app maintenance cost each year?

Plan for 15–20% of the build cost a year, plus hosting of ₹2,000–40,000 a month depending on scale.

What are the hidden costs of an app?

Store fees (Apple $99 a year, Google $25 once), hosting, third-party services, AI model usage and maintenance.We list these line by line in each quote and bill them at cost, paid from your own accounts where possible.

What does Flutter app development cost?

A Flutter app falls in the same bands as above for the same scope. One Flutter codebase serves both Android and iOS, so it usually costs less than building each platform separately. Native builds make sense for some device-heavy features.

How do I get an exact quote?

Book a call, or start with a Discovery Sprint, which ends with a prioritised feature list, a clickable prototype and a build estimate.