What does it cost to build an app?

The short answer: 2026 cost ranges

Current Swedish-market ranges for 2026, based on current market rates and our own builds. They cover design and development of the first shippable version. Running costs are separate and covered further down. Cross-platform here means one codebase shipping to both iOS and Android, the approach we use.

The bands are wide because "an app" can mean a focused MVP that proves one idea or a multi-role platform with billing and live data. The only way to narrow a 300 000 kr range to a real number is to define the scope.

What drives the cost

Price is the sum of a handful of decisions. Most are about scope, not technology, and each one moves the number:

• Screens and flows. Every screen is design, build, edge cases, and testing. Going from 8 screens to 25 is the single biggest multiplier on most projects.
• Backend and API. If the app stores data, has accounts, or syncs across devices, it needs a backend, often as much work as the app itself. We build on a managed database and serverless cloud, which keeps it lean.
• Native vs cross-platform. Building separately for iOS and Android costs roughly 40–80% more than one cross-platform codebase. We ship one codebase to both stores.
• Design. A templated look is cheap. A distinctive, branded, animated interface costs more because it's drawn, not assembled. Most products sit in between.
• Integrations. Payments, login, maps, push, analytics, third-party APIs. Each is a connection to test and maintain. Two or three is normal; ten is a different project.
• App Store submission. Mostly process: store accounts, signing, review, privacy declarations. Modest in hours but real, and Apple's organisation enrollment is a prerequisite many first-timers miss.
• Maintenance. Apps aren't finished at launch. iOS and Android ship breaking OS updates yearly, dependencies need patching, and users find bugs. Plan for it from day one.

Native vs cross-platform: the lever most people miss

The biggest avoidable cost in app development is building the same app twice. Fully native means a separate iOS codebase and a separate Android codebase: two teams, two builds, two sets of bugs. Building separately for iOS and Android costs roughly 40–80% more than cross-platform for the same scope.

Cross-platform writes the app once and ships it to both stores. We build one React codebase that goes to both the App Store and Google Play. For most products, native's marginal benefits don't justify paying for two of everything. When a true native build is the right call, we say so.

A worked example: a real MVP

Say you want to validate a consumer app idea: users sign up, see a personalised feed, save items, and you can push them a notification. Roughly:

• 8–10 screens with a clean, branded design. Not a template, not a custom illustration suite.
• Accounts and login, a backend storing user data, a simple admin view for you.
• One payment or subscription flow if you're charging, plus push notifications.
• Shipped to both the App Store and Google Play from one codebase.

That lands in roughly the 150 000–350 000 kr band in 2026, over about 6–10 weeks. It's a shippable product you can put in front of users, scoped so you spend on learning whether the idea works. Add roles, heavier integrations, or a bespoke design language and you move up toward the standard-app band.

Ongoing costs after launch

Launch is the start of the cost, not the end. Budget separately for the running costs below. They're small next to the build, but recurring.

Maintenance is the line founders most often forget. A 300 000 kr app costs on the order of 45 000–60 000 kr a year to keep healthy. Skipping it saves nothing; it defers the bill to the day an OS update breaks the app.

How Klura prices, and why it differs

We're a senior, independent studio, not an agency. That changes the maths in your favour: no account manager, no sales layer, no junior billed as senior, no overhead markup. You talk to the person who designs and writes the code.

So you get a quote scoped to what your product needs rather than padded to feed a team, and decisions made by someone who has to live with them. Klura is a registered Swedish company, so we can publish your app under your company rather than a personal account.

We don't publish a fixed price list, because a real number depends on your scope and a made-up one helps nobody. You get a straight, indicative range on a first call and a fixed proposal once the scope is clear.

FAQ