If you've searched for app pricing you've probably seen everything from £5,000 to £250,000 — which isn't very helpful. Here's a clearer view of the UK market in 2026 and where realistic projects actually land.
The honest ranges
- Simple MVP (one core workflow): from ~£6,500 cross-platform
- Standard app with backend, accounts and payments: £15,000–£40,000
- Complex or regulated app: £40,000–£100,000+
Most UK studios quote app MVPs from around £15,000. We start from £6,500 by building lean and sharing one cross-platform codebase — more on that below.
Native vs cross-platform — the biggest lever
Building separate native apps for iOS and Android roughly doubles the work. A single cross-platform codebase (React Native / Expo) ships to both the App Store and Google Play and typically costs 30–50% less than two native builds — for most apps the user experience is indistinguishable.
What drives the price
- Number of screens and features
- Backend, accounts, and real-time data
- Integrations (payments, maps, push, third-party APIs)
- Offline support and device hardware (camera, GPS, Bluetooth)
- App Store / Play Store submission and review
How to keep the cost sane
Start with an MVP that does one thing brilliantly, ship it to real users, then expand in milestones. You launch sooner, learn from real usage, and avoid paying for features nobody needs. That's how we approach every app build.