Short answer: a straightforward consumer app costs $40,000 to $90,000. The same feature set in healthcare or fintech costs $90,000 to $250,000, not because the screens are harder but because compliance work, security review, and integration with regulated systems add engineering that consumer apps never encounter.
Industry does not change what an app does. It changes what has to be true before the app is allowed to launch.
The table below gives indicative ranges for a first production release with a comparable feature set. Figures assume a cross-platform build, exclude ongoing maintenance, and exclude third-party assessment and certification costs.
| Industry | Typical first-release cost | Timeline | Main cost driver |
| Retail and eCommerce | $40,000 to $90,000 | 3 to 5 months | Commerce platform and inventory integration |
| Education and eLearning | $45,000 to $100,000 | 3 to 6 months | Content model, video delivery, accessibility |
| Logistics and field service | $60,000 to $130,000 | 4 to 7 months | Offline capability, ERP and telematics integration |
| Real estate and proptech | $55,000 to $120,000 | 4 to 6 months | Listing data ingestion, search infrastructure |
| Healthcare | $90,000 to $220,000 | 5 to 9 months | HIPAA controls, EHR integration, security review |
| Fintech and banking | $100,000 to $250,000 | 5 to 10 months | PCI scope, core banking integration, certification |
Ongoing costs run separately in every sector: maintenance, OS compatibility updates, and security patching typically cost 15 to 25 percent of the original build annually, higher in regulated industries where compliance obligations continue.
Every sector above has a wide band, and where you land inside it is usually decided by scope rather than by industry. The factors below are the ones you control.
Each connected system adds design, implementation, and testing effort. This is the single largest variable within any industry band, and it is assessable before you commit.
One codebase serving both platforms costs substantially less than two. Deep platform capability requirements are the only reason to choose native, and they are less common than assumed.
Many regulated builds need both a customer-facing app and a staff-facing console. Two applications cost more than one, which is why our healthcare app development scoping separates them explicitly.
Standard platform patterns are fast to build. Custom interaction design, animation, and bespoke components add effort that users frequently do not notice.
Offline capability with conflict resolution is meaningful engineering. It is essential in logistics and field service and usually unnecessary elsewhere.
Cost reduction comes from scope discipline rather than from cutting corners on compliance or testing, neither of which is safely reducible in regulated sectors.
Most first releases contain features nobody uses for six months. Shipping the core journey earlier reduces cost and produces real usage data to guide the rest.
Retrofitting audit logging and access control after a feature-complete build is expensive rework. Designing it in the first sprint costs a fraction as much.
Knowing whether your systems expose usable APIs changes the estimate materially. Assessing this before committing avoids the mid-project discovery that blows the budget.
One codebase roughly halves the cost of every future change as well as the initial build, which compounds over the app’s life.
Where a compliance requirement applies to a feature you can defer, defer both. Our fintech app development engagements frequently sequence certification-gated features into a second phase.
We do not quote from a screen count, because screens are not what drives cost in regulated sectors. We quote after establishing which systems the app must integrate with, what compliance obligations apply, and whether certification or third-party assessment is required before launch.
The industry, what the app does, which systems it touches, and whether a staff-facing application is also required. That is enough for an indicative range on a short call.
Integration readiness, compliance scope, security requirements, and platform decisions, producing an itemized estimate separating build, integration, and assessment costs.
Integration surface is the most common reason estimates change, which is why we assess it before quoting rather than discovering it in month three. Our app development cost page covers our approach in more detail.
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A straightforward consumer or retail app runs $40,000 to $90,000 for a first release. Healthcare typically runs $90,000 to $220,000 and fintech $100,000 to $250,000, with the difference driven by compliance engineering and integration rather than features.
Integration count and compliance scope, in that order. Feature count matters far less than most people expect. Two apps with identical screens can differ threefold in cost based on what they connect to and what rules apply.
Cut the first release to the core journey, design compliance architecture in the first sprint rather than retrofitting it, choose cross-platform unless you need deep native capability, and defer features that trigger certification requirements.
Both. Fixed price where scope is defined, which suits first releases with clear requirements. Dedicated team billing monthly where the roadmap continues and scope evolves with user feedback after launch.
Indicative only. Industry sets the band, but integration readiness decides where you land inside it, and that cannot be assessed without looking at your systems. An estimate after assessment is considerably more reliable.
Maintenance, OS compatibility updates, and security patching typically run 15 to 25 percent of the build cost annually, higher in regulated sectors where compliance obligations and security reviews continue after launch.
Tell us your industry, what the app needs to do, and which systems it must connect to. We will come back within one business day with an indicative range and what an assessment would involve. Book a free consultation through ourcontact page.
Tell us what you’re building. Our team will get back to you within one business day with a clear, no-obligation plan.
