Service

Mobile app development — two platforms, one team.

A mobile app is a product that stays on the home screen and can send a push notification; that is what separates it from a website. A working MVP typically takes 3–5 weeks, a full product 2–3 months, and store submission adds another week. After a short brief we come back within 3–5 days with a platform recommendation, stages and a firm quote, and that stage is not billed.

Working MVP: 3–5 weeks
Store submission: 1 week
Estimate: 3–5 days

The number that matters on a mobile project is the cost of every change afterwards, multiplied by the number of codebases you maintain. Native means two: a Swift app and a Kotlin app, two sets of release notes, two review queues, and two implementations of every feature you add for the rest of the product’s life.

Cross-platform means one.

That is why Flutter is our default. One codebase compiles to both stores, the interface is drawn by the framework so it stays identical across platforms, and both the initial timeline and the ongoing support cost fall by roughly half. For a storefront, an account area, a tracker, a booking flow, a delivery or a loyalty programme, that is comfortably enough.

Native earns its second codebase when the app pushes against the platform itself: heavy graphics and animation at high frame rates, serious camera or video processing, deep system integration such as widgets, watch apps or background geolocation that has to be gentle on battery. If your product is one of those, cross-platform starts fighting you around the third month. Cheaper to hear that before the start.

Release cadence is the other thing worth planning for. Apple reviews every submission, which usually takes a few days and occasionally comes back with a rejection to answer. We set up CI/CD during the build so a new version reaches the stores in hours rather than days of manual packaging, and we keep the store accounts registered to your company so nothing about the release depends on us being in the room.

What the work covers

Included

User journeys and a screen map
Platform recommendation and architecture
UI design: layouts for iOS and Android
The app itself, on both platforms
Backend and API
Push notifications and analytics
Offline mode where the scenario needs it
Testing on real devices and emulators
Submission to the App Store and Google Play

Not included

Annual Apple and Google developer account fees
Copywriting and translation
Promo video production for the stores
Running advertising campaigns
Server hosting fees

What you receive

The app in both stores, under your accounts
The repository in your account
The backend and API documentation
Analytics and crash reporting connected
CI/CD for shipping new versions
Monitoring and a 3-month warranty

What drives the price

We do not publish a price list: "an app" covers a three-screen MVP and a platform with payments and maps equally. These are what move a quote.

Screen count, and how many need unique logic rather than a shared component
Platform choice: cross-platform is one codebase, native is two projects
Backend: whether an API already exists or is written from scratch
Device features: camera, GPS, offline, Bluetooth, biometrics
Payments and store rules: in-app purchases bring their own requirements

The platform recommendation, the stages and a firm quote reach you within 3–5 days of the brief. Free.

Stack

The platform is chosen on the brief. Cross-platform is faster and cheaper; native goes deeper.

Cross-platform

Flutter
React Native
Expo

Native

Swift
Kotlin

Backend

FastAPI
PostgreSQL
Firebase

Release

CI/CD
App Store
Google Play

Stages

Brief and platform choice
3–5 days
Scenarios, audience, device requirements. Output: a platform, a stage plan and a firm quote.
Screen map and prototype
2–4 days
A diagram of every screen and transition. The flow is signed off on a clickable prototype.
Design
3–6 days
Layouts for iOS and Android. The platforms have different conventions; we do not paste one picture into both.
Development, two-week sprints
2–4 weeks
Each sprint ends in a build you can install on your own phone. The work is visible daily.
Testing and submission
1 week
Testing on real devices, store listings, review. Apple’s review usually takes a few days.
Warranty and updates
3 months
Crash monitoring, fixes and new versions. The store accounts are registered to you.

When you do not need this

An app costs more than a site and only pays back through repeat use. We raise these on the brief ourselves.

People would come back twice a year

Nobody installs an app at that frequency, and the few who do delete it within a month. A mobile site does the same job with no install step.

The app would only display information

A catalogue, prices and contacts are a website’s job, and a website is also findable in search. An app is not: it has to be marketed separately.

The audience does not justify two platforms

The second platform doubles the budget. Ship one and read the numbers.

There is no budget to promote it

An app does not find its own users in the store. Installs need advertising, an existing customer base or an offline channel; without one the launch passes in silence. Plan that budget before the build, not after the release.

If one of these describes you, write anyway. We will tell you for free whether a mobile site, a PWA or an app fits the job; sometimes the answer is that you do not need an app.

Related work

Frequent questions

Flutter or native — which should we pick?

For most jobs, Flutter. One codebase reaches both stores and roughly halves both the timeline and the ongoing support cost. Native — Swift and Kotlin — is for apps that push against the platform: heavy graphics, serious camera work, deep system integration. That is two apps and two budgets. We justify the choice in writing during the estimate.

Will the app definitely get into the App Store?

Submission is part of the work and we design against the store rules from the start. Apple’s review usually takes a few days; if a rejection comes back we address the reason and resubmit, and that is inside the warranty.

Will iOS and Android launch together?

On cross-platform, yes — both builds ship as one release. On native, one platform usually goes first and the second follows, which lets the budget be split across stages.

Whose name are the store accounts in?

Yours. Apple Developer and Google Play are registered to your company and we are granted access. The app stays yours, and changing contractor breaks nothing.

How do updates work after release?

Three months of warranty covers crashes and defects, new features are their own small projects, and CI/CD is set up during the build so a new version reaches the stores in hours.

Tell us about the app

A short brief is enough: who will use it, how often, and which device features it needs. We come back within 3–5 days with a platform recommendation and a quote.