If you run a business in Miami and you're thinking about an app, you probably want a number before you talk to anyone. Here's the honest answer, what moves it up or down, what's included, and how to get from a rough range to a fixed quote.
The short answer
An iOS and Android app from one codebase typically costs $30,000–$80,000 with a senior team, including the backend it talks to. That's the range we publish for a mobile app, and it's where our website and app cost calculator starts.
| Project | Typical range | Typical timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile app (iOS and Android) | $30,000–$80,000 | 12–20 weeks |
| Web app or client portal (often the first step) | $25,000–$70,000 | 12–20 weeks |
The timeline runs from the start of design to the stores, depending on scope. These are the same published ranges we use for every client, in Miami or anywhere else, and you get a fixed quote for your scope after a short call.
First, do you need an app?
Plenty of businesses are sold an app when what they need is a fast mobile website with online booking. If customers visit once or twice a year, a good mobile site wins: there's nothing to download, and it shows up in search.
An app earns its place when people come back often: members booking classes or daycare every week, customers reordering, a field team running jobs from their phones, or patients checking in between visits. Then the home-screen icon, push notifications and offline access pay for themselves.
For studios, clinics, salons and pet care businesses, the answer usually comes down to how often clients return. If you're not sure, see what a booking-first website looks like for salons and beauty or pet care, and we'll tell you on the first call which side of the line you're on.
What drives the cost
Screens and user flows
Every screen has to be designed, built and tested on both platforms. An app with one clear job (book a class, reorder, check in) sits toward the low end. An app that does several things for several kinds of users moves up.
User accounts and roles
Logging in, profiles and saved details are standard. It gets bigger when different people need different views: customers, staff, managers, or a field crew that sees only its own jobs.
Payments
Taking payments, deposits or memberships inside the app means a payment provider, receipts, refunds and failure handling. It's routine work, but it has to be right.
Bookings, memberships and reminders
Recurring bookings, packages, memberships and reminders are common in apps for studios, clinics, salons and pet care. Rules like cancellation windows, waitlists and package balances add logic and testing.
Integrations
Apps usually need to sit on the same data as your website and back office, so nothing is entered twice. Connecting to the store or POS you already use, or to your CRM and dispatch system, is often where the real complexity is. Well-documented tools are straightforward; older systems without a proper API take longer.
The backend and admin tools
The app talks to a backend that stores data, sends notifications and runs business rules. Your team usually needs a way to manage content, bookings or users too. The more your staff do in those tools, the more there is to build.
Offline use
If a field team needs to keep working with no signal, the app has to store data on the phone and sync it safely later. That's real extra scope, so only ask for it if you need it.
Platform-specific features
We build both apps from one shared codebase, so they ship together and stay in step. When an app needs something specific to iPhone or Android, we build that piece natively, and each of those pieces adds work.
Store review and launch
Apple and Google both review apps before they go live. Store listings, screenshots and responding to review feedback are part of the job, and they're part of our range.
What's included in our range
When we quote an app, the range covers:
- A written scope and a fixed quote after a 30-minute call
- A clickable prototype you can test on your phone before any code
- iOS and Android from one codebase, built with React Native and Expo
- The backend the app talks to, built by the same team
- Weekly builds you install and try, so there are no surprises at the end
- Store listings, screenshots and App Store and Google Play review handled for you
- The code, the store accounts and the backend handed over in your name, with documentation
If you also need a website, the same team can build it, so the app, the backend and the site share one set of data. That's scoped separately.
What comes after launch
The build is the big number, but budget for what follows:
- Hosting. The backend runs on servers and a database that you pay for.
- Store accounts. Apple charges an annual developer program fee and Google Play a one-time registration fee. Check their current pricing. The accounts should be in your business's name.
- Updates. New iOS and Android versions, dependency upgrades, and fixes when a connected tool changes.
- Improvements. Once real users are in the app, you'll learn what to add next.
One more thing to check early: if you plan to sell digital content or subscriptions inside the app, Apple's and Google's rules may require their own payment systems, which take a commission. Payments for real-world services, like a class or a grooming appointment, generally work differently. Read the current store rules for your case.
How to keep version one lean
A smaller first version is often the better plan: launch the core, learn from real users, then add.
- Pick the one thing people come back for. Booking, reordering or checking in. Build that well first.
- Consider a web app first. For some projects, a web app or client portal is the first step, and the mobile app follows once the workflow is proven.
- Add integrations when they earn their place. A simple export or a manual step can cover low volumes for a while.
- Skip offline unless you need it. Most customer-facing apps don't.
- Avoid a hard deadline if you can. A fixed date means more people on the work at once, which raises the cost.
From the calculator to a fixed quote
- Get a range now. Open the cost calculator, pick "Mobile app (iOS and Android)", and add the features and integrations you need. It's an estimate, not a quote.
- Get a fixed quote. Book a 30-minute call (Mon–Fri, 9–5 US Eastern). We'll ask who uses the app, what they do in it, and which systems it connects to, then send a written scope and a fixed quote.
We already build for Miami and South Florida businesses, and the work runs on video calls, a shared channel and same-day replies, the same way for every client. See app development in Miami or how we build mobile apps.
FAQ
How long does it take to build an app?
Typically 12–20 weeks from the start of design to the stores, depending on scope.
Who owns the app?
You do: the source code, the App Store and Google Play accounts, and the backend and its data.