Cost guide — app development
Building an app typically costs between $15,000 and $150,000+, depending on complexity. A simple app on one platform runs roughly $15k–$50k; a mid-complexity app with a custom backend, integrations, and payments runs $50k–$150k; a complex, multi-platform product with real-time features or compliance can pass $150k. But those figures assume the old way of building. AI has collapsed the cost of turning an idea into working software: Godelian scopes your idea to a functional MVP — the smallest version real users can actually use — and ships it in weeks for $15–30k, instead of a year and $100k+ spent before you learn anything.
Get a fixed scope & price →| Tier | What it includes | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|
| Simple app | One platform, core features, standard auth and backend. | $15k–$50k |
| Mid-complexity app | Custom features, third-party integrations, payments, an admin layer. | $50k–$150k |
| Complex platform | Multi-platform, real-time, heavy scale, or regulatory compliance. | $150k–$400k+ |
| Godelian scoped MVPGodelian | The smallest version that proves your core idea with real, paying users — shipped in weeks. | $15k–$30k |
Ranges are industry ballparks for planning, not quotes. The only number that matters is the one scoped to your build — get that here.
The old way
$100k+
and 12+ months to a first version — spent before you knew whether anyone wanted it.
Now, with AI
$15–30k
in weeks. AI collapsed the cost of turning an idea into working software — and opened a 1–2 years window to win the market.
Every feature is cost. The single largest decision is what you refuse to build for version one. A tightly scoped MVP that proves the core loop costs a fraction of a 'complete' product — and teaches you far more.
One responsive web app is cheapest. Native iOS and Android roughly doubles the surface area. Most first versions should ship on the web (or one platform) and expand only once there's traction.
Stripe, e-signature, email, mapping, and third-party APIs each add real work — auth, error handling, edge cases. A handful is normal; a dozen is a budget.
Multi-user apps with role-based access, audit trails, or HIPAA/GDPR requirements cost more because security has to be built at the data layer, not bolted on.
An offshore team is cheap per hour and expensive per outcome. A founder-operator who scopes ruthlessly and ships with modern AI tooling costs less in total because you don't pay for rework, translation, or the wrong build.
Most app quotes are wrong in the same direction: they price a finished product before anyone has proven users want it. That's how founders end up spending $100k and twelve months to learn something a $20k MVP would have told them in six weeks.
The right question isn't 'what does my app cost' — it's 'what's the smallest version that proves the core idea, and what does that cost?' Almost always the answer is a scoped MVP: one platform, the core loop, real users, real payment. Godelian builds exactly that on Next.js, TypeScript, and Supabase, then extends what the usage data says is worth extending.
AI is the reason the number has moved. Building software is meaningfully faster than it was even two years ago, which is why a real first version now lands at $15–30k for most founders — and why the window to strike while an idea is hot is open right now.
Working out the exact scope for a mvp development build? That page goes deeper on how it's done.
What clients say
“Andrew is in a different league. What started as a product concept turned into a masterclass in how technical projects and startups should run. Response time was instant, updates were proactive, and the final deployment was flawless.”
how much does it cost to build an app — questions
Sometimes — a very narrow, single-purpose app or a clickable prototype can come in under $10k. But most useful apps with a real backend, accounts, and payments start around $15k. Rather than stripping features to hit a low number, scope to the one thing your app must prove and build that properly; a $15–30k MVP that real users adopt is worth far more than a $10k app nobody uses.
Building from scratch (a custom codebase rather than a no-code tool) typically starts at $15k for a scoped MVP and rises with complexity. Godelian builds custom from the start so you own the code and it can scale — but scopes it to a provable first version so 'from scratch' doesn't mean 'six figures'.
A scoped MVP usually ships in a few weeks. A mid-complexity app is a few months; a large platform, longer. Godelian ships running software every week so you see progress and can course-correct on real feedback rather than waiting for a big-bang launch.
Usually because of over-scope — building for every future feature before proving the core one — plus rework from unclear requirements and teams that don't own the outcome. Tight scoping and a single accountable builder using modern AI tooling remove most of that cost.
More cost guides
Currently taking on new builds
Get your number.Tell me what you want to build and I'll come back with a scoped first version and a fixed price — usually $15–30k, in weeks.