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How much does it cost to build an app in India?

The short answer

It depends on what the app has to do. The price is set by the people who use it and their roles, the screens and flows, whether it runs on Android, iOS or the web, what it connects to and the admin behind it. Then come running costs: store accounts, hosting, payment fees and updates. Two apps described in the same words can need very different amounts of work, so compare quotes against one written scope.

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What sets the price

  1. People and roles. An app for one kind of user is smaller than one where customers, staff and an admin each see different screens.
  2. Screens and flows. Every sign-up, booking, checkout or approval is designed, built and tested, including what happens when something fails.
  3. Platforms. Android, iOS, the web, or all three. One shared codebase (React Native or Flutter, for example) covers Android and iOS, but each store still needs its own testing and release.
  4. The backend. Most business apps need a database, an API and an admin panel behind the screens. That is part of the build, not an extra.
  5. Integrations. Payments, maps, SMS or WhatsApp messages, Google sign-in, your accounting or CRM tool. Each one adds work, and some add a running fee.
  6. Design. A ready design system costs less than a fully custom look with custom animation.
  7. Personal data. Apps that hold health, money or children’s data need more security work, and in India the DPDP Act sets rules for consent and personal data. What the DPDP Act asks of an app.

Costs after launch

The build is one cost. These keep running:

  • App Store: the Apple Developer Program costs US$99 a year, charged in local currency where available.
  • Google Play: a one-time US$25 registration fee for the developer account.
  • Payments: gateways charge per transaction. Razorpay’s pricing page, for example, lists 2% per successful domestic payment plus GST on its standard plan, with no setup or annual fee.
  • Hosting, the database, backups and monitoring: a monthly bill that grows with use.
  • Updates: new Android and iOS versions, security fixes and small changes. Someone has to look after the app, in house or on a maintenance retainer.

How to get quotes you can compare

  1. Write down who uses the app and the three or four things each of them must be able to do.
  2. List what it must connect to: payments, messages, maps, the tools your team already uses.
  3. Split it into what must be there at launch and what can wait for a second release.
  4. Ask each company for a written scope that names the screens, roles and integrations it priced, and what it left out.
  5. Ask what looking after the app costs once it is live.

Ways to spend less

  • Launch the smallest version that does the main job well, then add to it.
  • If people will use it only now and then, start with a mobile-friendly website or web app. Website or app: which first?
  • Use one shared codebase for Android and iOS.
  • Use proven services for sign-in, payments and messages instead of building them from scratch.

How we can help.

  • We build apps in full: the data model, the API, the apps and the admin, so one team knows the whole system. Apps and software.
  • Safer Streets, our own civic safety app, is built with Expo and React Native. Read how it works.
  • After launch, a maintenance retainer gives you a named engineer who knows your system. Maintenance retainers.

Questions people ask.

How long does it take to build an app?

It depends on the scope, the same way the price does, so ask for a timeline split into releases. Allow for store review as well: Apple says it typically reviews at least 50% of submissions in under 24 hours and 90% in under 48 hours.

Is it cheaper to build for Android first?

It can be, if most of your users are on Android. With a shared codebase, adding iOS later is less work than building a second app, but it still needs testing on iPhones and an App Store release.

Does Round Robin publish app prices?

No. We price from a written scope. Tell us who the app is for and what it must do, and we reply within one working day with a few useful questions.

Sources.

  1. Apple Developer: Enrollment, paymentChecked 23 October 2026
  2. Google Play Console Help: Register for a Google Play developer accountChecked 23 October 2026
  3. Apple Developer: App ReviewChecked 23 October 2026
  4. Razorpay: PricingChecked 23 October 2026

Other companies change their prices and fees. Check the source before you rely on a figure.

Have a project in mind?

Tell us who it is for and what it must do. We reply within one working day.

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