How much does it cost to have an app built?
Short answer: with us, an app for iPhone and Android costs from €10,000, excluding VAT. Here you'll read what apps cost in the Netherlands, what drives the price and what comes on top. The calculator gives you an estimate for your project straight away.
Updated on 6 November 2026
Our prices
- App for iPhone and Android
- From €10,000
- Web app
- From €7,500
- Website
- From €2,500
- App design
- From €1,500
- Maintenance
- From €150 a month
All prices exclude VAT.
Work out an estimate
A first estimate of what your project costs, based on our prices.
All amounts at a glance
The calculator adds up these amounts. All amounts exclude VAT.
| Item | Estimate |
|---|---|
| Starting price: up to 8 screens | €10,000 – €12,000 |
| 9 to 15 screens | + €3,000 – €4,500 |
| 16 to 25 screens | + €7,000 – €9,500 |
| Sign-in and accounts | + €1,500 – €2,000 |
| Payments | + €3,000 – €4,500 |
| Admin panel | + €3,000 – €4,500 |
| Messages | + €3,000 – €4,500 |
| Photo and video uploads | + €2,000 – €3,000 |
| Advanced search and filters | + €1,500 – €2,500 |
| Push notifications | + €1,000 – €1,500 |
| A connection to another service | + €1,500 – €3,000 |
| An extra language | + €1,000 – €1,500 |
| Item | Estimate |
|---|---|
| Starting price: up to 8 screens | €7,500 – €9,000 |
| 9 to 15 screens | + €3,000 – €4,500 |
| 16 to 25 screens | + €7,000 – €9,500 |
| Sign-in and accounts | + €1,500 – €2,000 |
| Payments | + €3,000 – €4,500 |
| Admin panel | + €3,000 – €4,500 |
| Messages | + €3,000 – €4,500 |
| Photo and video uploads | + €2,000 – €3,000 |
| Advanced search and filters | + €1,500 – €2,500 |
| A connection to another service | + €1,500 – €3,000 |
| An extra language | + €1,000 – €1,500 |
| Item | Estimate |
|---|---|
| Starting price: up to 5 pages | €2,500 – €3,500 |
| 6 to 15 pages | + €1,500 – €2,250 |
| 16 to 30 pages | + €3,500 – €5,000 |
| A connection to another service | + €500 – €1,000 |
| An extra language | + €750 – €1,000 |
| Edit texts yourself | + €1,000 – €1,500 |
What's included, and what isn't
Always included
- The design of every screen, before we start building.
- One app for iPhone and Android.
- Forms, showing photos and videos, and simple search.
- A demo and a test version on your own phone every week.
- Publishing to the App Store and Google Play, on your own accounts or for free on Swivra's.
- The copyright in the code, after the final invoice.
What you pay separately
You pay these costs directly to the provider, with no markup from us.
- Apple: 99 dollars a year for your own developer account. On Swivra's account you don't pay that.
- Google Play: a one-off 25 dollars for your own account. That falls away on Swivra's account too. It works if your app takes no payments and handles no health or financial data.
- Hosting and database, for example with Firebase. Up to 1 GB of data and 50,000 reads a day is free. Above that you pay for what you use.
- Payment fees, if your app takes payments. With Stripe that is €0.29 per iDEAL payment, or 1.5% plus €0.25 per European card payment.
- Do you sell digital extras or subscriptions in your app? Then Apple and Google keep a share, usually 15% for small developers.
- Your domain name, with your own provider.
After launch
- Maintenance from €150 a month, cancel any month. It keeps your app working with new versions of iOS and Android.
- New features, as a separate job with a fixed price.
What an app costs in the Netherlands
There is no fixed price list for apps. A simple app costs a few thousand euros, a large platform a few hundred thousand. Nearly all of the difference is in the hours: how much has to be designed, built and tested, and what an hour costs.
A few reference points from public sources:
- A self-employed software developer in the Netherlands charges €94 an hour on average, excluding VAT. That's from Knab's Zzp Uurtarievenboekje 2026, a survey of more than 20,000 freelancers.
- Searchlab, a marketing agency in Amsterdam, wrote in March 2026 that a simple app costs €5,000 to €25,000, an average app €25,000 to €75,000 and a complex app €75,000 to €150,000.
- According to the same source, an app from a freelancer usually costs €5,000 to €75,000, and from a large agency €25,000 to €250,000 or more.
Prices that agencies publish themselves are also advertising. Use them as a rough guide. Always compare quotes on the same list of features.
Why do you also see apps for €10 a month?
Search for having an app built and you’ll also find subscriptions for a few tens of euros a month. These are usually app builders: one base app that every customer gets, with their own logo and colours and a choice of fixed building blocks, such as news, a calendar, contact and push messages.
For a simple information app, that can be fine. Do you run a hair salon, a gym or a club, and mostly want to share news, opening hours and notifications? Then a subscription like that costs less than what we build, and we’re happy to recommend it.
Custom software is something else. The difference comes down to three things:
- Your own idea An app builder can do what its fixed building blocks can do. If your app has its own way of working, such as booking, matching, calculating or its own steps, you need custom software.
- Your own data Accounts with each user’s own data, payments in the app or a link with your own systems: with an app builder that’s often not possible, or only up to a point.
- Your own app With a subscription you rent the app. Stop paying and your app usually stops too. With us you get the copyright and the code, and you can carry on with whoever you like.
Not sure what suits you? Tell us what your app needs to do. If an app builder fits better, we’ll tell you honestly.
What drives the price
The same things count for every app. The more your app has to do, the more hours the work takes.
-
Number of screens
Every screen is designed, built and tested. An app with eight screens is done sooner than one with thirty.
-
Sign-in and accounts
Do users create an account? Then you need extra screens and a backend, and their data has to be stored safely.
-
Payments
A one-off payment with iDEAL is simpler than subscriptions, or than paying money out to others, as on a platform with providers.
-
An admin panel
A place where you manage users, orders or content. It is really a second product next to your app.
-
Integrations
Connecting to your accounting, CRM or calendar takes extra time, especially when the other service is poorly documented.
-
iPhone and Android
Two separate apps cost almost twice as much. We build with React Native: one app that runs on both. We do test and publish on both.
-
Design
A good design prevents costly changes during the build. With us, the design of every screen is included in the price.
-
More languages
Every language means more text to write, translate and check.
What Swivra charges
These are our starting prices. After a free intro call you get a quote with one fixed price for your project.
-
Apps for iPhone and Android
We design every screen first, then build one app for iPhone and Android. Publishing to the App Store and Google Play included.
-
Web apps and SaaS
Client portals, dashboards, internal tools and SaaS products. With sign-in, payments and a backend of their own.
-
MVPs for startups
The first version of your product: small enough to launch fast and learn from real users.
-
Websites
Fast websites, built in code. No WordPress, no plugins, and easy to find in Google.
See it first, then decide.
You don't have to build a complete app straight away. Start with a design, and pay for the build per demo.
More about an app design Tap through an example Ask for an app design-
App design
Your app's main screens, clickable on your own phone. So you know exactly what you'll get before you decide. If you don't like the design after two rounds of changes, you get your money back. Test it with users or show it to investors. If we build the app within six months, we deduct the design from the price.
-
Pay per demo
Apps, web apps and MVPs are paid per demo: after the demo of each part, you pay for that part. So you only pay for what you've seen. You may stop after any demo, and you take the code with you.
All prices exclude VAT.
How to keep it affordable
A smaller start is often smarter. You learn sooner what your users really need.
-
Start with an app design
From €1,500 you see the main screens, clickable on your own phone. You spot what isn't right before the build costs money, and you can test your idea with users. If you don't like the design after two rounds of changes, you get your money back. If we build the app within six months, we deduct the design from the price.
-
Build an MVP first
Only what is needed to deliver your main promise. Build the rest once users ask for it.
-
Choose a web app if that is enough
Don't need to be in the App Store? A web app works on every phone and starts at €7,500.
-
Save extras for later
An admin panel, messages or an extra language can often wait for a second version. That way you launch sooner.
Apps, web apps and MVPs are paid per demo: after each demo, the part you've seen. That doesn't make it cheaper, but it is easier to pay. And you may stop after any demo.
Read about having an MVP builtQuestions about the price of an app
Question not listed? Email info@swivra.nl
Is the calculator result a quote?
No. The calculator gives an estimate based on our prices. After a free half-hour intro call you get a quote with a fixed price within a week.
Why do you work with a fixed price?
So you know up front what you'll pay, even if the build takes longer than planned. You only pay more if you want to add or change something yourself, and only after you've agreed to it.
Why does an app cost more than a web app?
An app has to work on many different phones, pass review by Apple and Google, and be updated through the stores. That takes extra time for testing and publishing. A web app runs in the browser and goes online in one go.
Is a freelancer cheaper than an agency?
Usually, because a freelancer has less overhead: no office, account managers or project leads. Swivra is a small studio. You work directly with the developer who builds your app, and developers from our network join on bigger projects. A large agency can put more people on your project at once, but there you also pay for everything around them.
Can I have an app built for €5,000?
Not a complete app for iPhone and Android, with us. That starts at €10,000. For less, you can start with an app design, from €1,500, or a website, from €2,500. You can also build a simple app yourself with no-code tools, but then you're tied to what that tool can do.
What does an app cost per year after launch?
Maintenance costs from €150 a month, so from €1,800 a year. Your own Apple account costs 99 dollars a year, and you pay for hosting as you use it. With few users, hosting often stays within the free limits. Maintenance isn't required, but without updates an app can start to falter after a few new versions of iOS and Android.
How long until my app is in the stores?
Usually 6 to 12 weeks. Apple usually takes a few days for its review. For a new personal developer account, Google asks for at least 12 testers to test your app for 14 days first. That rule doesn't apply on Swivra's business account.
Sources
All sources checked on 6 November 2026.
- Knab: what does a freelance software developer earn? Zzp Uurtarievenboekje 2026, updated on 1 July 2026, in Dutch
- Searchlab: what does it cost to have an app built? 17 March 2026, in Dutch
- Apple: Apple Developer Program membership
- Apple: App Store Small Business Program
- Google Play: register a developer account
- Google Play: testing requirements for new personal accounts
- Google Play: service fees
- Firebase: pricing
- Stripe: pricing in the Netherlands In Dutch
Know what you want built?
Start with an app design from €1,500, or request a quote straight away. You'll hear from us within 1 working day.