# How Much Does It Cost to Build an App? — Moon Shard

A realistic breakdown of what drives app development costs in 2026.

## What Drives the Cost
- **Feature scope** — More screens, features, and states = more cost
- **Visual quality** — Basic UI vs premium branded experience
- **Backend infrastructure** — Local-only vs cloud sync, auth, payments
- **Timeline** — Rush timelines cost more

## Investment Tiers
- **£10-25K** — Focused MVP, 5-10 screens, 6-8 weeks
- **£25-50K** — Full product, 15-30 screens, custom design system, 10-16 weeks
- **£50-100K** — Complex platform, multi-user, real-time features, 16-24 weeks
- **£100K+** — Enterprise scale, 6+ months with phased delivery

## Ongoing Costs
- Apple Developer Programme: £79/year (individual)
- Server & infrastructure: £50-500+/month
- Maintenance: 10-15% of build cost annually
- Marketing & growth

## Get an estimate
hello@moonshard.co · https://moonshard.co