A few years ago, building a mobile app easily cost $50,000 and up.
With artificial intelligence, it's getting easier and easier to build a mobile app from scratch. For developers, AI makes them far more productive and lets them do more with less.
A feature that used to take 9 hours to code can now take 3.
AI changed the game
When we built Quietnest a few years ago, AI wasn't there yet. Every feature took much more time and effort.
That era is over.
The upside is that now, for 5 to 10 times less money, you can end up with a custom mobile app.
How much does it cost in 2026?
At Oriana Solutions, we always start with an analysis phase to understand exactly what the client wants to build.
For a simple app, we're generally talking $5,000 to $10,000.
As soon as you add authentication, payments, or more advanced features, you're more in the $15,000 to $25,000 range.
And finally, for complex apps, it's $25,000 and up!
In short, it all depends on the features and the type of app.
A great time to get started
One thing is certain: this is a great time to build mobile apps, because the barrier to entry is nearly nonexistent.
But the real challenge stays the same
But the challenge stays the same: it's great to have a functional mobile app, but how are you going to distribute it and market it?
Why would people download your app?
Does your app solve a real problem?
Did you build it while getting feedback from your users?
That's where the real work begins. And often, that's where it makes or breaks.
The lesson we learned with Quietnest
So before you launch, ask yourself: will people actually use it… or delete it after two days?
Honestly, that's one of the reasons we stopped developing Quietnest. We had a lot of downloads, but retention wasn't great, and most of all, we'd underestimated the effort and money needed to get the word out.
Building an app is easy today. Keeping it alive is a whole other story.
