Complexity tiers
The main driver is complexity. That is not only how many features you want. It is how involved each feature is, what the technology has to do, and how hard those pieces are to build.
Simple
A simple app is built around one job: a to-do list or a weather view are the usual illustrations. The interface is straightforward. The backend is light, and third-party APIs can cover some of the work. These apps take less time, so they cost less. They suit an organisation taking a first step onto mobile.
Moderate
A moderate app adds accounts, social or ecommerce features, and more of its own design. The backend usually needs custom server logic and a real database. Cost sits above a simple app because there is more to specify, build and test.
Complex
A complex app adds harder work: chat, image recognition or natural language features, several levels of user access, real-time data, and involved server-side logic. Cost sits at the top of the range because the build needs more expertise and more time.
What else moves the cost
The team
CoSource is Australian-led, with senior international developers. We do not publish hourly rates on this page.
Backend
A serious backend (databases, server-side logic, APIs) adds a distinct piece of work. It is often a large share of the build when the app has to talk to systems you already run.
Design
Custom screens and motion add time. How far you take design is a budget choice, not a default.
Maintenance
The first build is not the last cost. Updates, hosting and upkeep continue after launch. Typical industry planning treats annual maintenance as about 15-20% of the first build. That is a typical planning figure, not a CoSource price.
Systems you already have
If you already run a web backend (a booking site, an internal app, an API), reuse can cut the mobile work. The app can sit on logic and data that already exist, instead of rebuilding them.
Effort Tracking is a published example of a process that became a web app rather than starting as a mobile product: a Google Spreadsheets process moved to a Vue and ASP.NET Core application. A later mobile client, if you needed one, would be a smaller job if that backend were already in place.
Effort Tracking case studyCompliance and security
Meeting data-protection rules and any industry requirements adds cost. Protecting user data is often a legal requirement, not an optional extra.
Related
Custom software is the service page for this kind of work, including web and mobile.
Custom software