How Much Does It Cost to Develop an iOS App in 2025?

Do you also wish to build an iOS-only application for your business? You are not alone in this quest! A lot of businesses share your thought process as iOS can help them get ahead of competition.

Recently, Apple showcased a strong foothold in the smartphone market with a 23% market share. What does it mean for your business? You can enhance your online presence by tapping into their vast user base.

Additionally, iOS apps can also elevate your brand’s credibility and add new revenue streams for your business. It can also uplift your app’s security and performance abilities.

But, the big question remains- what would be the cost of building an application? By understanding iOS app development cost, you can align the solution with your budget and tweak your ideas for execution.

It helps you prioritize the features and make informed decisions when selecting the development partner. We will be sharing all these insights with you in this article. So, are you ready to dive deeper into the numbers to make your iOS app development dream come true in 2025?

Estimating iOS App Development Cost

The cost of iOS app development goes from $30,000 to $300,000. It depends on the complexity of the application, features you plan to include and location of the development team.

Here’s a simple formula that is used to estimate the cost of development.

Total development hours for your iOS application depends on the features and app complexity.

The hourly rates depend on the region and developer expertise.

• North America/Western Europe: $80 to $150
• Eastern Europe/Asia: $30 to $70

You must calculate the additional costs for design, backend development, testing, and app store submission.

Let’s do a quick math with an example to see how this formula works.

Let’s say you are planning a medium complexity application from the North America region. 800 hours would be the development time. Let’s add another 200 hours for design, testing and launch.

The hourly rate would be about $100 for the developer.

Cost=1000 hours * $100 per hour= $100,000

This would be an approximate cost. The actual cost would depend on the features, and other factors as well.

This brings us to the factors influencing the overall iOS app development cost.

Factors Influencing the Cost of iOS App Development

Your iOS app development costs depend on several factors. This can include the features you plan to add to the UI/UX design for the application. You can make an informed decision regarding your budget and milestones by identifying these factors.

Take a look at all these factors to ensure they align well with your development goals.

#1. App complexity

How complex your app idea is can drive the development costs for your business. Your simple application with straightforward features like login or notifications will cost around $30,000 to $50,000

When you plan a medium complexity application with features like integrations and custom UI, it costs you $50,000 to $120,000. You need to budget more than $300,000+ for a highly complex application with features like real-time updates and on-demand services.

Your developer time increases as you add features, interactions and screens to the application. By defining the app’s complexity in the early stages you ensure your app’s vision is within the budget.

#2. App Features

Ever thought how a single cool feature can increase the budget of your application? Features are the heart of your mobile application. But, every feature you decide to use comes with a price tag.

You can add basic features like user authentication without spending a lot of money. As the features advance, your costs will increase. You need expertise and infrastructure to produce features like AI integration and real-time conversations, which are expensive.

As you begin filling your application with complex and custom features, you increase the development timeline and cost.

Let’s look at how much some of the features cost.

#3. Industry-specific cost

You must adhere to the regulations and guidelines laid out by the specific industries while planning the application. Your app development cost can depend on these specifications, regulations and industry requirements.

You need to follow the regulations like PCI-DSS while planning eCommerce applications to keep the user’s data secure. At the same time, you must integrate shipping, payments and catalogsin case of this industry.

Similarly, in healthcare, you need to integrate EHR and comply with HIPAA regulations, which can increase the cost.

Each industry demands different features, integrations and complexity. Here is a detailed breakdown of iOS app development cost influenced by the industry.

#4. UI/UX Design

You can leave a lasting impression on your users when you have an intuitive UI/UX design. The interface design can make or break your user’s experience. Your screens, icons and navigation must be fluid so that they appear functional and appealing.

You can use a template-based design that costs $5,000 to $10,000. You can also go with a custom design that includes animations and micro-interactions. This will cost you anywhere between $20,000 and $50,000.

Here is a cost break-down for UI/UX design

#5. Security and Compliance

Security and compliance are inherent and necessary for iOS app development. Your app must adhere to the industry-specific regulations, such as GDPR, HIPAA or PCI-DSS. These regulations can impact the cost of development.

The basic security measures like data encryption and secure authentication can cost you about $5,000 to $10,00. Compliance with regulations in complex industries like healthcare or fintech where user data protection is involved, the costs can go from $20,000 to $50,000+.

A secure and fully compliant application indicates zero risks and complete credibility. You may damage your reputation if you neglect the compliances.

#6. Development Team Location

The location of your development team plays a pivotal role in defining the iOS app development cost. The cost per hour for developers is about $80 to $150 in Europe and North America as the cost of living is higher there.

The hourly rates are relatively low in Eastern Europe and Asia owing to lower living costs. Along with hourly rates, you must also consider the experience of the developer, their communication and time zone advantages while selecting the location.

Here is a region wise hourly rate breakdown for your reference.

#7. Experience Level

The developer’s experience impacts the iOS app development cost and quality. Hiring junior developers can lower the development rates. They charge about $20 to $50 per hour. However, they will take a longer while to complete the projects.

Developers with about 3-5 years of experience are affordable at $50 to $100 per hour. They can be expected to finish the moderately advanced application within the timeline. However, if you are planning an advanced application, you need a high-end senior developer who will charge $100 to $150 per hour.

You will notice that a highly experienced developer can offer better and more competent solutions in less time.

Read more: How Much Does It Cost to Hire iOS App Developer?

#8. App Launch- uploading to the store and optimization

You need to upload it to the store to ensure your iOS application reaches the customers. There are costs involved in this process. You need to pay for optimizing the application so that people can discover the app on the store. This involves writing the description, adding screenshots and providing keyword optimization.

There is the app store submission fee, which is a yearly cost for the business. Lastly, you may need to pay for continuous app store maintenance and optimization as well.

#9. Maintenance and Support

You need a developer partner even after you have launched the application. Their continuous monitoring, regular maintenance and ongoing support will ensure your app is relevant on the store.

They will perform routine checks, bug fixes, performance optimization and relevant updates. Your partner will also proceed with feature enhancements to get more users for the application.

Typically, maintenance costs you about 15-20% of the total app development budget.

Here’s a breakup of all the things that will add up and become the maintenance and support cost.

#10. Marketing

You need your users to know about the app. That’s why marketing is pivotal in iOS app development, and you need to estimate the budget for it as well.

You need to incorporate all strategies ranging from social media campaigns to app store optimization. These costs will come under the marketing head.

Here’s a detailed breakdown of the marketing cost for your reference.

Detailed Cost-breakdown for iOS App Development

Costs are involved in every phase of development. Whether you are planning or hiring, you need to budget your entire development project. We will look at the phase-wise development cost along with costs for different team sizes.

→ Phase-wise Cost Breakdown for iOS App Development

You must plan the budget for every phase involved in iOS app development. This way you will be able to allocate the resources properly, ensure proper infrastructure and conclude the project on time.

The process of iOS app development begins with planning and research. Once you have planned the application well, it is easier to design the prototypes, craft the UI and UX design and finally code the solution.

There is the need to test the application before deploying the app. Continuous support and maintenance is equally important for ensuring a bug-free application.

→ Cost Breakdown by Team Size

The size of your team and total members will also impact the cost of iOS app development. A smaller team would comprise fewer experts and are considered budget-friendly. However, they may take a longer while to complete the application.

A larger team comprises more experts and ensures accelerated launches. The development may cost you more but you will get an intelligent team that has the necessary experience.

Hidden Costs to Consider

It is important to consider the hidden costs when planning your iOS app development budget.

#1. Third-Party Integrations

Third-party integrations can elevate the app’s functionality. By integrating APIs like payment gateways or analytics you can introduce new functionality.

Every integration can increase your budget depending on the licensing and development expenses.

#2. Server Hosting and Storage

You might need to choose the hosting and storage options depending on the data volume and functionality you need. AWS, Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure like services typically cost you about $500 to $5000 per month. Your costs will increase depending on the security requirements, app performance and data availability.

#3. Legal and Compliance Costs

Your apps must adhere to the legal and industry-specific compliances like GDPR, HIPAA and PCI-DSS. There are costs involved in audits, encryption and policy adherence. Industries like healthcare and finance face strict compliances as compared to others.

Top Ways to Reduce Cost Estimates Effectively

You may want to reduce the iOS app development cost without sacrificing the quality. It is possible if you plan strategically and optimize the resources effectively. Here are some ways you can reduce the costs effectively.

1. Outline the features, define the user journeys and set the expectations with clear requirements. This would help you tighten the scope and ensure you are aware of the vision. It also helps the development team plan their experts and resource allocation wisely.
2. Begin your development by investing in an MVP. This would be a basic version of the application with the core functionalities. You can use it to validate the idea and get some user feedback to dive in further.
3. Prioritize the features you wish to develop so that you can avoid expensive enhancements. It can also help you choose the right features while prioritize the further updates for a later time.
4. Test the application early and catch potential bugs early in the development. It would reduce expensive fixes you may need to go with post the launch.
5. Negotiate your contracts with the developers and agencies for your terms. You may even bundle the services to ensure you are well within your budget.

Conclusion

In the current competitive scenario building an application for iOS is indeed a smart move. You just need to manage the costs effectively to turn your idea into a successful project.

This can happen with the right kind of planning and the complete understanding of cost factors. You can use this information to plan your resource allocation and stay within the budget. Every phase is important from cost and resource perspective. A thorough budgeting can ensure smooth sail throughout app development.

If you want to ensure precise cost estimates, fully validated idea and the right team to work with, choose Best Remote Team. We can help you select the perfect team with the right members to drive your vision to success.

Connect with us today and take the first step towards to hire iOS app developers.

Jatin Savaliya

Content Marketing Specialist

I'm working with Best Remote Team, an India-based company that provides dedicated remote developers hourly and monthly. I specialize in creating high-quality content that helps businesses achieve their goals through effective content creation.