How much does a mobile app cost in Kosovo and Albania?

Plenty of businesses in Kosovo and Albania ask us the same thing: how much does it cost to build a mobile app? As with websites, the honest answer is that it depends. A simple ordering app and a platform with payments, maps and an admin panel are completely different projects. Here is what drives the price, so you can plan a budget and make sense of the offers you receive.

What drives the cost

The cost of an app follows the amount of work it takes. These are the main factors:

• Platforms: Android only, iOS only, or both? Modern technology lets a single codebase run on both, but testing and publishing are still done twice.
• Features: user sign-up and login, online payments, push notifications, maps and location, offline use, chat, camera access. Each one adds days or weeks of work.
• Admin panel: almost every app needs a back office where you manage users, orders or content. It is often left out of the budget.
• Design: custom screens, animations and testing with real users take time.
• Integrations: connecting to systems you already use, such as accounting, your point of sale, banks or delivery services.
• Server and database: the app on the phone is only one part; behind it sits a system that stores and processes the data.

MVP or full product

An MVP, or minimum viable product, is the simplest version of your app that solves a real problem for your customers. Instead of building every feature you have in mind, you start with the core, put it in front of real users and learn from them. That lowers the initial cost and, more importantly, the risk of investing in features nobody uses. The full product comes later, built on what you have learned.

Costs after launch

An app isn't finished the day it appears in the app stores. Plan from the start for:

• Developer accounts with Apple and Google, which carry their own fees.
• Hosting for the server and database, billed monthly.
• Updates: operating systems change every year, and the app has to keep up to keep working.
• Maintenance and new features, based on what your users ask for.
• Marketing: a good app doesn't download itself.

When you don't need a mobile app

Not every business needs an app. Ask yourself: will customers open my app every week, or once a year? If it's the latter, a good mobile-friendly website or a web app, which opens in the browser without a download and works on any device, is often enough. It costs less, is easier to update and doesn't depend on app store rules. A mobile app earns its place when you need push notifications, access to the camera or location, offline use, or when customers use your service often.

The first question isn't what the app costs, but what problem it solves and how often a customer will open it.

A price to orient yourself

As a point of reference, custom apps at Hap Web-in start from €5,000 and take 8–16 weeks, depending on features and platforms. The final offer comes after we have gone through your requirements together. Quite often, the first conversation ends with a simpler and cheaper solution than the client had in mind, and that is perfectly fine.

Before you ask for a quote

You don't need a technical document, just clear answers to a few questions:

• What is the main problem the app solves for your customers?
• Which features do you need in the first version, and which can wait?
• Android, iOS or both?
• Do you already have systems the app needs to connect to?
• Who will manage content and users after launch?