Most enquiries we receive open with the same sentence: "We want a mobile app built — what will it cost?" The only honest answer explains what drives the cost. Below are the ranges we have derived from our own projects, and the factors that move them.
Budget ranges by project type
The table shows typical ranges in the Turkish market for 2026. Figures are one-off development cost; store accounts, servers and maintenance are not included.
| Project type | Typical cost | Typical timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Single-flow MVP (no accounts) | ₺150,000 – 350,000 | 4-6 weeks |
| MVP with accounts (login, profile, data) | ₺350,000 – 600,000 | 6-10 weeks |
| Multi-user app (roles, dashboard) | ₺600,000 – 1,000,000 | 10-16 weeks |
| App with payments + external integrations | ₺1,000,000 – 1,500,000 | 16-24 weeks |
| Enterprise-scale platform | ₺1,500,000 + | 24 weeks + |
These ranges assume Flutter development shipping iOS and Android from one codebase. Building iOS and Android natively with separate teams multiplies cost by roughly 1.7-2×.
The 8 factors that drive cost
- Number of integrations. Every external system the app connects to — payments, ERP, shipping, SMS, maps — is a separate development and testing item. This is the single biggest cost driver.
- Number of user roles. An app with one user type versus one with admin/vendor/customer roles can differ by 2×; each role brings its own screens and permission rules.
- Backend requirements. There are weeks of difference between something Supabase or Firebase can handle and something needing a custom .NET API.
- Offline operation. If the app must work without connectivity, data synchronisation is a separate engineering problem that adds 20-40% to the timeline.
- Real-time features. Instant messaging, live location or multiplayer synchronisation require dedicated infrastructure solutions.
- Design scope. Using an existing design system versus custom design from scratch is a 2-4 week difference.
- Number of platforms. iOS only, iOS + Android, or web too? Flutter narrows this gap but does not eliminate it; each platform carries its own testing and release burden.
- Content and data readiness. If product data, copy and imagery are not ready, the project takes longer. This item is routinely underestimated.
Realistic ways to reduce cost
The only approach that reliably reduces cost is reducing scope. These work in practice:
- Reduce the MVP to a single verifiable flow. DrapeAI's virtual try-on app shipped this way in 4 weeks: upload a photo, pick a garment, see the result. Everything else waited for later releases.
- Do not add an account system if it is not genuinely needed. Decidio has no signup step, which cut both development time and user friction.
- Use managed infrastructure. Supabase or Firebase removes backend setup as a separate line item at MVP stage.
- Choose a single codebase. Flutter ships iOS and Android at once, removing separate-team cost and cross-platform behavioural drift.
- Defer scalability — but not the data model. The data model and authorization structure are the two most expensive decisions to change later.
Costs beyond development
| Item | Typical amount | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Apple Developer Program | $99 | Annual |
| Google Play Developer | $25 | One-off |
| Servers / infrastructure | Usage-based | Monthly |
| Maintenance and support | 15-20% of development cost | Annual |
The relationship between timeline and cost
A common misconception is that adding people shortens the timeline. In practice, past a certain point, growing a mobile team lengthens delivery because of coordination overhead. The only reliable way to compress a timeline is to narrow scope. Our 4-6 week MVP figure comes not from team size but from writing down, in the first meeting, everything that stays out of the MVP.