India Mobile Rate Guide
Mobile App Development Cost in India
Mobile app pricing in India, in rupees and dollars.
The same app that costs ₹25 lakh in Delhi is quoted at $90,000 in London. Here is the comparison, and what actually differs.
Quick Answer
Updated August 22, 2026
How much does mobile app development cost in India?
Mobile app development in India costs ₹17–58 lakh ($20,000–$70,000) through an agency in 2026, covering iOS and Android from a single cross-platform codebase. A simple app with authentication and a REST backend is ₹17–25 lakh; a complex on-demand product with two apps, live tracking, and payments is ₹40–58 lakh. Equivalent work quoted in the US or UK typically runs $80,000–$250,000, which is why offshore mobile development remains one of the largest categories of Indian software export.
Typical range
₹17 – 58 lakh
In USD
$20,000 – $70,000
Annual maintenance
15 – 20% of build cost
Best for
- Founders and companies building for both iOS and Android on one budget
- Businesses with an existing backend needing a mobile client
- Teams comfortable working with a defined-overlap remote partner
Not best for
- Games and heavy AR, where specialist studios are a better fit
- Products with no budget for post-launch maintenance
- Buyers choosing purely on the lowest quote
Price Bands
What mobile app development in India costs, by scope
Bands rather than a single figure, because a single figure without the assumptions behind it is a sales number rather than an estimate.
| Tier | Scope | INR | USD | Timeline | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simple appContent, utility, and single-purpose apps | Auth, 8–12 screens, REST backend, push notifications | ₹17,00,000 – ₹25,00,000 | $20,000 – $30,000 | 10 – 12 weeks | 2 engineers |
| Standard appCommerce and service apps with real transactions | Payments, profiles, chat or notifications, admin panel, analytics | ₹25,00,000 – ₹40,00,000 | $30,000 – $48,000 | 14 – 18 weeks | 2 – 3 engineers |
| Complex appOn-demand, logistics, and marketplace products | Two apps, live tracking, real-time dispatch, payments, back office | ₹40,00,000 – ₹58,00,000 | $48,000 – $70,000 | 18 – 22 weeks | 3 – 4 engineers |
Figures are indicative ranges for delivery by an Indian agency at senior rates, current as of August 2026. INR and USD are shown at an approximate 83:1 rate and are not a quotation.
Cost Breakdown
Where the budget actually goes
| Phase | Share | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Design and UX | 15 – 20% | Screens and platform conventions for both stores. |
| App engineering | 35 – 40% | Navigation, state, device capabilities, and offline behaviour. |
| Backend and APIs | 25 – 30% | The API, admin surfaces, and third-party integrations. |
| QA and device testing | 10 – 15% | Real devices, including low-end Android hardware common in India. |
| Release and submission | 5% | Signing, store listings, review responses, and phased rollout. |
Cost Drivers
What changes the price, and by how much
If two quotes for mobile app development in India differ wildly, the cause is almost always one of these being assumed in or out.
Agency tier
A boutique senior team, a large services firm, and a freelance group will quote the same brief very differently.
City
Bangalore and Delhi NCR price slightly higher; remote work has flattened this.
Second user app
A driver or vendor app is close to a second product on a shared backend.
Live location tracking
Background location, battery behaviour, and map costs.
Payments and compliance
Gateway integration in India brings its own KYC and settlement handling.
Scope Of A Quote
What is in our price, and what is not
Included
- Discovery, scope definition, and a written delivery plan
- UI design or implementation of your existing design system
- Engineering, code review, and automated tests
- Deployment, environment setup, and CI/CD
- Documentation and a handover your next engineer can actually use
- Post-launch stabilisation for the first two weeks
- Play Store and App Store submission
Not included
- Third-party service subscriptions billed directly to you
- Cloud hosting and infrastructure costs after launch
- Paid marketing, content production, and app store fees
- Ongoing maintenance beyond the stabilisation window
- Hardware, devices, and physical logistics
- Apple Developer (₹8,300/year) and Google Play (₹2,000 one-off) fees
After Launch
What it costs to keep running
The line most quotes leave out, and the one that decides whether the product is still alive in two years.
| Item | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Backend and hosting | ₹8,000 – ₹50,000 / month | Scales with active users rather than time. |
| Third-party services | ₹4,000 – ₹25,000 / month | Maps, push, SMS, and analytics. |
| Annual maintenance | 15 – 20% of build cost | OS releases and SDK deprecations force work every year regardless of plans. |
Regional Comparison
The same work, priced by region
| Region | Hourly rate | What you are paying for |
|---|---|---|
| India | $22 – $45 | Deepest supply of senior product engineers at this rate. Quality range is wide, so vetting matters more than the number. |
| Eastern Europe | $45 – $80 | Strong engineering culture and convenient European overlap. Roughly double India for comparable seniority. |
| Latin America | $50 – $90 | Popular with US companies for same-day timezone overlap rather than for cost. |
| United States / Western Europe | $110 – $200 | Same-timezone collaboration and local contracting law. Four to five times the Indian rate for the same seniority. |
How We Quote
From a brief to a number you can plan against
Step 1
You send a written scope
A feature list, an existing product, or a problem statement. Anything we can read and ask questions about.
Step 2
We ask the questions that move the number
Roles, integrations, compliance, and volume. These change a quote far more than the interface does.
Step 3
You get a banded estimate, not a single figure
A range with the assumptions written next to it, so you can see which assumption to challenge.
Step 4
We recommend the lightest shape that works
Fixed-scope, phased, or a dedicated pod. We say when a smaller engagement would serve you better.
Prefer to work it out yourself first? The project cost estimator gives you a band in a couple of minutes, and the MVP scope planner helps you work out what to cut before you ask anyone for a quote.
Quick Brief
Start the conversation here
Send the scope or the problem. We will come back with a banded estimate and the assumptions behind it.
Your Name
Work Email
What do you need help with?
Proof
Comparable products we have shipped
FAQ
Pricing questions we get asked most
How much does it cost to make an app in India?
₹17–58 lakh ($20,000–$70,000) through an agency, covering both iOS and Android from one codebase. Simple apps start around ₹17 lakh; complex on-demand platforms with two apps reach ₹58 lakh.
Why are Indian app development quotes so varied?
Because "agency" covers everything from two seniors to a hundred juniors, and because quotes assume different scope. Ask for a written feature list, ask who specifically will build it, and ask what happens when they leave.
Can I get an app built for ₹2 lakh?
You can get something built. Whether it survives real users, passes store review, and can be maintained is a different question, and in our experience the rebuild costs more than doing it once properly would have.
What is the app maintenance cost in India?
15–20% of the build cost annually, so ₹3–8 lakh a year on a ₹25 lakh app. This covers OS compatibility, SDK updates, store policy changes, and bug fixes — not new features.
How long does app development take in India?
Ten to twenty-two weeks depending on complexity, the same as anywhere else. Timeline is driven by scope and decision speed, not by geography.
Related Cost Guides
Other budgets worth checking before you commit
Ready to staff it instead?
Next steps
Where buyers usually go from here
The service pages behind this work, plus the tools that turn a budget into a scope.