Plan for mobile app maintenance costs of roughly 15–25% of your app's original build cost every year to keep it working, secure and listed in the stores. An app that cost US$60,000 to build typically needs US$9,000–15,000 a year. That is a typical range, not a quote: apps with heavy usage, many integrations or strict compliance needs sit at the top end.
Owners are often surprised that an app needs money even when no new features are planned. The reason is simple: the ground moves underneath it. Apple and Google release new operating systems every year, the code libraries your app depends on get updated or abandoned, and both stores keep raising their technical requirements. An app left untouched for a year or two usually starts crashing on new phones, gets flagged in the store, or both.
If you haven't built yet, factor these numbers into your total cost of ownership before you commit; our complete guide to mobile app development puts them alongside build costs and timelines.
What does that 15–25% actually pay for?
It pays for keeping the app in the condition it launched in, plus small fixes. Maintenance keeps you standing still; new features are a separate budget.
| Cost area | What it covers | How it's usually charged |
|---|---|---|
| Operating-system updates | Testing and fixing the app for each new iOS and Android release, new screen sizes and devices | Retainer hours, heaviest around annual OS releases |
| Store compliance | Meeting new minimum SDK and target API levels, updated privacy forms, policy changes | Retainer hours |
| Bug fixes and crash monitoring | Investigating crash reports, fixing errors users hit, releasing patches | Retainer hours plus a crash-reporting tool |
| Security and dependencies | Updating third-party libraries, patching vulnerabilities, renewing certificates and keys | Retainer hours |
| Backend hosting | Servers, database, file storage, backups | Monthly, scales with users |
| Third-party services | SMS codes, email, maps, payments, analytics, push delivery | Monthly, often usage-based |
| Developer accounts | Apple Developer Program (annual fee) and Google Play Console (one-time fee) | Fixed |
| Minor improvements | Small copy changes, layout tweaks, settings | Retainer hours |
Hosting and third-party services are often quoted separately from the percentage, because they depend on how many people use the app rather than how it was built. A booking app with 500 active users and one with 50,000 can share the same codebase and have very different monthly bills.
How much should you budget at different build sizes?
Multiply your build cost by 0.15 and 0.25 to get a starting range. These worked examples use typical global build ranges for cross-platform apps.
| App build cost (USD) | Example app | Annual maintenance estimate (15–25%) | Roughly per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| $25,000 | Simple loyalty or content app, one user type | $3,750–6,250 | $310–520 |
| $60,000 | Booking or ordering app with payments and admin panel | $9,000–15,000 | $750–1,250 |
| $120,000 | Two-sided marketplace with live tracking | $18,000–30,000 | $1,500–2,500 |
Two adjustments to make for your own app:
- Move toward 25% if you have many integrations, real-time features, regulated data (health, finance, children) or a large user base that expects quick fixes.
- Move toward 15% if the app is simple, built cross-platform with few dependencies, and you are comfortable with fixes taking days rather than hours.
If your app was built in India, the same percentage applies to rupee build costs. Our breakdown of app development costs in India gives the starting figures.
Why does an app need maintenance if nothing is changing?
Because everything around it is changing. Your app is a guest on Apple's and Google's platforms, and they change the house rules every year.
- Annual OS releases. Each new iOS and Android version can change permissions, background behaviour, notifications or screen layouts. Something that worked last year may silently break.
- Store requirements. Google Play sets a minimum target API level for apps and updates; Apple requires recent Xcode and SDK versions for new submissions. Fall behind and you can't ship even an urgent fix until you catch up.
- Dependency drift. Modern apps use dozens of open-source and commercial libraries. When those stop being supported, your app inherits their security holes.
- Third-party API changes. Payment providers, map services and login providers retire old versions of their APIs (the interfaces apps use to talk to them), usually with notice but on their timetable, not yours.
- Security issues you didn't know you had. Regular reviews catch them. On our own website, routine review uncovered a login rate-limit bypass caused by trusting a spoofable IP header, and we removed
unsafe-evalfrom the Content Security Policy. Neither was visible to users; both mattered.
Skipping a year of maintenance rarely saves the money. It defers it, and catching up on two OS releases and a stack of outdated libraries at once usually costs more than steady upkeep would have.
Should you use a retainer, pay as you go, or hire in-house?
For most small and mid-size businesses, a monthly retainer with a fixed number of hours is the most predictable option. In-house developers make sense once the app is central to revenue and changes weekly.
| Model | How it works | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly retainer | Fixed fee for a set number of hours, response times agreed | Most business apps after launch | Unused hours that don't roll over |
| Pay as you go | Billed hourly when something is needed | Very simple, stable apps | Slow response when urgent; no one monitors proactively |
| In-house developer | Salaried staff maintain and improve the app | Apps central to the business with constant change | One person becomes a single point of failure |
| Hybrid | Small in-house team plus agency for spikes | Growing products | Clear ownership of who fixes what |
Whatever you choose, make sure the agreement covers response times for critical issues, who holds the source code and store accounts, and how unused hours are handled. Ownership matters most if you ever switch providers.
What isn't included in maintenance?
New features, redesigns and major platform changes are development work, not maintenance. Mixing the two is the most common source of budget disputes.
Examples that usually fall outside a maintenance budget:
- Adding a new user type, payment method or integration
- Redesigning the app's look or navigation
- Rebuilding on a different framework
- Large performance projects after rapid user growth
- Marketing work such as app store optimisation or ad campaigns
A sensible approach is to set a separate improvement budget, even a modest one, and review it quarterly against what users are asking for.
How can you keep maintenance costs down?
Most savings are decided before launch, in how the app is built. Fewer moving parts means less to maintain.
- Choose a single cross-platform codebase where it fits. One codebase means one set of fixes. Our comparison of native vs cross-platform development explains when this works and when it doesn't.
- Keep dependencies lean. Every extra library is a future update. Ask your developer to justify each one.
- Invest in crash reporting and automated tests. They make problems faster to find, which makes fixes cheaper.
- Use managed services for commodity features. Authentication, push delivery and file storage from established providers need less upkeep than custom builds.
- Keep store submissions clean. A disciplined release checklist, like our App Store and Google Play submission checklist, avoids paying for rejected builds twice.
- Prune unused features. Code nobody uses still needs testing on every OS release.
Frequently asked questions
Is 15–25% a year normal for apps, or just for websites?
It's a widely used rule of thumb for custom software generally, apps included. Apps often sit in the middle or upper part of the range because they depend on two platform owners who change requirements annually. Very simple apps can come in lower; apps with heavy integrations come in higher.
What happens if I stop maintaining my app?
It may keep working for a while, then crash on newer phones or stop meeting store requirements. Once it falls behind, you may be unable to publish even a small fix until the app is brought up to date. In the worst case the listing becomes harder to find or is removed.
Are hosting and server costs included in maintenance?
It depends on the agreement, so ask. Many providers quote hosting and third-party services separately because they rise with usage. Make sure you know who pays each bill and whose name the accounts are in.
Can I maintain the app myself?
Content changes through an admin panel, yes. Code updates, security patches and store compliance need a developer familiar with the framework the app is built in. If you plan to switch developers, ask for documentation and full source code access at handover.
When should I budget for a rebuild instead?
Consider a rebuild when maintenance costs keep rising, the framework is no longer supported, or every new feature takes far longer than it should. That decision is usually years away for a well-built app. Get an independent code review before committing to a rebuild.
Budgeting for the long run
The cheapest app to own is one built with maintenance in mind from day one: lean dependencies, clear ownership and a realistic yearly budget. If you'd like a fixed-price build with a clear maintenance plan attached, see what we offer and ask us for a costed proposal.