How much will it cost to build my app? Our Discovery Process answers that

[Editor's note: This is the fourth post in our "Demystifying Discovery" series. We've explored why a thoughtful app Discovery Process is essential for better work, streamlined timelines, and accurate estimates — and how our custom workshops set the stage for app success.]

Every client wants to know: "How much will it cost to build my app?" While the easy answer is, "It depends," a better answer is “We need to do a Discovery phase.”  The ArcTouch Discovery Process is the strategic work we do upfront that allows us to truly understand your project's complexities and provide precise estimates. 

This deep dive ensures your app meets the critical intersection of user needs and business opportunity, helping you make smart choices to maximize your product design and development budget, and ultimately get a better return on your investment.

T-shirt sizing for a minimum lovable product

To give clients a preliminary idea of the investment, we categorize projects into "T-shirt-sized" ranges for building a minimum lovable product (MLP). These serve as a starting point for app costs:

• Small ($100k - $250k): Apps with a narrow feature set, standard design, well-documented APIs, and limited integrations. These are often single-platform, and in some cases, the designs are already done and in a production-ready format.  They are an excellent way to test concepts, gather early feedback, and build a solid foundation with a clear investment.

• Medium ($250k - $1M): This range covers the majority of ArcTouch projects, from start to finish, and includes both design and development. It allows for more design iterations, custom aesthetics, and robust accessibility. These projects are usually on multiple platforms, and incorporate unique business rules, third-party and internal integrations, and backend development work. 

• Large ($1M+): These involve complex platforms and ecosystems with multiple dependencies, slower approval processes (e.g., compliance, legal), and often broad initial scope. While we thrive with large projects, we often use the Discovery Process to help clients focus scope for their first release and iterate in phases.

Cost clarity: How ArcTouch Discovery defines your app project

One of the main reasons we recommend every app starts with our proven Discovery Process is that it dramatically reduces risk for everyone involved. At the very beginning of a project, the range of potential costs is vast, as visualized below in the "cone of uncertainty.” Our Discovery Process narrows this cone, leading to more accurate estimates and a clear path forward.

The true cost of an app isn't just about features; it's about the underlying complexities and dependencies that only a deep dive can reveal. These complexities can be broadly categorized into UX and technical variables, and the ArcTouch Discovery Process meticulously uncovers them.

UX variables that impact app costs

The depth and breadth of your app's user experience design can significantly affect its cost. We analyze these critical UX variables during the Discovery process to refine your budget:

• Intricate business logic & rules: Beyond basic functionality, does your app need complex calculations, multi-step workflows, or highly specific conditional logic? More intricate rules mean more precise development and testing, directly impacting hours.

• Authentication and account management variables: Will users be required to log in to see content? Will they just sign in with an email and password, or use a magic link? Will they need single sign-on (SSO) with an existing enterprise system or two-factor authentication (2FA)? Will they be able to edit their information once logged in? Each adds layers of complexity and cost.

• Extensive personalization & AI/ML integration: Want your app to learn user preferences, offer personalized content, or incorporate AI-driven features like natural language processing or predictive analytics? These advanced capabilities require specialized data science expertise, model training, and integration with AI services.

• Complex user roles & permissions: Does your app need to support various user types (e.g., admin, manager, employee, customer), each with distinct access levels and functionality? Designing and implementing a robust, secure role-based access control system requires careful planning and extensive testing.

• Internationalization & localization: Planning to launch in multiple languages or regions from day one? Supporting different languages, currencies, date formats, and cultural nuances requires careful architectural planning and content management from the outset, and adds an additional recommended regional user testing.

• Accessibility compliance requirements: Is your app required to meet specific accessibility standards (e.g., WCAG, Section 508, European accessibility directives)? Accessibility-first app development, including designing and testing with diverse users, is a smart business investment. It requires significant effort but ensures a product usable by all. (Related: Read our report on the State of Mobile App Accessibility.)

Technical variables that drive app costs

Beyond the user interface, the technical backbone of an app presents its own set of cost-driving variables. During our Discovery Process we thoroughly evaluate these factors:

• Complex integrations with existing systems: Does your app need to talk to your existing CRM, ERP, payment gateways, or other legacy systems? If these are old, poorly documented, or lack modern mobile-friendly APIs, building custom connectors and ensuring secure data flow adds time and cost to a project.

• Connecting to physical hardware: Does your app integrate with bespoke hardware or custom IoT devices? This adds complexity due to hardware-software communication, real-time data exchange, and often challenging UX considerations for physical interactions. (Learn more about our app development services for connected devices.)

• Advanced security & compliance requirements: If your app handles sensitive user data (e.g., PII, health records, financial info), it requires robust security, encryption, and adherence to regulations (HIPAA, GDPR, PCI DSS). Implementing these safeguards adds development and verification costs.

• Real-time functionality & high performance needs: Does your app require instant updates (e.g., live chat, real-time tracking), support high concurrent users, or demand low latency? Building for real-time scalability often necessitates sophisticated backend architecture and specialized optimization, which are inherently more complex and costly.

• Offline capabilities & data synchronization: Do users need to access and modify data without an internet connection, with seamless synchronization once online? Managing local data, conflict resolution, and data consistency across devices is a specialized challenge.

During this collaborative and focused phase, we work with you to identify and reduce unknowns, align on the specific use-cases and business needs that drive the highest customer satisfaction and business value, and solidify the technology requirements and design vision. We bring together our specialists in product management, design, and development to deeply understand your needs and develop a realistic project plan and an accurate estimate. The emphasis here is on “realistic.” That’s our main goal. 

Strategic planning for predictable app costs: The power of Discovery

While the initial question of app cost can seem daunting, our aim is to replace that uncertainty with a clear, strategic plan. This post highlights how the ArcTouch Discovery Process dissects the complexities of your vision, from intricate UX variables to critical technical integrations. By doing this essential work upfront, we not only provide more accurate estimates but also lay the groundwork for a streamlined development timeline and a product that truly aligns with your business goals. It's about building smart, not just building fast.

Discovery is a fast, fixed-fee engagement with clear outcomes, and is customized for every client. Want to explore your next app project? Contact our team today.