What an app costs in Ireland in 2026
App development cost in Ireland starts at about €10,000 for a simple app and passes €100,000 for a complex product. Square Root and Tapadoo, two Irish developers that publish their prices, put a simple app at €10,000 to €25,000 and a medium project at €40,000 to €80,000 per platform, roughly double for separate iOS and Android builds. A product with its own backend, logins and integrations is often six figures, and running costs come on top, a line most quotes leave out. App and platform projects at Loco start from €10,000 ex VAT, priced in a costed plan you see before anything is built. Our app development service in Dublin sets out how we work.
The eight cost drivers behind an app quote
The gap between two quotes for the same idea is almost always in one of these eight areas, and a good quote shows where each landed.
Platforms: one, two or the browser
Native iOS and native Android are two codebases, two test cycles and two store submissions, which is why one Irish developer prices per platform. A web app runs on every device from one codebase, and a progressive web app sits in between. Native app, web app or PWA covers the choice.
Design
An app is used with a thumb, in a hurry, often with poor signal, and designing the screens, flows and empty states for that decides whether people keep it. “Design included” with no process shown usually means a template.
Backend and API
Almost every useful app is a front end to a system of accounts, data, content, bookings or payments, which has to be designed, built, hosted and secured behind an API. On most projects the backend is at least as much engineering as the app.
Authentication and security
Logins, password resets, roles and permissions, session handling, encryption in transit and at rest, and an audit trail of who did what. All of it is required once users and their data arrive.
Integrations
Payments, CRM, accounting, email, calendars, maps and push notifications each have their own failure modes, so we check an integration is possible before it goes into a quote. An app that has to share customer records with HubSpot or Salesforce also needs CRM integration, scoped with the build rather than bolted on after launch.
App store release
Getting into the App Store and Google Play means listings, screenshots, privacy declarations, review guidelines, rejections and resubmissions, under rules that change every year. Our mobile app development service handles the build, review and submission for both stores.
Testing on real devices
Budget for testing on old devices, small screens, slow networks, interrupted sessions and accessibility settings as well as the developer’s own phone.
Maintenance
iOS and Android ship major versions every year, and each one breaks something. Libraries need updating and store policies tighten, so agree the running cost at the start.
The hidden costs of app development
These rarely appear on a build quote.
- Developer accounts. The Apple Developer Program is $99 a year; a Google Play developer account is a one-off $25. Publish under your own accounts where you have them; if the developer publishes under its account, have the transfer of the listing written into the contract. Google requires new personal developer accounts to run a 14-day closed test with at least 12 testers before an app can reach production (Play Console Help); an organisation account in the business’s name avoids that gate.
- Certificates, signing keys and provisioning. Expired certificates take apps offline, so someone has to own the renewal calendar.
- Hosting and monitoring. The backend runs on servers billed every month, with crash reporting, uptime monitoring and backups.
- Third-party services. Push notifications, maps, SMS, email delivery and payment processing are metered, and usage grows with your users.
- Support. Someone answers the “I cannot log in” emails. Decide who before launch.
Published app price bands from Irish developers
Two Irish developers publish detailed app price bands (both checked on 11 September 2026; Square Root’s are in the FAQ on its homepage).
Scroll the table sideways for the full detail
| Project | Price | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Simple app | €10,000 to €25,000 | Square Root Solutions |
| Complex custom app | Over €100,000 | Square Root Solutions |
| Small project, per platform | €25,000 to €40,000 | Tapadoo |
| Medium project, per platform | €40,000 to €80,000 | Tapadoo |
| Larger project, per platform | Over €80,000 | Tapadoo |
A second native platform doubles Tapadoo’s figures, which is where €80,000 to €160,000 for a medium project on iOS and Android comes from. Loco’s starting price buys a scoped web app or a first iOS or Android release with a modest backend. Larger platforms and apps on both stores sit above it, priced in a costed plan agreed before anything is built.
A worked example: the ESMA International Network platform
ESMA International Network is a trade network for packaged consumer goods with more than two hundred member companies across sixty-two countries. We built its custom membership platform: a public website, a member dashboard and iOS and Android apps, all on the same data and live in both stores. We do not publish client figures; a build of this shape is priced as a programme, well above the entry band.
- The backend. A custom Laravel application with its own data model: a member directory searchable on five filters, a membership lifecycle (applied, screened, approved, onboarded) and a members-only document library.
- Two apps on one API. iOS and Android apps, with in-app messages and guest browsing, both reading and writing the same platform as the website.
- Company team accounts. Each member company adds and manages its own colleagues.
- One design system. The same components carried the public site, the dashboard and both apps.
- Accessibility. The site is designed to WCAG 2.1 AA. No formal audit has been run yet.
How to reduce app development costs
- Start with a web app. Many businesses never need to go native, and those that do start with a proven product and a working backend.
- Scope an MVP. Build the smallest product that lets users do the one thing they came for, and list the rest in priority order.
- Reuse what exists. Use an existing website or database, or an off-the-shelf service for payments, email or maps, and keep custom code for where nothing off the shelf fits.
- Own your code and your data. Have the contract say you own the code and the data, and that the hosting and store listings transfer to you on request; it costs nothing.
A grant will not reduce the cost of the build: the Local Enterprise Office Grow Digital Voucher expressly excludes custom software. Our Grow Digital Voucher guide sets out what qualifies.
