How Much Does It Cost to Build an eCommerce App?

Launching a mobile app can be a huge growth lever for eCommerce brands, and significantly boost mobile user engagement.

Shoppers view more products per session in apps, convert at a higher rate, and spend more money per order.

With more people now shopping on mobile than desktop, a small increase in engagement and revenue on mobile could mean a huge difference to your overall revenue and profitability.

The cost, though, is off-putting for many brands. Building an app seems like a big project, and you might feel like it’s not something you can afford without massive capital to play with.

But how accurate is this idea? Do eCommerce apps really cost that much?

Keep reading and we’ll share the true cost of eCommerce app development, along with our expert opinion on how to build an eCommerce app without huge risk and investment.

MobiLoud lets you build full-featured eCommerce apps for a fraction of the cost of custom development. Get a free demo now to see how easily we can help you turn your eCommerce site into native apps.

Key Factors Influencing the Cost of an eCommerce App

To understand the cost of building an eCommerce app, you first need to understand the factors that contribute to the overall price tag.

Many of these factors come with choices, and your choice can have a significant impact on the overall cost of your app.

Let’s take a deeper look now.

App Complexity

There are varying levels of complexity with each eCommerce app.

If you’re fine with shipping an app with only basic features, the cost will be lower. If you require more advanced features, the cost will go up.

Here’s a rough guide of what kind of features are necessary for basic, advanced, and complex apps:

Basic eCommerce App Features

• Product Listings & Categories
• Shopping Cart & Checkout
• Payment Gateway
• Search Functionality
• Push Notifications

Advanced App Features

• User Accounts
• API Integration With Your Website
• Multiple Payment Gateways
• Multi-Language Support
• Personalization
• Order Management & Tracking
• Custom Integrations
• Advanced Search & Filters
• SSO/Social Login
• Analytics

Complex App Features

• Multi-Vendor Support
• Advanced Security Features
• Integration with Device Features
• AI/VR Experiences

A simplified way to look at it would be that each feature you choose to include in your app will cost you roughly $2,000-$10,000 extra (perhaps more for advanced/complex features).

The more features you squeeze in, the higher the cost. The more unnecessary, or “nice to have” features you cut, the more you save.

Platform & Tech Stack

Will you launch separate apps for iOS and Android, or use a cross-platform framework like React Native or Flutter?

Building fully native apps for each platform will bring the cost up. Cross-platform is more affordable, while hybrid options (as we’ll explore later) can make it even cheaper.

Additionally, if your app is to be linked with your website, consider the tech stack in use on your site.

Building an app for a fully custom site with a complex tech stack will be more expensive than for a simple site built with platforms like Shopify, Squarespace or WooCommerce.

Choice of Developers

Not all developers are made equal, and not all charge equal.

Geographic location can make a big difference in cost. App developers in North America and Western Europe, for example, typically charge higher rates, while those based in Central/Eastern Europe or South Asia generally cost less.

Even in the same location, though, rates vary greatly depending on experience and ability. 

You could find cheaper talent, who may not be as skilled, or choose to pay more for developers with a proven track record of delivering high-quality work.

In-House Resources

Consider what kind of in-house resources you can use for the project.

If you have designers, project managers, or developers already on staff, the cost may come down a bit.

If you don’t, you’ll have to hire these people from outside, which will cost more than using people you already have on staff.

Development Time

The cost of building an app largely comes down to the number of billable hours it takes to complete.

Part of this comes from the complexity and number of features in your app. Another factor is how the project is managed.

Good management, with clear specs and efficient collaboration between developers will reduce the time to completion, and as a result, the cost.

However, if your project requires a ton of revisions, developers need to constantly re-do their work because the instructions aren’t clear or the scope changes, or there’s no one managing the project, the time might snowball out of control and drive the final cost up.

App Design

Consider how much design work is required.

If you decide to go with a fully custom, professionally-designed UI and UX, you can look at adding anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000 to the price.

Conversely, you can save most or all of this cost if you build your app from a template, or reuse the existing design from your website.

What You’re Paying For

The cost of eCommerce app development basically just comes down to the team you hire to build your app.

This includes:

• Developers (one at the very least – more likely a minimum of 2-3).
• Project Manager (if you don’t have in-house).
• Designers
• QA Testers

Typically you’d be looking at a team of at least 4-5 people working on your project, over the course of roughly 6-9 months.

eCommerce App Development Cost Estimate

So with all this in mind, how much should it cost to develop an eCommerce app?

Here’s a rough guide to what it might take to build basic, mid-level, or complex eCommerce mobile apps.

Basic eCommerce App

Features:

• User authentication and registration.
• Product listings and categories.
• Basic search functionality.
• Shopping cart and checkout.
• Integration with one payment gateway.
• Push notifications for order updates.

Development Timeline: 3-6 months

Estimated Cost: $15,000-$30,000

Factors influencing cost:

• Use of pre-built templates to minimize design costs.
• Basic third-party integrations (e.g., Stripe or PayPal).

Mid-Level eCommerce App

Features:

• Basic app features, plus:
  • Advanced search with filters (e.g., price, category, reviews).
  • Multi-language and multi-currency support.
  • Customer reviews and ratings.
  • Order tracking with real-time updates.
  • Basic admin panel for product and user management.

Development Timeline: 6-9 months

Estimated Cost: $30,000-$70,000

Factors influencing cost:

• Customized design for branding consistency.
• Integration with multiple third-party services (e.g., shipping APIs, marketing tools).

Scenario 3: Advanced eCommerce App

Features:

• Mid-level app features, plus:
  • AI-driven product recommendations.
  • AR/VR support for product visualization.
  • Chatbots for customer support.
  • Social media integrations for product sharing and social logins.
  • Multi-vendor support with split payments.
  • Advanced analytics dashboards.

Development Timeline: 9-12+ months

Estimated Cost: $70,000-$200,000+

Factors influencing cost:

• High level of customization for scalability.
• Advanced technology stack (e.g., AI, machine learning, AR/VR frameworks).
• Heavy back-end infrastructure to handle high traffic and transactions.

Want to build an eCommerce app for less, without making any sacrifices in features? MobiLoud can help. Get a free consultation now to discuss your project and how we can make it come to life.

Cost to Maintain an eCommerce App

Another key thing to consider when you develop an eCommerce app is how much it will cost to maintain.

It typically costs around 15-20% of the initial development cost per year for ongoing updates, maintenance, bug fixes, new features and support.

This cost is a vital, unavoidable part of launching an app. 

You may be able to get away with building once and rarely updating your app if you build a very simple app, like a to-do list or calculator app.

However, eCommerce apps have a lot of moving parts, not least of all integrating with your website, which is constantly changing and updating, and your app will be a disaster if not maintained.

So make sure you budget this cost into the equation. Like with the initial cost, the more complex your app, the more it will cost to maintain.

This could range from roughly $2,000-$6,000 per year for a basic eCommerce app, $6,000-$14,000 for a mid-level app, to as much as six figures for a complex or enterprise-level app.

Cost to Convert Your eCommerce Store to an App with MobiLoud

Instead of the huge investment required to develop a custom eCommerce app, you could convert your store into an app with MobiLoud.

Going this route, you’ll get 95% of what you'd get with a fully custom build from scratch. However, you don’t need to:

• Design a new UI/UX for your app.
• Hire and manage developers.
• Build a whole lot of new features.
• Build custom integrations to link your website and app together.
• Keep developers on staff to maintain and update your apps.

MobiLoud does all this for you.

The cost is far more manageable. It’s a small one-time fee up front (low four figures - which covers the initial setup, testing, and submitting your apps to the app stores), followed by a low monthly cost (approximately $300-$900 per month) to cover ongoing updates and maintenance.

The price gives you fully functional Android and iOS apps, with unlimited push notifications built in, white labeled, fully synced with your website.

To build this as a custom eCommerce app, you’d be looking at a minimum of $50,000 up front, with an additional $10k+ per year to maintain.

With MobiLoud, you could spend approximately $1,000 to launch your app, and a few thousand per year to keep your apps maintained.

View more about our pricing here.

Advantages of the MobiLoud Approach

MobiLoud lets you launch an app for as little as 2% of the cost of custom development, while losing little to nothing in terms of quality and functionality.

“If we had unlimited time and money, we would probably go for a custom native app, but that is half a million to a million a year to maintain.”
David Cost, VP of eCommerce and Marketing at Rainbow Shops

But it’s not just the cost that plays to your advantage.

It’s much more straightforward from start to finish (as well as after launching).

MobiLoud converts your website into an app, complete with all the features, integrations and small optimizations you’ve made on your website.

Rebuilding all of this in a custom app will be a massive undertaking, and you may end up having to cut important elements of your website from your app.

Going forward, you’ll have multiple platforms to maintain, which is not only costly, but a drag on your team's time and focus.

With MobiLoud, you only manage one platform - your website.

Your apps update automatically when your website does, drastically reducing overhead and operational lift for your team.

“The fact that we can roll out quite complex solutions and updates to improve our experience for customers on the website, and that's immediately in the app, that's priceless.”
Damien Smith, Chief Technology Officer at BoozeBud

We’ve routinely helped eCommerce companies build apps that pay for themselves within as little as a month of launching, by boosting AOV and LTV through the app, and gaining access to push notifications (which helped some brands recover as much as $200k per month through automated cart abandonment notifications).

With a custom app, it will be months (if not years) until you pay off just the initial cost of your app.

With MobiLoud, you’ll be making profit almost immediately, with no major changes to your operational workflow.

Use our free App Revenue Calculator to get an estimate of how much extra revenue you can drive by launching your own app.

Final Thoughts

Launching your own eCommerce app is a great way to grow your brand, and position your business for the ever-increasing popularity of mobile commerce.

It can be expensive, though, especially if you have complex features on your wishlist, and you set your sights on hiring only the best talent.

However, MobiLoud makes the process so much easier and more affordable, and still lets you launch a great app that can drive millions in revenue for your brand.

Just take a look at some of the great apps we’ve built for high-revenue brands, who routinely see higher LTV, higher AOV, an increase in incremental revenue and a massive ROI from their mobile apps.

To learn what's possible, get in touch with us and book a free demo now, to see how easy it is to launch the perfect eCommerce app with MobiLoud.