How much does it cost to build an app in Canada?
Updated October 24, 2026 · 2 min read · By the Next Aura Labs team, Peterborough
The short answer
A focused first version of a business or consumer app built by a Canadian studio commonly costs in the tens of thousands of dollars; apps with payments, real-time features, AI, or several user types often reach six figures. The price is driven less by the number of screens than by the backend behind them — accounts, payments, data syncing, integrations, and admin tools — plus the platforms you launch on. The most reliable way to control cost is to define the smallest version that delivers real value, launch it, and let real usage decide what to build next.
Typical ranges
Every app is different, but widely quoted ranges in the Canadian market look roughly like this:
- Simple app or prototype — a few screens, little or no backend: often under $25,000.
- Focused first version (MVP) — accounts, a real backend, one core workflow, iOS and Android: commonly $25,000–$100,000.
- Full product — payments, multiple user types (for example customers, staff, and admins), real-time updates, integrations, or AI features: often $100,000 and up.
What drives the cost
The screens you see are the visible tip. Most of the effort is underneath:
- User types: a delivery app is really three apps — customer, driver, and dispatcher — plus an admin console.
- Backend and data: accounts, permissions, syncing between devices, and keeping data safe.
- Payments and subscriptions: in-app purchases, Stripe, refunds, and the edge cases around them.
- Integrations: maps, bank data, calendars, your existing systems.
- AI features: useful, but they need evaluation, guardrails, and cost controls to be reliable.
- Store requirements: privacy disclosures, review guidelines, and ongoing OS updates.
Native, cross-platform, or a web app?
Building separate native apps for iPhone and Android roughly doubles the work. Cross-platform frameworks let one codebase serve both, which is the right default for most business apps. Fully native development still makes sense for apps that lean hard on device features or need the very best performance.
And sometimes the right first step isn't a store app at all. A fast web app works on every phone, skips app-store review, and can become a store app later. If people will use your product occasionally rather than daily, start there.
How long it takes
A focused first version typically takes from several weeks to a few months. Larger products are built in phases over many months. Be wary of any plan that keeps you waiting half a year before you can install anything — good teams put test builds on your phone early and often.
The costs after launch
Plan for hosting and third-party services, Apple and Google developer accounts, and ongoing maintenance: every year brings new iOS and Android versions, and apps that aren't updated eventually break or get pulled from the stores. Many teams budget a meaningful slice of the original build cost per year for maintenance and improvements.
How to spend less on version one
Write down the one job a user opens your app to do, and build only what that job needs. Use proven services for login, payments, and notifications instead of building them. Launch to a small group, watch what they actually do, and let that decide version two.
We build and run our own apps — Shelter, MaxxLook, and Vettly Guardian — so this is the same discipline we apply to our own budgets.