Most people budget for building an app and forget about the day after launch. Then the first iOS update lands, a payment gateway changes its rules, and suddenly there's a bill nobody planned for. So let's talk about it properly. Keeping an app healthy usually costs about 15 to 20% of the original build cost, every year.
A quick example
Say you built a medium app for USD 12,000. Plan on roughly USD 1,800 to 2,400 a year to keep it running, patched and current. A smaller app costs less to look after, an advanced platform with several apps costs more. It's a rule of thumb, not a quote, but it's the number we use when clients ask us on the first call.
What you're actually paying for
- Operating system updates. Apple and Google ship a new version every year. Apps that worked fine can break overnight, so someone has to test and adjust.
- Bug fixes. Real users find problems your testers never did. Some are small, some need a same-day fix.
- Security patches. Libraries get vulnerabilities, and fixing them isn't optional if you handle payments or personal data.
- Small improvements. A button that confuses people, a slow screen, a field that should be optional. Little changes add up to a better product.
- Monitoring and support. Somebody should notice a crash before your customers email you about it.
Source: Arka Softwares guidance for maintenance after launch.
Costs that sit outside the maintenance fee
This is where budgets get surprised. The fee above covers people's time. It doesn't cover the services your app runs on.
- Cloud hosting and databases, which grow with your users
- SMS, email, maps and push notification services, billed by usage
- Apple and Google developer accounts
- Payment gateway fees on every transaction
- New features, which are projects of their own rather than maintenance
Ask your developer to list these separately. If a quote doesn't mention them, that's a red flag, not good news.
Can you spend less?
Yes, within reason. Keep the first version small, so there's less to maintain. Avoid piling on third-party tools you don't need. Use one codebase for both platforms if it suits your product, which is something we cover in Flutter vs React Native. And agree a support plan upfront instead of paying hourly for every surprise.
What doesn't work is skipping maintenance to save money. We've seen apps pulled from the store because they stopped meeting a platform requirement. Rebuilding that trust costs far more than a year of upkeep.
Source: Arka Softwares typical timelines, from kick-off to launch. Scope changes the timeline.
Questions worth asking your developer
- What does the maintenance fee include, and what doesn't it?
- How fast do you respond to a critical bug?
- Who pays when a new iOS or Android version breaks something?
- Do I own the source code and the cloud accounts?
The last one matters more than it looks. Our guide on choosing an app development company has more of these, and the mobile app cost guide shows the build side of the budget.
Where this fits in your plan
Think of the build as buying a car and maintenance as fuel, servicing and insurance. Nobody buys a car and assumes it runs free. If you're planning an app and want the full picture, talk to us on the contact page or see our mobile app development services.
