Building a business app: when you really need one, and what it costs

Building a business app sounds like the natural next step, but in practice it is usually the expense you could have avoided. An app costs tens of thousands of shekels, requires an account in two stores, goes through a review before every update, and depends on someone bothering to download it. In this article we break down five questions that decide whether you really need an app, what drives the development price up and what ranges are normal in the market. We also explain what a PWA is, and when a good website does exactly the same job for a fraction of the cost.

Building a business app: 5 questions that decide whether you need one

Before you ask for a quote, answer these five questions honestly:

1. Repeat use. Will the customer open it at least once a week? A restaurant with an active loyalty club, yes. A plumber called out once every two years, no.
2. A personal account. Does the customer have a history, orders, points or a subscription that needs a permanent screen of its own?
3. Device hardware. Do you need a camera for scanning, location running in the background, or a connection to a physical device?
4. Working offline. Is there a genuine situation where the user needs the information with no internet, a technician in the field for instance?
5. Notifications to an existing audience. Do you already have thousands of returning customers who would want alerts from you?

Our decision rule: three or more yeses justify looking at an app seriously. One or two? A fast website or a PWA will produce the same outcome for far less money.

Mistake #1 we see: a business builds an app in order to "look serious". Customers don't download it, the store doesn't promote it, and a year later the app is sitting there without updates. Seriousness in a customer's eyes is measured by a site that loads fast and a quick reply, not by an icon in a store.

What drives up app development costs, and the price ranges in the market

An app's price is almost never set by "how many screens". It is set by what runs behind them:

• User management. Registration, login, forgotten password and account deletion are a whole system, not a screen.
• A server and a database. Any information that is stored and synced between devices needs a server side, and a monthly running cost.
• Types of user. An app for customers only is cheap. An app with an admin interface for staff is really two products.
• Payments and notifications. Each of them adds development, testing and a dependency on an outside supplier.
• Two platforms. iOS and Android need separate testing, even when the code is shared.
• Hebrew and RTL. A right-to-left interface adds design and testing work that is easy to leave out of a quote.

What follows is an estimate of market ranges in Israel, not a price list and not a quote. An app based on a builder or a ready-made template starts at a few thousand shekels to set up, and usually drags a monthly subscription behind it. A custom app with one codebase for both stores usually runs ₪40,000–120,000. A full native app with a server, users, payments and notifications starts at around ₪150,000 and climbs from there. For annual maintenance it is worth setting aside an estimate of 15% to 25% of the build cost. These numbers vary a great deal with the specification, so ask for at least two quotes and check what each of them includes.

The costs that carry on after launch

This is the part most quotes don't highlight. An app is not a project that ends on launch day:

1. A developer account with Apple. The Apple Developer Program charges an annual membership fee of 99 dollars, and includes, among other things, distribution on the store and managing beta versions in TestFlight.
2. A developer account with Google. The Google Play help centre states a one-time registration fee of 25 dollars. Identity verification is also required, and sometimes an ID document and a credit card in your legal name.
3. Google's testing requirement. That same page states that developers with a personal account created after 13 November 2023 must meet certain testing requirements before their app is available in the store.
4. A review before every version. Apple writes on its App Review page that it reviews every app, update and in-app purchase submitted to it, and that on average 90% of submissions are reviewed in less than 24 hours. An incomplete submission can delay you or be rejected.
5. Operating systems that keep updating. Every major iOS or Android update can break something. Which means there is ongoing work even in the years when you added no features at all.

So when you compare an app to a website, compare the cost over three years, not the cost of launch month.

What a PWA is, and what it gives a business

A PWA is a website that behaves like an app. Google's documentation on web.dev defines it as a web app built with modern APIs to deliver enhanced capabilities while still reaching any user on any device with a single codebase. The three characteristics that interest a business owner are: working reliably even on a slow network or with no network, the option to install it, and capabilities such as push notifications and location.

In practice that means the customer visits the site, adds it to their home screen, and gets an icon that opens full screen with no browser bar. No download from a store, no developer account and no review before an update. You update the site, and everyone is already on the new version.

There are limits worth knowing, though. Push notifications from a website do not behave the same way on every device. Apple's documentation states that web push can be added to Home Screen web apps in iOS 16.4 or later, and to webpages in Safari 16 on macOS 13 or later. In other words, a customer on an iPhone who has not added your site to their home screen will not receive a notification from you. On top of that, a PWA does not appear in the app store, so it does not suit anyone whose business model is built on store downloads.

Website, PWA or an app in the stores: a comparison table

The important insight in the table is the row about reaching it. A website sits where the customer is already searching, while an app asks them to make an extra decision. A breakdown of the types of website and what each one costs we wrote in our guide to website types and costs, and what a small business actually needs at the first stage we gathered in a website for a small business.

Three alternatives that work better for most businesses

Behind the sentence "we want an app" there is usually one of three goals, and each of them has a cheaper, faster solution:

1. "So customers can talk to us easily." A WhatsApp bot answers immediately, filters enquiries and books meetings, instead of asking a customer to download an app and remember a password. How it works we set out in our guide to chatbots for business.
2. "So we have something to send on mobile." A digital business card opens in one tap, with dialling, navigation, a gallery and a form. The full explanation is in our guide to digital business cards.
3. "So it is easy to order from us." A booking system or a store inside your website does that without an app store, and without asking the customer to download anything.

First work out which of the three describes you. Second, let the cheap solution run for three months and measure it. If you find daily repeat use there, that is a real reason to look at an app.

What Simple Web does about it

Simple Web is an AI-first marketing agency from Bnei Brak, certified Meta partners and Google advertising experts, working with 200+ businesses and holding 28 five-star Google reviews. We don't develop apps for the stores, so we have no interest in selling you one. What we do build, with AI in our workflow, is the side of things most businesses actually need.

A brand website starts at ₪5,000 and is ready in about 3 weeks (14 business days), including the spec, design, responsive development, SEO foundations, a CRM integration and training so you can manage it yourself. Every website includes 6 months of SEO content free (a value of ₪4,500) and 3 months of warranty and fixes. An online store starts at ₪8,000. A basic chatbot is ready within about a week, and a tailored bot with full training within two to three weeks, priced by scope. A Studio 51 digital business card is ready within up to 14 business days, with a branded NFC card included free.

Summary

Building a business app is justified when there is repeat use, a personal account or a genuine need for the device's hardware. In every other case, a fast website or a PWA delivers the same benefit with no developer accounts, no review before every update and no tens of thousands of shekels. Remember that the real cost is measured over three years, not in the first quote. Want to work out what would actually move the needle for you? Book a free diagnostic call with us.

Sources

• Apple Developer Program: the annual membership fee of 99 dollars and what membership includes
• Apple: App Review: every app and update is reviewed, and on average 90% of submissions in less than 24 hours
• Google Play Console Help: open a developer account: the one-time registration fee of 25 dollars, identity verification and the testing requirements for personal accounts created after 13 November 2023
• web.dev: What are Progressive Web Apps?: the definition of a PWA and its three characteristics: reliable, capable and installable
• Apple Developer Documentation: Sending web push notifications: web push from a website is supported in Home Screen web apps from iOS 16.4