What does an app cost in 2026, and how does it get onto the app stores?

The three sources describe two different markets, so don't merge them into one range. JóSzaki's intro also gives different numbers from its own table.¹ The price depends mostly on who you ask, and what you ask for.

The biggest jumps come from four features: a custom backend, user accounts, payments and an admin panel. AP4 treats these four as the line between a simple and a medium app.² Other drivers: camera, GPS or Bluetooth, third-party integrations, design depth and developer seniority.² JóSzaki says a cross-platform build such as Flutter is typically about 30% cheaper than two separate native apps.¹

AP4 says 15 to 20% of the build cost per year.² app-arak.hu budgets 50,000 to 300,000 HUF a month, with servers on top.³ Maintenance is not optional. Since 28 April 2026 Apple only accepts uploads built with the iOS 26 SDK, and from April 2027 it will need iOS 27.⁷ Since 31 August 2026 Google Play requires new apps and updates to target Android 16 (API level 36).⁸ An app nobody updates eventually can't be updated at all.

An MVP takes 3 to 6 months according to AP4, a simple app 2 to 3 months according to app-arak.hu, and store publishing another 1 to 2 weeks.²³

The old "15% / 30%" summary is out of date for EU sales. Hungary is in the EEA, so both new regimes apply to Hungarian publishers.⁹¹⁰

1. Developer accounts in your name. We recommend an organisation account. Google Play requires personal accounts created after 13 November 2023 to run a closed test with at least 12 testers for at least 14 consecutive days before production; organisation accounts are exempt.¹¹
2. A privacy policy and a support link. Apple requires both, and missing ones are a common rejection reason.⁶
3. In-app account deletion. If users can create an account, they must be able to delete it inside the app, not only by email.¹²
4. Tracking permission. If the app tracks users, it must ask through App Tracking Transparency.¹² Cossy passed without tracking: the privacy label needed correcting, not tracking added.
5. A demo login for the reviewer, accurate screenshots and no placeholder text. Apple says over 40% of unresolved issues come from guideline 2.1, App Completeness.⁶
6. Apple in-app purchase for digital goods. Subscriptions and premium content must use Apple's in-app purchase, with regional exceptions.¹²
7. Submit and wait for review. Apple reviews at least 50% of submissions in under 24 hours and 90% in under 48.⁶ Google publishes no average review time.

Apple rejected Lumino's in-app purchases several times before the cause was found. Once it was fixed, we resubmitted all 47 products together, and all were approved. The lesson: on iOS the shop should show only what the App Store has confirmed, so a reviewer never sees a product that can't be bought. Cossy was rejected over its privacy label, which was fixed without adding tracking.