Why do two developers quote different numbers?
Because they are not quoting the same thing. One is quoting the app you described, and the other is quoting the app you will want in six months: the admin screen, the refunds, the offline mode, the second language.
There is no honest way to compare two quotes until you can see what each one includes. That is why I write the plan down before the price, so you can put my list next to anyone else's.
What actually moves the price?
These are the things I count when I quote. Each one is a real piece of work, and each one is also something you can choose to leave out of the first version.
- How many screens there are, and how different they are from each other.
- Whether people sign in, and whether there are different kinds of people with different views.
- Whether money moves: cards, subscriptions, refunds, payouts, receipts.
- How much admin sits behind it. Someone has to add the products, approve the jobs and fix the mistakes.
- What it has to talk to: your shop platform, your accounts package, a spreadsheet, a supplier feed.
- Content. Writing, photography and prices take somebody's time, usually yours.
- The stores. Apple and Google both have accounts, rules and a submission process.
What costs do people forget?
The build is the number everyone asks about, and it is not the only one. These keep running after launch.
| Cost | When you pay it | Who it goes to |
|---|---|---|
| Apple developer account | A yearly fee, before the app can go live | Apple |
| Google Play developer account | A one-off registration fee | |
| Domain name | Yearly | Your registrar |
| Hosting and database | Monthly, usually small at first | The host or platform |
| Payment processing | A percentage of each payment | The payment provider |
| AI model calls, if the product uses them | Monthly, based on volume | The model provider |
| Looking after it | Monthly, if you want an engineer on call | Me, on a support plan |
How I quote
A free first call, then a written plan that says what I will build and what it will not do, then one fixed price. The price does not move unless the work does, and if what I deliver does not do what the plan says, I fix it at no extra cost.
Small jobs start at $50: a fix, a screen, a small automation. If the honest answer is that you do not need software at all, I will say that on the call instead of quoting you.
How to get a quote you can compare
Send the same short brief to everyone you ask. The more specific it is, the more the quotes mean.
- Who uses it, and what each kind of user needs to do.
- The screens you can already picture, even roughly.
- Whether money moves, and who receives it.
- Anything it has to connect to that already exists.
- Your deadline, and what happens if it slips.
- Who looks after it after launch.
What to remember
- Price the screens, the sign-in, the money and the admin, not the idea.
- Compare what is included before you compare numbers.
- Budget for running costs from the day it goes live.
- Get the plan in writing, so the price means something.
Sources
Primary documentation, for anyone who wants to check the details.