MOBILE APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT
We build mobile apps that run in production
We're a mobile app development company building iOS and Android applications that run in production, with real users, real transactions and real operations behind them.
Whether you're extending an existing business with internal tools, or building a product from scratch, we design it, build it, launch it, and keep it running afterwards.
We've been developing iOS and Android applications since 2019, for companies that depend on them daily, from marketplaces and field operations tools to consumer products.
Android and iOS development
We build for both platforms in parallel, so you get one product that works everywhere, without paying twice for it.
Pay as the work lands
Defined milestones, working deliverables. You always see what you're paying for.
We don't disappear after launch
Growth, monitoring and continuous development, the work that starts when the app goes live.
What's included
Everything included, nothing hidden
Custom design included
We build the app to your design, or handle the UI and UX ourselves, whichever you need. Either way, it's part of the project, not an extra line item.
Built to be extended
We write code assuming you'll want more later. Adding features in year two shouldn't mean rebuilding what you already have.
You work with the developers
No account managers, no handoffs. The people who scope your project are the ones who build it.
Android
Native-quality apps for the Android ecosystem, including Google Play submission and release management.
iOS
iPhone and iPad development, from older devices to the current generation, including App Store submission.
Thinking about building an app?
Tell us what you have in mind and we'll come back with a realistic scope, timeline and budget, usually within two working days.
Those who have already placed their trust in us
Some of our partners
What does a mobile app cost? Mobile app development prices
There's no honest answer without knowing the scope, but here's the range we work in, so you can tell early whether we're a fit.
- Focused single-purpose apps: from $15,000
- Multi-feature applications: $40,000 - $80,000
- Complex platforms: $80,000 and up
HOW WE WORK
How a project starts
Most projects don't go wrong during development. They go wrong before it, when the scope was never properly written down, or when nobody agreed what "finished" means.
We start with a few working conversations to understand what the product needs to do and who will use it. We're happy to sign an NDA first, since we need the real details, not a sanitized version.
Next we organize everything into a written specification: user flows, features, integrations and the technical decisions behind them. Where it helps, we look at how comparable products solve the same problem. This is also where we tell you what to leave out, because the features nobody uses are the most expensive ones you'll ever build. Once we both agree on the spec, you get a precise quote for a defined scope, not a range that shifts later.
From there we build the delivery plan. Each milestone has a defined scope and a working deliverable, something you can open and use. You pay as the work lands, so you always see what you're paying for before the next stage starts. We'd rather quote sixteen weeks up front than twelve that becomes twenty.
Then the real design work begins. Wireframes first, the structure and flows without styling, so we're discussing how the product works rather than what it looks like. Changing a wireframe takes minutes; changing a built screen takes days. Once the structure is right, we move to UI and UX design, reviewed with you throughout. For a corporate application that means carrying your brand into a tool people use daily. For a consumer product it means following the patterns your users already know.
BUILD AND LAUNCH
Development, testing and launch
Once the design is signed off, development begins. We keep communication continuous throughout, not because it sounds good, but because it's the only way to catch a misunderstanding in week three instead of week twelve. Adjustments during development are normal, and when they surface early they rarely cause disruption. As soon as there's something presentable, you get access to it, so you'll be testing the app long before it's finished.
When development is mostly complete, formal testing starts. We have internal testers, and we're glad when your team joins in, because the people who know the business usually find the things we'd never think to look for. Bugs get fixed as they're found, not collected for later.
We handle store submission ourselves: the Apple App Store and Google Play as standard, including review guidelines, store listings and release management. Where a public store isn't the right channel, we set up enterprise or internal distribution instead. We can also take on the launch itself, from the landing page to the first ad campaigns and app store optimization.
For internal and corporate applications, we help train the people who'll use it, in person or online, wherever your team is based.
Billing follows the milestones throughout, so there's no large invoice waiting at the end. The final settlement happens once everything is delivered and you're satisfied with it.
PLATFORM STRATEGY
One codebase, both platforms
Whether you're building a new product or an internal tool, timeline and budget matter. Most of the projects we take on don't need two separate native codebases, and building one when you don't need it is the most common way to double a budget for no return.
Where it fits, we start with an MVP approach: the smallest version that solves the actual problem, in production, with real users. Features get added based on what those users do, not on what everyone assumed at the start. Adding a feature in month eight costs roughly what it would have cost in month one, so there's no reason to build it before you know it's needed.
If you know from the start that you need both iOS and Android, we plan for it from day one. Building both platforms together from the beginning is substantially more efficient than porting one to the other afterwards.
This is not the same thing as a webview wrapper. Those are the reason cross-platform got a bad reputation, and we don't build them. What we deliver behaves like a native application: native performance, native UI patterns, full access to device capabilities. We treat data handling and privacy requirements the same way we would on a native build, and final testing goes through every point of the specification before anything ships.
QUALITY
Testing across devices, versions and screen sizes
An app that works on the developer's phone isn't finished. Android alone spans dozens of manufacturers, screen sizes and OS versions still in active use, and the differences between them are where most post-launch bugs come from.
We test continuously throughout development, not just at the end. On Android that means devices from different manufacturers, older and newer models, and multiple system versions. On iOS it means several device generations and OS versions. Tablets are part of the test matrix, not an afterthought.
Where the platforms differ, we optimize separately for each. Navigation patterns, permissions, notifications and background behavior all work differently on iOS and Android, and ignoring that is what makes an app feel foreign on one of the two.
Development doesn't stop at phones either. Tablets, smartwatches and smart TVs can all be part of the scope when the product calls for it.
See our work
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
It depends on three things: how much the app has to do, how many platforms it runs on, and what it needs to connect to. Those three factors move the number far more than anything else.
Building separate native codebases for iOS and Android roughly doubles both the timeline and the cost. Most projects don't need that, and we'll tell you when yours does.
We can also work in stages: build the version that solves the core problem first, get it in front of real users, then extend based on what they actually do. Adding a feature in month eight costs roughly what it would have cost in month one, so there's no reason to build it before you know it's needed.
Once we agree on a specification, you get a precise figure for a defined scope, not a range that shifts later.
A focused first version typically ships in eight to twelve weeks. Larger platforms with payments, identity verification and admin systems usually run four to six months.
We quote realistic timelines rather than optimistic ones. We'd rather tell you sixteen weeks up front than twelve that becomes twenty.
You do. All source code, design files and assets transfer to you on final payment, with no licensing restrictions and no ongoing dependency on us.
We're happy to sign an NDA before we start, and IP ownership is written into the contract, not left to assumption. If you later want to bring development in-house or move to another team, everything is yours to take.
You pay as the work lands, not upfront. The project is broken into milestones, each with a defined scope and a working deliverable, something you can open and use, not a progress report.
Billing follows those milestones, so there's no large invoice waiting at the end, and you always see what you're paying for before the next stage starts.
Most software doesn't fail during development. It fails six months later, when the OS updates, a dependency breaks, or a feature nobody planned for becomes necessary, and there's no one left to handle it.
We stay on after launch: monitoring, maintenance, OS compatibility updates and continued development. We can also handle the market side, app store optimization, campaigns, measurement, for products where that's part of the job.
This is optional, not a lock-in. But it's the part most agencies skip, and it's where the difference between a working product and an abandoned one usually shows up.
Petadev LLC is registered in New York; our engineering team is in Budapest. In practice that means we overlap with US business hours every morning Eastern Time, which is when most calls and decisions happen anyway.
Communication runs in English, in whichever tools you already use. You work directly with the developers building your product, there's no account manager relaying messages between you and a team you never meet.
It depends on the project. The technology is a tool chosen for the goal, not the other way around.
If you're not sure which fits your project, tell us what you're building and we'll give you an honest answer, including when the answer is that you don't need us at all.
Yes. We build for responsive display and optimize for larger screens, so tablets are part of the test matrix rather than an afterthought. Where a product genuinely needs a distinct tablet interface, that can be part of the scope.
On older devices, we maintain the widest compatibility that's practical. There are physical limits, but they only come up on hardware slow enough that most users have already replaced it.
Where a public store isn't the right channel — internal tools, enterprise deployments, apps for a closed user base, we set up enterprise or internal distribution instead.
Yes, and we write code assuming you will. There's no need to build every conceivable feature into the first version, in fact, the features nobody ends up using are the most expensive ones you'll ever pay for.
Starting with the version that solves the core problem and extending it based on real usage is almost always the better route, both financially and for the product.
Yes. In-app purchases and subscriptions run through the app stores' own payment systems, which handle the transaction side, we handle the implementation, entitlement logic and configuration.
For products that need a custom payment flow, marketplaces with split payments, payouts to multiple parties, escrow, or subscription billing outside the stores, we build that too. It's one of the areas we've done the most work in.
A wireframe is the skeleton of the interface: structure, screens and flows, without color or styling. It shows what information sits where and how a user moves through the app.
It comes first because changing a wireframe takes minutes and changing a built screen takes days. Working out the logic before anything is designed or coded is the cheapest quality decision in the whole project.