App development in Amsterdam

App development without an app store

Many entrepreneurs who have an app built in Amsterdam start with the image of a native app in the App Store and Google Play. For some ideas that is the right choice, but far from always. A modern web app simply runs in the browser and feels like a real app: it sits on the home screen, works on phone, tablet and desktop, and needs no installation. No app store, no approval process, no separate iOS and Android versions that you have to maintain side by side.

That often makes building an app in Amsterdam through the web route faster and cheaper. You build and maintain once instead of twice, and updates reach everyone immediately without users having to update anything.

Why the web route often wins

A web app has a practical advantage that is often underestimated: people find it and use it with no barrier. You just share a link and your customer is in. No searching in an app store, no installation, no doubt about whether it is the right app. For a business that wants to reach new customers in Amsterdam, that saves a lot of drop-offs. And because a web app is simply an address on the internet, it can be found in Google, which does not work that way for a native app in a store. So you reach people in two ways at once: through the link you share yourself and through anyone searching for what you offer.

App developer in Amsterdam

If you are looking for an app developer in Amsterdam, you will find roughly two kinds. On one side the big agencies, where your project passes through a team that is put together differently every quarter and where you talk to a project manager instead of someone who knows the code. On the other side individual app builders who are competitively priced but gone the moment maintenance is needed. We deliberately sit in between: one fixed point of contact who really knows your app, backed by a network of experienced freelancers for the specialist parts.

In practice that means app development in Amsterdam with us starts with a conversation about what you want to achieve, not with a quote for a list of screens. We work in short sprints, show working parts along the way and keep you updated weekly. App development is ultimately not about the technology but about whether the thing gets used, and you only know that once something working exists.

We work for companies in the city and throughout the Netherlands. Dropping by for a working session is possible, and in practice that saves a lot of back and forth email.

Having a business app built

Many of the requests we get are not about a consumer app in a store but about a business app: something your own team or your customers work with every day. Think of an app that lets technicians on site fill in their job sheets, an ordering tool for regular clients, or an environment where customers can view their file without anyone from the office in between.

Especially for business app development, the web route is often the logical choice. You do not have to roll anything out through a store, you decide who gets access, and updates go live for everyone at once. As a business app developer we look at the process around it first, because an app that does not connect to your administration only creates double work.

When a real native app makes sense

Sometimes a native app is the better choice. Think of deep integration with camera, bluetooth or sensors, heavy offline functionality, or push notifications that really are the heart of your product. In those cases we weigh together whether native, an installable web app or a combination fits best. We choose the technology based on what your app has to do, not on what happens to be in fashion. That way you do not pay for complexity you do not need.

What it costs to have an app built

The honest answer is that it depends on what the app has to do, but that buys you nothing when you are trying to set a budget. So we simply put our rate and our ranges on the site. Our hourly rate is €110 per hour, excluding VAT. No separate rates per role, no rush surcharge.

With that number you can do the math yourself. These are the ranges we see in practice when people have an app built:

These are ranges, not quotes. They say something about the order of magnitude, so you know whether you are in the thousands or in the tens of thousands before you start a conversation.

The native row is roughly twice the web app row, and that is no coincidence. With native you build two applications in practice, both of which you have to test, publish and maintain for years. That is exactly why we ask first whether the web route will do, because that difference of tens of thousands of euros sits in both the build and the maintenance.

What pushes the price up or down

Four things weigh heaviest in the cost of app development, and you can turn the dial on all four. The number of screens, where you can count 6 to 16 hours for an average screen. Integrations with other systems, roughly 20 to 60 hours per integration, depending on how good the documentation on the other side is. Login and permissions, which always comes on top once customers log in themselves. And how finished it has to look, for which you add 15 to 30 percent on top of the build if customers are going to see it.

The biggest saving is not in building more cheaply but in building less. Almost every app project we do starts smaller than the original idea, because you only know after launch which features actually get used.

What you pay monthly

After launch two things keep running. Hosting, which we take care of ourselves and which we charge on in advance based on what your app really needs. And maintenance, at the same hourly rate of €110, where most clients sit between 2 and 8 hours a month. With a native app you can add the mandatory annual fee and keeping up with new iOS and Android versions, which falls away with a web app.

The full breakdown, with a worked example from idea to launch, is in our article what custom software costs.

From idea to working app

We cut the process into manageable steps. First a short outline: what the app has to do, for whom, and what the smallest version is that already delivers value. Then we build in sprints, so you see working parts as we go instead of waiting months for one big delivery. After launch we stay involved for maintenance and further development, with a fixed point of contact who really knows your project. Because we host as well, responsibility for building and running sits with one party.

Frequently asked questions about having an app built

What does it cost to have an app built?

With us, €110 per hour excluding VAT. A scoped first version as a web app costs 80 to 150 hours, or €8,800 to €16,500. A native app for iOS and Android starts in practice around €33,000, because you build and maintain two applications.

Is a web app really cheaper than a native app?

Usually yes, and the difference sits in two places. You build once instead of twice, and you maintain once instead of twice. Over a period of three years that difference is often bigger than at the first delivery, because the maintenance continues.

Can I pay in phases?

Yes. On an hourly basis we invoice monthly with a specification attached. With a fixed project price we usually agree three moments: at the start, at a working interim version and on delivery.

How long does it take before my app is ready?

A first usable version is usually up within six to twelve weeks. We build in sprints, so along the way you see working parts instead of waiting months for one big delivery.

Is there a minimum project size?

No. If your question can be solved in twelve hours, we do it for twelve hours. A number of our longest-running collaborations started with an afternoon of work.

Rather talk it through first?

Most app ideas get sharper after a good conversation. Often something that simply runs in the browser turns out to do exactly what you are looking for, and sometimes real custom software is the better base. Tell us briefly what you want to achieve and we will think along, free of obligation, about the approach that suits you best.