Most London businesses that commission a mobile app spend more than they need to, build more than they should, and launch later than planned — because the brief didn't start with the right questions.
01
Native apps (Swift for iOS, Kotlin for Android) deliver the best performance and deepest platform integration, but require two separate codebases — effectively doubling build time and cost. Cross-platform frameworks like React Native or Flutter share a single codebase across both platforms, cutting development time by 40–60% with minimal UX compromise for most business applications. For a booking system, client portal or service app, React Native is typically the right call. For apps that push hardware limits — camera processing, real-time audio, AR features — native is worth the investment. We build from £5,000 for a focused MVP.
02
The most expensive mistake in mobile development is building the full product before confirming anyone wants it. An MVP (Minimum Viable Product) covers the one core user journey that proves value: a booking app where users can browse, select and confirm; a delivery tracker showing live status; a loyalty card that records and redeems points. An MVP in React Native typically takes 8–12 weeks from signed brief to app store submission. A full-featured product with admin dashboard, notifications, payment integration and user accounts runs 16–24 weeks. We connect mobile apps to Laravel API backends, giving you a structured, scalable data layer.
03
Not every business problem needs to live in the App Store. A Progressive Web App (PWA) or a responsive Next.js web application works offline, sends push notifications, installs on the home screen and costs significantly less to build and maintain than a native app — without requiring users to download anything. If your audience is predominantly desktop-and-mobile mixed, if you need SEO visibility, or if the core functionality doesn't require camera, GPS or Bluetooth hardware, a web app is almost always the faster and cheaper route to the same outcome. We help London businesses make this call before a single line of code is written.
04
We build production mobile apps in React Native, shipping a single codebase to both iOS and Android. For the apps most London businesses actually need — booking platforms, client portals, loyalty schemes, field-service tools — React Native delivers near-native performance while halving the cost of maintaining two separate native codebases. It also means one team, one release cycle and one set of bugs to fix rather than two diverging products. We reserve fully native Swift or Kotlin work for apps that genuinely push the hardware: heavy camera processing, real-time audio or AR. For everything else, React Native gets you to the App Store and Google Play faster, and our mobile builds start from £5,000 for a focused MVP.
05
The build cost is only the visible part of an app project. Apple charges an annual developer fee, Google a one-off registration, and both review every submission — which means release timelines need a buffer for rejections and resubmissions. After launch, an app needs ongoing maintenance: each new iOS and Android version can break things, and an app left untouched for a year will eventually be pulled from the stores. We factor this in from the brief, scoping a realistic maintenance budget rather than letting it surprise you later. Our care plans start from £150 per month and cover updates, monitoring and the SDK upkeep that keeps your app compliant and live in both stores.
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Websites from £1,000. Built in London.
Related services
These service pages connect this guide to the specific scope that fits your business.