React Native app development in the US typically costs $40,000 to $220,000. Most consumer apps using React Native + Expo land at $70K-$130K for a launch build.
Backend complexity is the biggest driver. An RN app with a clean API and basic auth lands at $40K-$80K. RN apps with custom backends, real-time features, or substantial native modules run $120K+. The single biggest predictor of where a specific engagement lands is scope discipline, operators who lock the spec in the first two weeks save 20-40% of total project cost over the next three months. Operators who let scope expand mid-build pay the inverse penalty. Either way, the $40K to $220K range is descriptive, not prescriptive: it reflects what a competent US vendor charges in 2026 for the work as scoped, not what a finished engagement has to cost.
| Component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
Discovery + cross-platform planning | $3K | $12K |
Design (Figma) for both platforms | $6K | $28K |
RN + Expo frontend | $15K | $80K |
Backend + API (Postgres, REST/tRPC) | $8K | $60K |
Native modules (BLE, camera, biometrics) | $0 | $25K |
Push, analytics, crash reporting, OTA | $4K | $15K |
App Store + Play submission | $2K | $10K |
Discovery + cross-platform planning
Design (Figma) for both platforms
RN + Expo frontend
Backend + API (Postgres, REST/tRPC)
Native modules (BLE, camera, biometrics)
Push, analytics, crash reporting, OTA
App Store + Play submission
Every 'small addition' that turns up in week three is a real change order. Operators who lock scope in discovery save 20-40% of total project cost.
CRM imports, redirect maps, third-party API wiring, and content migration are the most underestimated line items in dev projects.
Conventional design is fixed-bid territory. Custom motion, bespoke components, and editorial illustration push costs up 30-100%.
Senior US engineers cost 2-3x junior engineers but ship 5-10x faster on non-trivial work. Cheap teams are usually expensive in retrospect.
Sites where the client writes all the copy ship faster and cheaper than sites where copy is in scope. Most projects underestimate this.
Inparlor RN engagements start at $65,000. Most land at $80K-$140K with subscription, analytics, and OTA pipeline configured. RN + Expo is our default mobile stack, we ship to both stores from one codebase. The premium over the floor of the market reflects scope we don't itemize, measurement infrastructure, post-launch stability, and a documented handoff that survives whoever happens to be on our team six months from now. Our proposals are itemized line-by-line so you can see what you're paying for; we'd rather lose the deal on transparent pricing than win it by hiding the math.
From $65K
fixed project
iOS and Android apps users actually open more than once.
Full Mobile Apps breakdownOutsource RN development to a non-US team for $25K-$60K. Cost savings real; communication and architecture quality vary widely. Plan for 2-3× rework cycles vs. a US-based team. The honest framing: cheaper vendors exist at every tier, Fiverr at the bottom, offshore agencies in the middle, established US-based mid-market shops at the top. The cost-quality curve is real but rarely linear. Going from a $5K vendor to a $15K vendor usually produces a meaningfully different outcome; going from $15K to $45K often produces a refinement, not a transformation. Where you sit on that curve depends on the cost of being wrong, not the budget you have available.
Cost ÷ (monthly app-attributable revenue, both platforms)
$100K RN app shipping to both stores. $35K/mo iOS + $15K/mo Android = $50K/mo total. Payback in 12-18 months on subscription apps; faster on transactional.
We'll send back an itemized proposal, scope, line items, timeline, and the team that would actually run the engagement. No discovery call to schedule a discovery call.