Cross-platform
Cross-platform app development cost
What a React Native or Flutter app costs in the US in 2026, and how it compares with two native builds. Itemised in engineering hours and USD.
React NativeFlutterTypeScriptDart
Standard cross-platform app
$260,000 – $360,000
Six features, 26 screens, custom backend and an admin dashboard, on Cross-platform alone.
- Timeline
- 4.8 – 6.5 months
- Engineering hours
- 2,000 – 2,550
- Device configurations
- 26
- OS versions supported
- 5
What a cross-platform app costs at each level
The same six-feature app on Cross-platform, built to four different standards. Every other answer is held constant so the only thing changing is depth.
| Level | Cost range | Timeline | Hours | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MVP Prove it works | $180K – $250K | 3.9 – 5.5 months | 1,575 | 6 |
| Standard Production ready | $260K – $360K | 4.8 – 6.5 months | 2,225 | 6 |
| Advanced Built to grow | $340K – $470K | 5.3 – 7.4 months | 2,875 | 7 |
| Enterprise Audited and integrated | $450K – $625K | 6.2 – 8.3 months | 3,775 | 7 |
Fragmentation and release overhead
Both device matrices still have to be tested, on one codebase.
Device & OS test matrix
74 hrs
26 configurations across 5 OS versions. This is QA, and it is unavoidable.
Project setup
47 hrs
Build configuration, signing, platform conventions — before the app does anything.
App Store & Google Play release
25 hrs
Submission, metadata, phased rollout. Review takes 1–7 days, plus $124/yr for the developer account.
Cross-platform is the right call
- One mobile codebase for roughly a quarter more than one native app
- A single team, one release cadence, one set of business logic
- Materially cheaper than two native builds at similar quality
Reconsider when
- You need deep hardware access, heavy custom animation or the newest OS APIs on day one
- You are building a single-platform product and will never need the other
Adding Cross-platform to an existing build costs much less. As an additional surface it multiplies client hours by 0.74 rather than 1.25, because the backend, data model, API contracts and design system are already paid for. See how platform mixing works.