How much does it cost to maintain an app? The mobile app maintenance rate starts at $500 per month. It can exceed $15,000+ with the app complexity, traffic volume and service infrastructure, which generally makes up 15% to 20% on average of the original build. Recent industry data reveals that about 2 million apps got rejected from Google Play and the Apple App Store. The global research reinforces the need for security patching, maintenance and continuous iOS and Android app updates, following the increase in data breach attacks of about 56%. This app maintenance and services guide is written purely for startup founders and SMB owners running businesses in the USA, UAE and Saudi Arabia. If your app is 6+ months old, you better know the factors that either lift or lower your app maintenance cost, monthly app maintenance plans and a quick maintenance quote fair checklist.
To keep your usersโ experience and app performance stable and scalable, app maintenance is required. Typically, mobile app maintenance costs range between $500 and $15,000+, which makes about $6,000 to $180,000+ yearly maintenance. Have a look at the estimated maintenance cost breakdown per app level.
| App Type | Example | Monthly Cost | Yearly Cost |
| Simple | Content or booking apps | $500 to $1,500 | $6,000 to $18,000 |
| Mid-level | eCommerce or on-demand apps | $1,500 to $5,000 | $18,000 to $60,000 |
| Complex | Live marketplace, fintech, healthcare or taxi apps | $5,000 to $15,000+ | $60,000 to $180,000+ |
For example, if simple or MVP development costs start from 5,000, then its monthly and yearly maintenance cost will be ~$80 and $1,000 per year and if complex taxi booking app development costs $60,000, then its monthly and yearly maintenance cost will be $1,000 and $12,000 respectively.
โThese maintenance cost estimates cover bug fixes, server hosting, security and vulnerability patching, server infrastructure and API management, app customization and technical debt.
There are several obvious and hidden tools and technologies that keep your app alive, secure, competitive and improve user experience. There are many maintenance expenses that keep your app functional and compliant with regulations. The prime contributors include cloud hosting, security patches, OS updates and critical bug fixes. Have a look at all these expenses, what each contributes to your app and their estimated cost below.
| Cost Item | What it covers | Typical Estimated Cost |
| Hosting/Cloud | Infrastructure, data storage, surge loads, rush traffic and backend logics | $50 to $300+ per month |
| OS compatibility updates | Adjustments, code rewriting and testing for both iOS and Android annual changes | Annualy 15% to 20% of the total app budget |
| Bug fixes | The resolution of unexpected errors, bugs, faults and logic flaws | $100 to $150 per hour |
| Security patches | Mitigation of security flaws via regular scanning, penetration testing, security patches and threat reports | $2,000 to $10,000+ per year |
| Third-party APIs and SDKs | Payment gateways, analytics platforms, APIs, maps or authentication services | $0 to $500+ per month |
| Monitoring/crash tools | Analytical assessment platforms that monitors and record bugs and performance sessions | $10 to $150+ per month |
| App Store fees | Google Play and Apple App Store monthly or yearly subscription, licensing and billing fees | Apple developer program: $99 per year Google Play developer registration: $25 one time fee (Both charging 15% to 30% as commission on sale) |
| Support/SLA | Guaranteed help and support developers response time upon encountering critical flaws and crashes during processing | $500 to $5,000+ per month |
Servers are the backbone of any application; they store data, process requests and handle all backend logic and calculations. All user profiles, images or videos uploaded are stored in cloud storage. The more data to process, the more the system experiences high traffic, leading to higher maintenance charges.
A recent TechCrunch report reveals that Google Play declined 47% of apps in recent years. Google and Apple update their policies, layout, code and system annually, due to which all iOS and Android apps are required to update their apps in a timely manner.
No app can be developed 100% perfectly, without any errors and bugs, as human behavior is unpredictable and can lead to unexpected edge cases and logic disruptions. When users experience abnormal behavior, they report errors or contact the support team. Such glitches should be fixed as soon as possible to retain customers.
Security vulnerabilities and cyber threats should be prevented in a timely manner; otherwise, they lead to app rejection, data loss, or permanent damage. Regulatory penalties for not meeting security guidelines are huge; data reveals the penalty of GDPR is โฌ10 million, CCPA is $2,663 per violation and COPPA is $53,088 per violation.
Year 1 app maintenance costs are higher than Year 2 updates. As the app is newly released, many new findings are discovered upon encountering real-world application usage and user interactions. This is why initial maintenance costs typically take 25% to 50% of the total app budget in the very first year.
โThe three main costing factors include app scaling, the first OS cycle and bugs fixation right after app launch.
| App Type | Year 1 (% of build) | Year 2+ (% of build) |
| Simple | 20% to 25% | 10% to 15% |
| Mid level | 25% to 35% | 15% to 20% |
| Complex | 35% to 50% | 20% to 25% |
Just invest 90 seconds and find out!
There are four types of mobile app maintenance, including corrective, adaptive, perfective and preventive. Each maintenance type varies with app complexity level, app size, feature volume and number of bugs fixed.
Corrective maintenance fixes identified app issues or reported problems, such as logic flaws or errors in code after app launch. For example, errors related to symbolic data insertion in the login screen, where either the username or password is only discovered once the user enters their information. The patching of such corrective maintenance ranges between ~$1,500 and $5,000 per smaller update.
Adaptive maintenance supports changes or upgrades in the operating systems, app stores or security regulations. For example, to keep the app adhering to compliance needs, modifying its functionalities with respect to those specific clause updates. Such updates typically range between ~$3,000 and $10,000 for major changes.
As the maintenance type is elaborated with its name, perfective. Keeping mobile apps perfectly functioning, or adding new features or modifications based on usersโ feedback, results in perfective maintenance. For example, improving the checkout workflow to smooth the user journey and reduce the card abandonment rate. It typically ranges between ~$5,000 and $25,000. If you wanna improve user experience, go for it.
It is a preventive approach that reduces the risk of app failure, system downfall and technical debt via continuous monitoring, by optimizing coding and meeting new security protocols. For example, refactoring a legacy app to improve code quality and increase system reliability along with the new world requirements. This maintenance type typically ranges between ~$2,000 and $8,000 per repair cycle.
Note: Emergency maintenance can cost 3 to 5 times more than regular maintenance, due to critical and quick-fix requirements and to save the system from security threats.
These are the seven major factors that can lift or decrease your app maintenance cost, such as app complexity or platform choice. Now, all you need is a smart app maintenance partner to keep your budget on track and software running seamlessly.
The more complex your app is, the more features, typical coding and complicated structures, the more maintenance costs will increase. Likewise, a less complex app will need fewer updates and will ultimately charge less for maintenance and upkeep.
By using a cross-platform app development process, you can directly eliminate the expenses of handling two separate native iOS and Android apps. This approach uses frameworks like Flutter or React Native in a single codebase for app build, thus lowering long-term costs.
With the increase in the number of app users, the need for larger datasets and heavy workloads increases, creating the risk of system downtime and performance bottlenecks. However, timely app maintenance and updates will keep systems running smoothly.
External and third-party tools such as payment gateways, analytics or APIs create dependencies within your app. When these tools update, your team must make changes in your app to eliminate app crashing issues and maintain app performance.
Regulatory compliance standards like HIPAA, PCI DSS or UAE PDPL keep updating their rules with respect to rising needs. Your app must be updated as per the new requirements to eliminate the risk of non-compliance and costly penalties for clause violations.
Apps developed in a hurry often result in spaghetti code and poor app quality. In such cases, fixing these apps leads to technical debt and more complications than maintaining a well-maintained and already clean dataset.
The geographic location of your partner app developers also plays a significant role in your final app development cost and its maintenance. Below, I have highlighted the average hourly rates for app maintenance of different regions.
| Region | Estimated Hourly Rate in USD | Rate vs US |
| United States | $100 to $180+ | 100% |
| Latin America | $20 to $65+ | 65% to 75% |
| Eastern Europe | $40 to $75 | 55% to 65% |
| India / South Asia | $25 to $45 | 30% to 45% |
| United Kingdom | $80 to $140 | 20% to 25% |
| United Arab Emirates | $60 to $110 | 35% to 40% |
Choosing the right mobile app maintenance services and plans ensures your app performance, tight security, increases user retention and keeps your app functional and competitive. The three monthly maintenance plans include Basic, Growth, and Enterprise.
Have a closer look at each plan for a quick idea:
| Basic Plan | Growth Plan | Enterprise Plan |
| Robust monitoring, 48 hours response SLA, OS updates and security patches | Continuous optimization, minor features upgrade, advanced analytics and 12 hours response SLA | Customized infrastructure, 2 hours response SLA, dedicated maintenance team and compliance upgrade |
Letโs understand each planโs offerings and services below:
Basic maintenance plans are ideal for simple apps or MVPs or products with known traffic. Basic plan covers core and standard support, such as:
The growth maintenance plan is for companies running mid-complexity applications that require robust security patching, continuous optimization and fast technical error resolution.โ
Business applications and enterprise digital solutions running complex programs and dealing with high traffic require full-cycle mobile app support and customized maintenance services.
Signing for maintenance services goes beyond the paywall; itโs about your app health, security compliance and brand reputation. I have listed 7 points that you should consider before partnering with maintenance service providers for your app maintenance to protect your business interests along with app longevity.
This is how the first 30 days will look when mobile app maintenance and support services providers are optimizing your app performance and stability, especially when unhappy owners are migrating from Bubble to Custom apps for scalability.
Maintaining your app shouldnโt feel like another financial burden. By using the following 6 ways, you can cut down the maintenance cost while maximizing app performance with customized optimization.
Choosing the right app maintenance company as your partner is crucial for your software security, functionality, overall health and market presence. I have mentioned the 5 questions you must ask your partner before starting any maintenance project.
Trango Tech offers mobile app maintenance plans and is transforming industries across the globe with its services. They have successfully developed and deployed 500+ mobile applications, serving industries for more than 20 years and have offices in the USA, UAE, UK, KSA and Qatar. Their successful web and mobile app maintenance work includes names such as Shifaam, Goto, ClicknCollect, MatchBox and Khaity.
Mobile app maintenance services keep your brand alive, applications functional and secure. On average, the maintenance programs take 15% to 20% of your original build, while 20% to 50% in the starting year, as real challenges occur in the app launching year. Typically, monthly app maintenance ranges between $500 and $15,000+, and yearly maintenance ranges between $6,000 and $180,000+, whereas the overall maintenance cost varies with your app type and critical infrastructure.
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