Apple: 99 USD a year
The Apple Developer Program costs 99 USD per membership year, or the local equivalent where Apple offers one.
Source: Apple Developer
Keep, fix or retire
Is our app worth what we pay for it?
Add up what the app really costs you in a year from your own invoices, count how many people use it, and check that it can still ship an update. If the answer still isn't clear, get an independent review before you spend more. For businesses whose customers or staff depend on the app, our $8,000 audit takes 1 to 4 weeks and ends with a keep, fix or retire recommendation and what each option costs.
For businesses whose customers or staff depend on the app.Audits are $8,000, in 1 to 4 weeks.
Who this is for
This is for you if
- The app costs real money every month, and nobody can say what it returns.
- Your vendor's quote or pace feels high, and you want an independent opinion.
- You are deciding whether to keep the app, rebuild it or retire it.
This is not for you if
- You need a standalone website with no app behind it.
- You want a second opinion on a small quote for less than the cost of the audit.
What Apple and Google charge, and what happens if you stop
The cost to keep an app on the App Store and Google Play
Each fact links to its source. The store fees are the only fixed numbers; hosting, outside services and people come from your own invoices.
Google Play: US$25 once
A Google Play developer account has a one-time registration fee of US$25.
Source: Play Console Help
Stop paying Apple, and new downloads stop
If the membership expires, new customers can't download the app and no updates can ship. People who already have it can keep using it.
Source: Apple Developer
Old, unused apps can be flagged
Apple can flag an app with no update in three years and very few downloads, and give the owner 90 days to update. Current users keep a removed app working, including in-app purchases.
Source: Apple Developer
The stores keep raising the bar
Apple and Google regularly raise the minimum every update must meet. An app that falls behind can't ship a fix until it catches up.
Sources: Apple Developer, Play Console Help
Health counts on Google Play
Google's limits are 1.09% of users seeing a crash and 0.47% seeing a freeze overall, or 8% on any one phone model. Above them, Google Play may show the app to fewer people and may warn on its listing.
Source: Android Developers (Creative Commons Attribution 2.5)
What to do first
Add up what the app really costs you in a year.
99 USD to Apple, US$25 once to Google, plus your own bills for hosting, outside services and the people who work on it. Use your invoices, not an industry rule of thumb.
Find out how many people actually use it.
Count active users and downloads from your own analytics.
Check that it can still ship an update.
If it can't, the real cost includes catching up first.
Check its health.
Compare crash and freeze rates with Google Play's limits, and read the recent ratings.
Confirm you control the accounts, the keys and the code.
Without them you can't keep it, rebuild it or retire it cleanly. See "Our developer is gone, and we don't control our code or App Store account."
Know what retiring it would mean.
If you stop the Apple membership, new customers can't download the app, but current users keep it. Any servers it depends on still need a plan.
Make the keep, fix or retire call with those numbers in front of you.
If the answer still isn't clear, get an independent review.
What it costs
Audits are $8,000.
For one app and one codebase, in 1 to 4 weeks. Larger apps are quoted higher. The audit is paid on its own. If you keep the app, maintenance starts at $10,000 a month with a three-month minimum; a fix or rebuild is quoted from the audit. Prices are for remote work. On-site work is quoted separately and priced higher.
How the audit worksWhat you get from the audit
What it really costs
The app's yearly cost laid out from your invoices, the store fees and the services it runs on.
Whether it can keep shipping
Whether it can ship an update under today's store rules, and what catching up would involve.
An independent code review
How the app is built, what is fragile, and whether your vendor's quote or pace looks reasonable.
Keep, fix or retire
A written recommendation, what each option costs, and what retiring would mean for current users.
Common questions
What does it cost to keep an app on the App Store?
Apple charges 99 USD a year, and Google Play charges US$25 once. The real cost is hosting, outside services and the people who keep the app current, and only your own invoices can show that.
What percentage of the build cost should maintenance be each year?
We found no published, measured figure. The percentages quoted online come from vendor blogs with no stated method. Use your own invoices instead.
What happens to our customers if we retire the app?
If you stop the Apple membership, new customers can't download it, but people who already have it keep a working app. Any servers it depends on still need to keep running, or be shut down with notice.
Is an independent code review worth it before we spend more?
If the next decision is a big one, such as a rebuild or a new vendor, yes. The audit tells you what you have and what each option costs before you commit.
Will you just tell us to rebuild it?
No. Many apps are worth keeping, and some are worth retiring. The audit gives you the numbers to choose.
Tell us what is going on with your app.
A short note is enough. We reply with whether we can help and what the first step costs.