The short answer
Budget roughly 15–25% of your original build cost every year to keep an app healthy, plus running costs for servers and third-party services that grow with your users. A small app might need a few lakh a year; a busy marketplace considerably more.
Apps are not finished when they launch. Phones update, app stores change their rules, libraries need security patches, and users ask for things. Here is what that costs and how to plan for it.
Why apps need ongoing work
- Operating system updates. Android and iOS release major versions every year. Something in your app will need adjusting.
- Store requirements. Google Play raises the minimum target Android version roughly once a year; apps that fall behind can stop receiving updates or lose visibility. Apple has similar rules for its SDK versions.
- Security patches. Every app depends on open-source libraries. When a vulnerability is found, they need updating.
- Third-party changes. Payment gateways, maps, SMS and login providers change their APIs and pricing.
- Bugs found by real users. New devices, network conditions and edge cases show up only at scale.
- Small improvements. A clearer checkout, a new filter, a missing report your ops team needs.
None of this is new features. It is the cost of standing still safely.
A yearly budget, line by line
| Item | Ballpark yearly cost | What drives it |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance and fixes | 15–25% of build cost | Number of apps, complexity, how much changes outside your control |
| Cloud hosting and database | ₹30,000–5 lakh+ | Number of users, real-time features, file and image storage |
| Maps and location | Free tier to several lakh | Map loads, route and distance calls, live tracking |
| SMS OTPs and notifications | Usage-based | Logins, order updates; WhatsApp messages are priced per conversation |
| Apple Developer Program | $99 a year | Fixed; Google Play is a one-time $25 |
| Monitoring and crash reporting | Free tier to ₹1 lakh | Volume of events and team seats |
| Domain, email, SSL | ₹5,000–20,000 | Number of team mailboxes |
Usage-based services can surprise you. Set budget alerts on your cloud and maps accounts from day one, and review the bill monthly in the first six months.
What changes the number
Two apps with the same build cost can have very different running costs.
- Real-time features. Live tracking, chat and dashboards that update every few seconds need always-on servers. A delivery app like our Bitevia concept costs more to run than a booking app like Moviva.
- Images and video. Product photos, user uploads and video classes add storage and bandwidth.
- Number of sides. Every app — customer, partner, ops — has its own updates, store listings and testing.
- Integrations. Each connection to a gateway, ERP or courier is one more thing that can change.
- Code quality. Clean, documented code with tests is cheaper to maintain. Rushed code costs more every month it lives.
Support models: AMC, retainer or in-house
| Model | How it works | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Annual maintenance contract (AMC) | Fixed yearly fee for fixes, updates and a set number of hours | Stable apps with few planned changes |
| Monthly retainer | A dedicated designer–engineer pair for a set number of days a month | Products still finding their shape, with regular new features |
| Pay as you go | Hourly or per-task billing | Very small apps with rare changes |
| In-house team | Your own engineers | Products at scale with constant development |
Whatever you choose, agree response times for urgent issues (payments failing, app crashing) separately from normal requests. Our Studio on call engagement is a monthly arrangement with a dedicated designer–engineer pair, which you can pause or stop any month. See our services and process.
Maintenance, improvements or a rebuild?
Not every post-launch request is maintenance. Separating three kinds of work keeps budgets honest and conversations with your team simple.
| Kind of work | Examples | How to budget |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance | OS and store updates, security patches, bug fixes, provider API changes | A fixed yearly or monthly amount |
| Improvements | A new report, a better checkout, a second language, a new payment option | Planned in batches, priced per batch or covered by a retainer |
| Rebuild | Moving to a new platform, a new business model, code no one can safely change | A separate project with its own quote |
Watch for the signs that maintenance is turning into a rebuild: every small change breaks something else, releases take weeks, nobody on the team understands part of the code, or the app depends on a library that is no longer supported. Catching this early is cheaper than living with it. A short code audit by a fresh team can tell you whether to repair or rebuild.
Improvements are where most of the value of an app comes from after launch. Products like our Zippit concept are designed around a shared design system and data model so that new features slot in rather than bolt on — that is what keeps improvement cheaper than rebuilding.
How to keep maintenance costs down
- Own everything. Code, store accounts, cloud accounts and domains in your company's name, so you can switch teams without a rebuild.
- Ask for documentation and tests at handover. They make every future change cheaper.
- Use one codebase where you can. Cross-platform apps (Flutter, React Native) and shared design systems reduce duplicate work. See native, cross-platform or PWA?.
- Watch usage-based services. Cache map results, batch notifications, and compress images.
- Batch small changes. Releasing every two to four weeks is cheaper than constant one-line updates.
- Update regularly. Small, frequent dependency updates are cheaper than one big catch-up every two years.
Plan for it before you build
When you compare quotes, ask each team what they expect your app to cost to run and maintain in year one. A team that has built similar products should be able to give you a rough range and explain it.
If you are still budgeting the build itself, start with how much it costs to build an app in India and launching on Google Play and the App Store. To talk through your own product, send us a brief.
Questions people ask
How much does app maintenance cost per year in India?
A common rule of thumb is 15–25% of the original build cost each year for updates, fixes and small improvements. On top of that come running costs — hosting, maps, SMS and store fees — which depend on how many people use the app. A small app might need a few lakh a year; a busy marketplace much more.
Do I have to pay Google Play and Apple every year?
Google Play charges a one-time registration fee of $25. Apple's Developer Program costs $99 a year, and your iOS app stops being available if the membership lapses. Both stores also take a commission on in-app purchases of digital goods, but not on payments for physical goods or services like food delivery.
What happens if I don't maintain my app?
At first, nothing visible. Over months, the app may break on new phone versions, fall behind store requirements so you cannot publish updates, and carry unpatched security issues. Payment, login or map integrations can also stop working when providers change their systems. Fixing all of this at once costs more than steady upkeep.
Is hosting included in app maintenance?
Usually not. Maintenance covers the work of keeping the app updated and fixed; hosting and third-party services are billed by those providers based on usage. Ideally the accounts are in your company's name and you pay providers directly, so costs stay transparent and you can change teams without moving infrastructure.
