Summary
Making an app takes nine steps, from a one-line idea to an app in the stores. In short:
- The steps: write down the idea, check it, pick the first features, choose how to build it, design it, build it, test it, publish it, then improve it.
- Three ways to build it: a no-code or AI app builder (fast and cheap, but limited), learning to code (months), or hiring a developer or studio.
- Cost: a professional first version usually costs $15,000–$120,000, depending on what it does. A simple prototype on a no-code tool can cost almost nothing.
- Time: about 3–4 months from idea to the app stores for a typical first version.
- Publishing: Apple charges $99 a year and Google $25 once. Apple reviews 90% of apps within 48 hours; give Google a week.
- Rules to plan for: Apple requires a privacy policy for every app, and both stores require a way to delete your account inside the app if users can create one.
1. Write down the idea in one sentence
Before anything else, write one sentence: who the app is for, what problem it solves for them, and why they’d use it instead of what they do today. For example: “Salon owners who take bookings over WhatsApp, so they stop losing appointments in long chats.”
If you can’t write that sentence yet, keep working on the idea rather than the app. Everything later, from the features to the design, gets easier with it.
2. Check the idea before you spend
A few days of checking can save months of building the wrong thing:
- Search the App Store and Google Play for apps that already do something similar. Read their one- to three-star reviews: they list exactly what users wish those apps did.
- Talk to five to ten people who have the problem. Ask how they handle it today and what it costs them, not whether they like your idea.
- Test demand cheaply, with a simple page that describes the app and asks people to sign up for early access.
Competition is usually a good sign: it means people want the thing. Your job is to find what the existing apps get wrong.
3. Pick the features for your first version
List every feature you want, then keep only the ones the app can’t launch without. Your first version should do one job well; the rest can wait until real users tell you what matters. This first version is often called an MVP (minimum viable product), and our guide to MVP development covers how to cut the list.
Then decide where it runs. Build for the phones your users carry: with one codebase you can launch on iPhone and Android together for little extra. If the app doesn’t need the phone’s camera, location or notifications, a web app can be quicker and cheaper to start with.
4. Choose how to build it
There are four realistic ways to get an app built:
| Way | Good for | Cost | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| A no-code or AI app builder | Prototypes, simple apps and internal tools | Free to a few hundred dollars a month | Days to weeks |
| Learning to code | Becoming a developer yourself | Mostly your time | Months before a real app ships |
| A freelancer | Small apps where the designs already exist | $25–$150 an hour | Weeks to months |
| A studio or agency | A product you plan to grow | $15,000–$120,000 for most first versions | 2–4 months |
No-code and AI builders are a great way to test an idea, but you’ll hit their limits once you need custom features, and moving off them usually means rebuilding. If you learn to code, React Native or Flutter lets one codebase run on both phones; Swift (for iPhone) and Kotlin (for Android) are the native choices. For what drives the price when you hire, see our guide to app development cost.
5. Design the app
Design is where you decide how the app works, before anyone writes code:
- Map the main flow: the steps a user takes to do the app’s one job, from opening the app to finishing.
- Sketch each screen in rough boxes and labels (wireframes), with no colours yet.
- Design the look: type, colour, icons and how the screens feel, following Apple’s and Google’s design guidelines so the app feels at home on each phone.
- Make it clickable and watch a handful of real users try it. Fixing a confusing screen now takes hours; fixing it in code takes days.
6. Build it
Most apps have three parts to build:
- The app: the screens people use on their phone.
- The backend: the server and database behind it, which store accounts and data and do the heavy work. Ready-made backend services can cover the basics for simple apps.
- Connections to other services: payments, maps, email, sign-in with Google or Apple, and AI models.
For example, Kaushal AI, the learning app we built, has a React Native app, a Node.js backend and an AI pipeline that dubs each lesson into Hindi, Marathi and English.
Build in rounds of one or two weeks, with something working to try at the end of each, so mistakes surface while they’re still cheap to fix.
7. Test it on real phones
Test before every release, and not only on the newest phone:
- older and newer phones, small and large screens, iPhone and Android
- slow connections and no connection at all
- the unhappy paths: a wrong password, a failed payment, a full inbox
Then run a beta with real users: Apple’s TestFlight and Google Play’s testing tracks let people install the app before launch. If you publish from a personal Google Play account created after 13 November 2023, Google requires a closed test with at least 12 testers for 14 days before the app can go live (Google).
8. Publish to the App Store and Google Play
To publish, you need a developer account with each store:
| Compared | Apple App Store | Google Play |
|---|---|---|
| Fee | $99 a year | $25, once |
| Review time | At least 50% within 24 hours, 90% within 48 hours | Plan for up to a week |
| Beta testing | TestFlight | Testing tracks in Play Console |
The review times are each store’s own figures (Apple, Google). Before you submit, have these ready:
- A company account, so the app is listed under your business’s name. Apple asks organisations for a D-U-N-S Number (a business ID from Dun & Bradstreet) and a working website (Apple).
- A privacy policy, linked from the store listing and inside the app. Apple requires one for every app (Apple).
- Account deletion inside the app, if users can create accounts. Both Apple and Google require it, and Google also wants a web page where people can ask for deletion (Google).
- The store listing: name, description, screenshots and answers about the data the app collects.
Building an iPhone app normally needs a Mac, but cloud services such as Expo’s can build and submit it for you (Expo).
9. Launch, measure and improve
Launch is the start. Watch a few numbers from day one: how many people sign up, how many come back the next week, where they drop off, and what crashes. Read every review in the first weeks; users will tell you what to build next.
Then keep the app healthy. Apple and Google release new phone software every year, and apps need updates to keep working and stay in the stores. A common rule of thumb is to set aside 15–20% of the build cost each year for upkeep.
How long it takes to make an app
| Stage | Typical time |
|---|---|
| Idea, checking and features | 1–3 weeks |
| Design | 2–4 weeks |
| Building and testing a first version | 6–12 weeks |
| Store review and launch | A few days to a week |
| Total | About 3–4 months |
Design and building often overlap, and a simple app can be faster. An app with AI features, payments between users, or health or finance rules takes longer.
Want help making your app?
Radical Labs is a four-person studio that designs and builds web apps, mobile apps and AI tools, from an offline kiosk app for the Government of Chhattisgarh to Soma AI, a workspace for launching ads in bulk. You work with the same people from the first call to launch. If you have an idea, send us a short brief.
FAQs
Can I make an app for free?
You can make a simple one on a no-code tool’s free plan, but publishing costs $99 a year for Apple’s App Store and $25 once for Google Play. A custom app with accounts, payments and a backend costs far more.
Can I make an app without coding?
Yes, for prototypes and simple apps: no-code and AI app builders let you make one without writing code. Once you need custom features, you’ll need code, and moving off those tools usually means rebuilding.
How long does it take to make an app?
About 3–4 months from idea to the app stores for a typical first version, including planning, design, building, testing and review. A simple app can be faster; one with AI, payments or health or finance rules takes longer.
How much does it cost to make an app?
From a mid-priced professional team, about $10,000–$40,000 for a simple app and $40,000–$120,000 for one with accounts, payments and an admin panel. Complex apps cost more.
Do I need a Mac to make an iPhone app?
Normally, yes: Apple’s tools for building iPhone apps run on a Mac. Cloud build services, such as Expo’s, can build and submit an iPhone app for you without one.
Should I make an iPhone app or an Android app first?
Build for the phones your users carry. With React Native or Flutter, one codebase covers both, so you can usually launch on iPhone and Android together for little extra.
How do I get my app on the App Store?
Join the Apple Developer Program ($99 a year), prepare your store listing and privacy policy, and submit the app for review. Apple reviews 90% of submissions within 48 hours.
Can Radical Labs make my app?
Yes. Radical Labs designs and builds apps for iPhone, Android and the web, often with AI features, and you work with the same people from the first call to launch. Send a short brief at radicallabs.io/contact.