Short answer: In Taiwan in 2026, a simple showcase app costs about NT$150–300K, an app with membership and payments about NT$400–800K, and a platform with a back office, real-time features and multiple roles NT$1–1.5M or more. Building cross-platform with Flutter usually saves 30–40% versus separate native iOS and Android apps.
A bakery chain wanted a membership app and asked three vendors: A quoted NT$150K, B NT$480K and C NT$1.2M. The owner's first reaction was that C was overcharging; the second was whether A could even deliver. In fact the three quotes were for different things: A covered only front-end screens, B included a back office and payments, and C built separate native iOS and Android apps with a year of maintenance. Before comparing app development costs, put all quotes on one table.
App development cost ranges
Bottom line: price is driven by feature complexity and the back office, not the number of screens.
| Type | Typical features | Cost range | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Showcase | Brand info, news, store map, push | NT$150–300K | 6–8 weeks |
| Membership | Sign-up, points, coupons, LINE login, back office | NT$400–800K | 3–4 months |
| Commerce | Cart, payments, logistics, order management | NT$600K–1.2M | 4–6 months |
| Platform | Multiple roles (buyers, stores, couriers), live location, chat | NT$1–1.5M+ | 6+ months |
Flutter vs native: how costs differ
Bottom line: about 80% of SMB apps are fine with Flutter; go native only for heavy hardware or special performance needs.
| Item | Flutter cross-platform | iOS + Android native |
|---|---|---|
| Codebase | One, shared by both platforms | Two, built separately |
| Build cost | Baseline | About 1.5–1.8× |
| Maintenance | Change once, both update | Every change twice |
| Best for | Membership, commerce, booking, internal tools | Heavy Bluetooth hardware, AR, games |
Full cost breakdown: where the money goes
Bottom line: app development is only about 60–70% of the total; the rest is back office, publishing, hosting and maintenance.
- Planning and UI design: about 10–15%, producing flows and a clickable prototype.
- App front end: about 35–45%, depending on screens and interactions.
- Back office and API: about 25–35%, the part low quotes most often skip.
- Payments and third-party integrations: ECPay, LINE login, push and so on, about NT$20–50K each; payments also carry per-transaction fees.
- Store accounts: the Apple Developer Program is US$99 a year and a Google Play developer account is a one-time US$25; register them in your company's name.
- Hosting and database: about NT$1,000–5,000 a month.
- Annual maintenance: about 15–20% of the build fee, covering OS updates and fixes.
As an example, ScriptWalker (a Taiwan-based Laravel/Flutter custom development studio) publishes starting prices: websites from NT$15,000, systems from NT$80,000 and apps from NT$150,000. Starting prices cover a showcase or minimum viable version; actual quotes list every feature line by line.
7 items quotes often leave out
Bottom line: a cheap quote is usually not a saving; it is less work.
- Back office: only app screens quoted; admin billed separately.
- Store review fixes: who pays when Apple rejects the app is not stated.
- OS updates: iOS and Android change yearly; without updates the app may be blocked from stores.
- Code ownership: not specified, so you cannot get it when switching vendors.
- Device test scope: tested on one or two phones, complaints after launch.
- Hosting: free in year one, quoted only in year two.
- Templates: low prices often mean a modified template that must be rebuilt once customized.
Checklist: is your app development cost reasonable?
Bottom line: three or more "no" answers out of 10 means don't sign yet; ask the vendor to clarify.
- ☐ The quote lists features item by item
- ☐ The back office is included
- ☐ It states Flutter or native, and why
- ☐ Store accounts are in our company's name
- ☐ Code and data ownership are in the contract
- ☐ Payments and acceptance are staged
- ☐ Warranty and annual maintenance fees are stated
- ☐ Hosting and third-party monthly fees are listed
- ☐ Device test scope is agreed
- ☐ The vendor offers reference clients you can call
FAQ
What is the minimum cost of an app?
A showcase app in Taiwan starts around NT$150K. With membership, payments and a back office, expect NT$400–800K.
Why is a custom app more expensive than a template?
Features, back office and data follow your process and can keep growing; templates are cheap but small changes may force a rebuild.
What does an app cost each year after launch?
Maintenance of about 15–20% of the build fee, plus Apple's US$99 yearly fee and hosting of about NT$1,000–5,000 a month.
Is a Flutter app lower quality?
No. Membership, commerce and booking apps built with Flutter feel close to native; go native only for heavy hardware features.
Free quote and contact
Bottom line: send us a list of the features you want, and within 3 working days we will reply with an itemized app development cost and timeline, plus which features can wait for phase two.
- Email: [email protected]
- Phone: 0916-224-047
- LINE: @ufv9089p