Native or cross-platform, decided on evidence
This choice gets made on ideology far too often. Cross-platform is usually right when the app is largely screens over an API and you want one team and one release cadence. Native earns its extra cost when you depend on platform capabilities, need the last increment of interface polish, or are shipping something performance-sensitive such as continuous location or camera work. We put the recommendation in writing with the trade-off spelled out, and choosing between React Native and Flutter, and living with it is the longer version of that argument. Interface work for either platform is covered on the UI/UX design page.
- React Native and Flutter for shared-codebase products.
- Swift and Kotlin where platform depth or performance decides it.
- Offline-first data layers for users who lose signal routinely.
- Push notifications, deep links and in-app purchase flows.
- App Store and Play Store submission, review handling and release management.
Built for the network and the handset your users actually have
An app built and tested on office wifi behaves very differently on a bus past Naubise. The majority of Nepali users are on mid-range Android devices with limited storage and a data pack they are conscious of spending. We design for that from the start: local-first storage so the app opens with content, queued writes that sync when signal returns, honest offline states instead of an endless spinner, payloads sized for metered data, and an install size we keep an eye on because storage pressure is a real reason apps get deleted. It is also what keeps an app usable during precisely the events, monsoon flooding included, when people most need it.
Payments, identity and the Nepali app reality
A Nepali consumer app usually needs eSewa or Khalti alongside cards, and sign-in by phone number and one-time password rather than email, because a mobile number is the identity people actually have. Apple and Google both take a cut of digital goods sold in-app and both have rules about what counts, which changes the commercial model for anything subscription-based. We work through the ordering of those integrations before the build rather than after a rejection, and what to integrate first for digital payments in Nepal covers the sequencing.
Store submission is part of the job
Getting through App Store and Play review is a real workstream with genuine rejection risk, and it is where inexperienced teams lose weeks. Privacy declarations, permission justifications, the account deletion requirement, data safety forms and content ratings are handled as part of delivery. So is the store listing itself, which is the first optimisation opportunity most apps ignore, and the release process, which we document so your team can ship an update without us. On the design side, designing for Apple platforms without fighting them explains why arguing with a platform convention usually costs more than it wins.
Scope the first release narrowly on purpose
The cost driver in an app is the number of distinct user journeys, not the number of screens, and the surest way to overspend is to build everything anyone suggested before a single real user has opened it. We cut the first release to the journey that proves the idea, ship it, and let usage decide the second release. Scoping an app MVP without cutting the wrong corners is the method, including which corners are not safe to cut, since an MVP that crashes or loses data teaches you nothing except that people leave. Where the app needs a back end built as well as a client, that is software development and it is scoped and priced separately.
What goes wrong in mobile apps, and how we avoid it
- An app that is a website in a wrapper.
- If the product is content with a form, a fast mobile site will beat an app on cost and on reach, and we will say so. An app has to earn its install with something the browser cannot do: offline use, notifications, camera, background location or hardware access.
- Push notifications used as a broadcast channel.
- Notification permission is granted once and revoked forever. We separate transactional messages from marketing, give the user per-type control, and treat the uninstall rate after a campaign as the honest measure of whether it was worth sending.
- Shipping without crash reporting or a way to update remotely.
- Crash and error reporting go in before the first store submission, along with a way to change a server-side setting without a new release. Otherwise every fix waits on a review queue you do not control.
- Testing only on the newest iPhone in the room.
- We test on mid-range Android hardware and throttled connections, because that is the majority of the audience in Nepal and a good share of it elsewhere.
How we run mobile apps work
- 01
Scope
We map the user journeys, decide native or cross-platform on the evidence, and cut the first release to what proves the product. The written scope names what is deliberately not in version one.
- 02
Prototype
Clickable flows on a real device before production code. Testing navigation in your hand rather than on a screen catches the problems that no review meeting ever finds.
- 03
Build
Two-week cycles with installable test builds distributed to your team through TestFlight and Play internal testing, so feedback comes from people using the app rather than watching a demo.
- 04
Submit
Store listings, privacy and data safety declarations, ratings and review responses handled by us on developer accounts registered to you. We plan for at least one rejection cycle because assuming otherwise is how launch dates slip.
- 05
Iterate
Crash reports and usage data reviewed after launch, then a prioritised second release. We also hand over the release process documented, so your team can ship a fix without waiting on us.
What mobile apps costs
A first release with a defined set of user journeys is quoted on the Growth tier. Apps are rarely finished at launch, so ongoing work afterwards is either a small monthly arrangement or, where the roadmap is continuous, the Dedicated Team tier with a mobile engineer working to your board.
Growth
Software behind the front door.
- Nepal, from
- Rs 320,000
- About $2,290 at Rs 140 to the dollar
- International, from
- $4,200
- A$6,400 · €3,900
6 to 12 weeks
Companies that need logins, payments, dashboards or an app, not just pages.
Dedicated Team
Your engineering bench, offshore.
- Nepal, from
- Rs 145,000per engineer, per month
- About $1,040 at Rs 140 to the dollar
- International, from
- $2,200per engineer, per month
- A$3,400 · €2,050
Monthly, 3-month minimum
Teams in Australia, the US, the UK, the EU or Nepal outsourcing a squad of developers, ML engineers or DevOps people who work to your roadmap.
What pushes the price up
- Two platforms built natively rather than one shared codebase.
- Offline synchronisation with conflict handling, which is real engineering rather than a library.
- In-app purchases and subscription handling on both stores.
- Background location, continuous camera use or hardware integrations.
- A back end that has to be built as well as the app itself.
What brings it down
- One platform first, chosen on where your users actually are.
- A first release scoped to a single journey.
- An existing API that is documented and stable.
- Using platform-standard interface patterns instead of a bespoke design language.
- Every figure here is a starting point, not a quote. You get a fixed price against a written scope before anything is built.
- Nepali clients are quoted in NPR at local rates, with a VAT invoice against our PAN. International clients are quoted in USD, AUD, EUR or GBP.
- You own the code, the domain and the hosting from day one, on every tier.
Who this is for, and who it is not
Worth a conversation if
- Products where offline use, notifications or device hardware are genuinely required.
- Services with repeat daily or weekly use, which is what justifies an install.
- Businesses replacing a field process currently run on paper or phone calls.
- Teams that want both platforms from one codebase and one release cycle.
Probably not us if
- Content or brochure products. A fast mobile website reaches more people for less money and needs no install.
- Anyone expecting downloads to arrive because the app exists. Distribution is a separate budget and a separate effort.
- One-off transactions people do once a year. Nobody keeps that app installed.
Frequently asked questions
How much does an app cost to build in Nepal?
Meaningfully less than in North America or Western Europe, and still a serious investment. The cost driver is the number of distinct user journeys rather than the screen count, which is why we scope the first release narrowly and let real usage pay for the rest.
Should we build for iOS or Android first in Nepal?
For a domestic Nepali audience, Android reaches far more people, and mid-range Android is the device to design against. If your users are international, or you are targeting a higher-spend segment, iOS may justify going first. We look at your actual audience rather than applying a rule.
Do we actually need an app, or would a mobile website do?
If the product is content, a form or an occasional transaction, a fast mobile site will reach more people and cost less, and we will tell you that. An app earns its install when it needs to work offline, send notifications, or use the camera, location or other hardware.
Can the app work without a connection?
That is a design decision made at the start, not a feature added later. We build a local data layer so the app opens with content, queue any writes made offline, and resolve conflicts when signal returns. Retrofitting offline support into an app built around live requests is close to a rewrite.
Do you publish the app for us?
Yes, using developer accounts registered in your name. We handle submission, privacy declarations and review responses, and hand over the release process documented so your team can ship updates independently.
How long does app store review take?
Usually a few days on both stores, occasionally longer, and a rejection restarts the clock. We plan the launch with at least one rejection cycle allowed for, and we never schedule a marketing campaign against a date that depends on a first-time approval.
Can you maintain an app someone else built?
Yes, subject to an audit first. Older React Native and hybrid apps often need a dependency and toolchain upgrade before any feature work is safe, and we would rather tell you that up front than discover it three weeks in.
How do you test for Nepali network conditions?
On real mid-range Android handsets with the connection throttled and with data switched off entirely partway through a task. Emulators on office wifi will not reproduce the failures your users actually hit.



