How Much Does It Cost to Keep Your App Running?

Building an app is just the beginning of your mobile journey—keeping it running smoothly month after month is where the real costs add up. I've watched countless clients get caught off guard by ongoing app expenses they never saw coming; it's honestly one of the most common conversations I have after launch day.

The thing is, most people focus entirely on development costs during the planning phase. Can't blame them really—that's the big number staring you in the face! But once your app goes live, there's a whole ecosystem of running costs that kick in immediately. Server hosting, third-party services, app store fees, regular updates...the list goes on.

The most successful app owners are the ones who plan for ongoing costs from day one, not the ones who scramble to figure out their monthly expenses after launch

What makes this tricky is that app running costs aren't fixed—they change as your user base grows, as platforms evolve, and as your business needs shift. An app that costs £200 per month to run with 1,000 users might cost £2,000 per month with 50,000 users. Actually, that's if you're lucky; some cost categories scale much faster than others.

Over the years, I've seen apps fail not because they were poorly built or had bad ideas, but because their owners couldn't sustain the ongoing operational costs. That's why understanding these expenses upfront is so important—it's not just about budgeting, its about building a sustainable business model that can support your app's growth over time.

Right, let's get straight to it—when people ask me about running costs, they're usually thinking about the obvious stuff like servers and hosting. But honestly? That's just the tip of the iceberg. After years of explaining this to clients, I've realised there's a lot more going on under the hood than most people expect.

The basics are pretty straightforward. You've got your hosting costs, which can range from £20 a month for a simple app to thousands for something handling millions of users. Then there's your database storage, content delivery networks, and backup services. These are the costs that keep your app actually working day-to-day.

But here's where it gets interesting—and expensive. Third-party services add up fast. Payment processing fees, push notification services, analytics tools, crash reporting, user authentication systems... each one might only cost £30-100 per month, but they stack up quickly. I've seen clients with 15+ different services running in the background.

App store fees are another big one that catches people off guard. Apple and Google take their 30% cut of any in-app purchases or subscriptions (dropping to 15% after the first year). If you're making £10,000 a month from your app, that's £3,000 going straight to the platforms.

Then you've got the ongoing development costs—bug fixes, security updates, new feature development. Even if you're not adding anything new, mobile operating systems update constantly, and your app needs to keep pace. Plus there's user support, marketing costs, and all those little expenses that seem to appear from nowhere.

The real kicker? Most of these costs scale with your success. The more users you get, the more you'll spend keeping them happy.

Server and Hosting Expenses

Right, let's talk about the big one—your server costs. This is where most app owners get a proper shock because its not just a one-off payment. Your app needs somewhere to live, and that somewhere costs money every single month, whether you have 10 users or 10 million.

When I started building apps, hosting was pretty straightforward. You'd rent a server, stick your app on it, and hope for the best. These days? It's a whole different world. Cloud hosting has changed everything, and while it's made apps more reliable and scalable, it's also made the pricing... well, let's just say it can be complicated.

The good news is you can start small. Really small. If you're launching a new app, you might spend as little as £20-50 per month on basic cloud hosting through providers like AWS, Google Cloud, or Microsoft Azure. But here's where it gets interesting—as your app grows, so do your costs. And they can grow fast.

Start with a cloud provider's free tier when testing your app idea. Most offer generous free allowances that can last months during development.

What Actually Drives Your Server Costs Up

User traffic is the obvious one, but it's not just about how many people use your app—it's about what they're doing with it. A simple to-do list app will cost peanuts to host compared to a photo-sharing app where people are constantly uploading and downloading images.

Data storage is another sneaky cost that creeps up. Every user profile, every message, every photo—it all adds up. I've seen apps go from £50 a month to £500 simply because they didn't plan for data growth properly.

• Basic starter hosting: £20-100/month
• Growing app (10k+ users): £200-800/month
• Popular app (100k+ users): £1,000-5,000/month
• Large-scale app (millions of users): £10,000+/month

The key is planning for growth from day one. You don't need to pay for massive servers right away, but you do need to understand how your costs will scale as your app becomes more successful.

Third-Party Services and APIs

Right, let's talk about third-party services—because honestly, building everything from scratch these days is a bit mad. I mean, why would you spend months creating your own payment system when Stripe exists? But here's the thing that catches most people off guard: these services aren't just convenient, they're also ongoing costs that can really add up.

Payment processing is usually the big one. Stripe charges 2.9% + 20p per transaction in the UK, PayPal takes around 3.4% + 20p. Sounds small? Well, if you're processing £10,000 in payments monthly, that's roughly £300-350 just in transaction fees. And that's before you factor in currency conversion fees if you're dealing with international customers.

Then there's the APIs that make your app actually useful. Maps? Google Maps API costs about £5 per 1,000 requests after your free tier runs out. Push notifications through services like OneSignal or Firebase start free but can hit £30-100 monthly once you've got a decent user base. Cloud storage with AWS S3 might seem cheap at first, but data transfer costs can surprise you—especially if your app handles lots of images or videos.

Common Third-Party Service Costs

• Payment processing: 2.9-3.4% per transaction
• Email services (Mailchimp, SendGrid): £20-200/month
• Analytics platforms: £0-500/month depending on users
• Customer support tools (Intercom): £50-300/month
• SMS/voice services: £0.04-0.08 per message
• Social media login APIs: Usually free but rate-limited

The tricky bit? Most of these scale with usage, so your costs grow as your app succeeds. Budget for at least £100-500 monthly in third-party services for a moderately successful app, but don't be shocked if popular apps hit £1,000+ monthly across all their integrations.

App Store Fees and Commission

Right, let's talk about the elephant in the room—app store fees. Apple and Google take their cut from every transaction, and honestly, it can be quite painful when you see those numbers leaving your account each month.

Apple's App Store charges 30% commission on all purchases for the first year, then drops to 15% for subscribers who stick around longer than 12 months. Google Play has a similar structure, but they've actually lowered their rate to 15% for the first million dollars in revenue each year. Small mercy, really! But here's what catches people off guard—this isn't just for paid app downloads; it applies to in-app purchases, subscriptions, and any digital goods sold through your app.

The Real Numbers

Let's say your app generates £10,000 per month through subscriptions. You're looking at £3,000 going straight to Apple or Google in commission fees during that first year. That's £36,000 annually just in platform fees—it adds up bloody quickly! And if you're on both platforms? Well, you're paying both of them.

The commission fees aren't just a cost of doing business anymore—they're a significant factor that needs to be built into your pricing strategy from day one

There are some workarounds, mind you. Netflix famously stopped allowing in-app subscriptions to avoid these fees, directing users to sign up on their website instead. But this approach comes with its own risks—you'll likely see lower conversion rates because the checkout process becomes more complicated for users. You need to weigh up what's more important: keeping more revenue per transaction or maximising the number of people who actually complete a purchase.

Maintenance and Updates

Here's something that catches most app owners off guard—building your app is just the beginning. I mean, you wouldn't buy a car and never service it, would you? Your app needs regular care and attention to keep running smoothly, and that comes with ongoing costs that many people simply don't budget for.

Let me break down what you're actually looking at. Bug fixes are going to happen whether you like it or not; users will find issues you never thought possible, and you'll need to address them quickly to maintain your app's reputation. Then there's compatibility updates—every time Apple or Google releases a new operating system version, you might need to make adjustments to ensure your app doesn't break.

Types of Updates You'll Need

• Security patches and vulnerability fixes
• Operating system compatibility updates
• New feature development based on user feedback
• Performance optimisations and speed improvements
• Third-party service integration updates
• Design refreshes to stay current

The reality is that most apps need some form of update every 2-3 months, with minor patches happening even more frequently. If you're working with a development agency, you're looking at anywhere from £500-£2,000 per month for basic maintenance, depending on your app's complexity. Got a simple utility app? You'll be on the lower end. Running a complex e-commerce platform with multiple integrations? Expect to pay considerably more.

And here's the kicker—if you neglect updates for too long, you'll end up paying much more down the line. I've seen apps that haven't been touched for two years require complete rebuilds because they've fallen so far behind current standards. Trust me, it's much cheaper to maintain regularly than to rebuild from scratch.

Marketing and User Acquisition

Right, let's talk about the elephant in the room—marketing costs. This is where your app running costs can get properly expensive, and I mean scary expensive. You might think once your app is live, people will just find it naturally. Sorry to break it to you, but that's not how it works anymore.

Getting users to download your app costs money. Real money. We're looking at anywhere from £2 to £15 per install depending on your industry and target audience. Finance apps? You're looking at the higher end. Simple games? Maybe closer to the lower figure. But here's the thing—that's just for the download, not for someone who actually uses your app regularly.

The marketing costs don't stop once someone downloads your app either. You need to keep them engaged, which means push notifications services, email marketing platforms, and often paid social media campaigns. These can run anywhere from £200 to £2000 monthly for a typical app, depending on your user base size.

Set aside at least 30% of your total budget for user acquisition—it's not optional if you want your app to succeed.

Monthly Marketing Expenses Breakdown

• App Store Optimisation tools: £50-200/month
• Social media advertising: £300-1500/month
• Push notification service: £20-150/month
• Analytics and attribution tracking: £100-500/month
• Email marketing platform: £30-200/month
• Content creation and copywriting: £200-800/month

The brutal truth? Most successful apps spend more on marketing than they did on development. It's a continuous expense that grows with your ambitions. You can't just build it and expect them to come—you need to actively bring them to your app, month after month.

Staff and Development Team Costs

Here's where things get interesting—and expensive. Your app might be "finished" but keeping it alive means keeping people on the payroll. I've seen too many businesses launch their app and think they can just let it run itself. Spoiler alert: that doesn't work.

You'll need someone to monitor your app's performance, respond to user feedback, and fix bugs when they pop up (and they will pop up). Even if you outsourced the initial development, you can't really outsource ongoing support. Well, you can, but it gets messy fast.

What roles do you actually need?

For most apps, you're looking at a part-time developer at minimum—someone who knows your codebase and can jump in when things break. That's typically £300-800 per month depending on their experience and how complex your app is. If your app handles payments or sensitive data, you might need someone on call more regularly.

Bigger apps need bigger teams. Customer support becomes necessary once you hit a few thousand active users; people will have questions and complaints that need real human responses. A part-time support person runs about £800-1,500 monthly.

• Part-time developer: £300-800/month
• Customer support: £800-1,500/month
• Project manager (for larger projects): £1,000-2,000/month
• QA testing: £400-700/month

The reality is that staff costs often become your biggest ongoing expense—sometimes more than hosting and third-party services combined. But here's the thing: trying to cut corners on people usually costs more in the long run. I've watched apps die slow deaths because nobody was there to keep them healthy.

Plan for at least one part-time person from day one. Your users will thank you for it.

Hidden Costs Nobody Talks About

Right, let's talk about the sneaky expenses that'll catch you off guard. I mean, we've covered the obvious stuff—hosting, APIs, store fees—but there's a whole bunch of costs that pop up when you least expect them. And honestly? These are the ones that make clients ring me up looking a bit panicked.

First up: customer support. Your app gets popular (which is great!) but suddenly you're drowning in user emails, bug reports, and feature requests. You'll need someone to handle all that, and good support staff aren't cheap. Plus there's the tools—help desk software, chat systems, knowledge bases. It adds up quickly.

Compliance and Legal Surprises

Then there's compliance costs that nobody sees coming. GDPR fines can reach millions, so you'll need proper legal reviews of your privacy policies and data handling. If you're in healthcare or finance? Bloody hell, the compliance costs can dwarf your development budget. Regular security audits, penetration testing, legal consultations—it's like a never-ending subscription service.

The real cost of running an app isn't in the code you write, it's in all the things you didn't plan for

The Performance Tax

Here's one that stings: performance monitoring and crash reporting tools. Sure, you can get basic versions for free, but once you're tracking thousands of users across different devices and regions, you're looking at serious monthly bills. App performance monitoring, real user monitoring, crash analytics—each service charges based on your user volume.

And don't get me started on sudden scaling costs. Your app goes viral (congrats!) but your server bills triple overnight. Most cloud providers are happy to auto-scale your infrastructure—and your bills—without much warning. Always, always set up billing alerts.

Right, so we've covered everything from server costs to those sneaky hidden expenses that nobody talks about until they hit your bank account. After eight years in this business, I can tell you that running an app isn't just about the upfront development costs—it's about understanding the ongoing commitment you're making.

The thing is, there's no magic number I can give you. Your costs will depend on your user base, your app's complexity, and honestly, how well you plan ahead. A simple utility app might cost you a few hundred pounds monthly to keep running, while a social platform with thousands of users could easily hit five figures. It's a bit mad really, but that's the nature of the beast.

What I always tell my clients is this: budget for more than you think you'll need. Those third-party services that seem cheap at first? They scale with your success. Your hosting costs? They grow as your user base does. And don't get me started on the app store fees—they're taking their cut whether you like it or not.

But here's the thing that really matters: these aren't just costs, they're investments in your app's future. Every pound you spend on proper hosting, security, and maintenance is protecting the bigger investment you made in building the app in the first place. Skimp on the running costs, and you risk everything you've built.

My advice? Start small, monitor everything, and scale smartly. Keep detailed records of what you're spending and why—you'll thank me later when you need to make decisions about where to cut costs or invest more. And remember, a well-maintained app that costs more to run is still better than a broken one that costs nothing because nobody uses it anymore.