Why Do Apps Need Money After They're Built?

A music streaming app launches with a million pounds in development costs and celebrates when downloads hit 100,000 in the first month. The founders think they're done spending money on the app itself—after all, its built, right? Six months later, their servers crash during peak listening hours because they can't handle the traffic. Users start complaining about songs that won't load, playlists that disappeared, and a interface that looks broken on the newest phones. The app that cost a million to build now needs another £200,000 just to keep working properly. And that's just year one.

This scenario plays out constantly in the mobile app world, and frankly, it catches most business owners completely off guard. I've watched brilliant apps with solid user bases fail not because of poor initial development, but because nobody planned for what comes after launch. The harsh reality? Building your app is just the beginning of your financial commitment.

When people ask me about app development costs, they're usually thinking about the upfront price tag. But here's what nobody tells you—the ongoing expenses often exceed your initial development investment within two to three years. We're talking about server costs that scale with your success, security updates that can't wait, compatibility fixes for new operating systems, and the constant need to add features that keep users engaged.

The most expensive app failures aren't the ones that never launch—they're the successful ones that run out of money to maintain themselves

Understanding these post-launch costs isn't just about budgeting; it's about survival in a market where users expect perfection and competitors are always one update ahead. Let's break down exactly where your money goes after you hit that publish button.

Understanding Your App's True Launch Costs

Here's something that catches most people off guard—building your app is just the beginning. I mean, you'd think once the developers hand over the finished product, you're done spending money, right? Wrong. Dead wrong, actually.

The truth is, launching an app is a bit like buying a car. You don't just pay for the vehicle and drive off into the sunset. There's insurance, petrol, maintenance, MOTs... and apps work exactly the same way. They need ongoing care and feeding to stay alive in the wild.

Most clients come to me thinking their £20,000 app budget covers everything forever. But here's the reality—that budget gets your app built and submitted to the app stores. What happens next? Well, that's where the real costs start piling up.

The Main Costs You Can't Avoid

• App store fees (£79 per year for Apple, £20 one-time for Google)
• Server hosting to keep your app running (£50-500+ monthly)
• Security updates and bug fixes
• Making sure your app works on new phone models
• Marketing to get people to actually download it
• Adding new features users keep asking for

Look, I've seen too many brilliant apps die because their creators didn't budget for these ongoing costs. They launch with fanfare, get a few hundred downloads, then watch helplessly as server bills arrive and they can't afford to keep the lights on.

The apps that succeed? They plan for these costs from day one. They set aside roughly 15-20% of their initial development budget each year just to keep things running smoothly. It might sound like a lot, but trust me—it's the difference between having a thriving app and having an expensive digital paperweight.

The Hidden World of Server and Infrastructure Bills

Right, let's talk about something that catches most people completely off guard—the server bills. When your app is sitting on your phone, it feels like this neat little package that should just work forever, doesn't it? But here's the thing most people don't realise: your app is constantly chatting with computers (servers) that live in big data centres around the world.

Think of it like this—every time someone logs into your app, uploads a photo, sends a message, or even just opens it up, your app is having a conversation with these servers. And just like your monthly phone bill, these servers cost money to keep running. The more popular your app gets, the bigger these bills become.

What Makes These Bills So Expensive?

I've seen clients go pale when they realise their app that seemed "finished" suddenly needs £200 a month just to stay online. Here's what's actually happening behind the scenes:

• Server space to store all your users data and content
• Processing power when lots of people use your app at once
• Data transfer costs every time information moves between your app and the servers
• Database storage for user accounts, messages, photos, and everything else
• Backup systems to make sure nothing gets lost
• Security monitoring to keep the bad guys out

The tricky bit? These costs aren't fixed. If your app suddenly gets popular (which is what we all want, right?), your server bills can jump from £50 a month to £500 overnight. It's happened to more clients than I can count, and it's why we always plan for success from day one.

Start with scalable hosting solutions that can grow with your app, but don't over-engineer for traffic you don't have yet. Most apps can start small and scale up as needed.

Why App Stores Keep Charging You

Right, let's talk about something that catches loads of business owners off guard—those monthly bills from Apple and Google that just keep coming. You'd think once your app is approved and live in the stores, that would be it, wouldn't you? But here's the thing: app stores aren't free hosting services. They're businesses, and they charge accordingly.

First up, there's the basic developer account fees. Apple charges £79 per year for their Developer Program, whilst Google Play takes a one-time fee of about £20. That might not sound like much, but it's just the entry ticket. Miss that Apple payment? Your app gets pulled from the store. No warnings, no grace period—it's gone.

The Real Money: Transaction Fees

Here's where it gets expensive. Both Apple and Google take a cut of everything—and I mean everything—that goes through their payment systems. For most apps, that's 30% of all revenue. Sell a £10 premium upgrade? They keep £3. Monthly subscription for £5? They're taking £1.50 every single month.

There are some breaks for smaller developers now; if you make under £1 million annually, both stores drop their commission to 15%. But honestly, most successful apps hit that threshold faster than you'd expect.

Other Costs That Add Up

The fees don't stop there. Here are the ongoing charges that pile up:

• Annual developer licence renewals
• Commission on all in-app purchases
• Subscription revenue sharing
• Payment processing fees for international transactions
• Additional certificates for enterprise distribution

I've seen clients genuinely shocked when they realise that a successful app making £50,000 per month is actually only bringing in £35,000 after store fees. It's a significant chunk of revenue that you need to factor into your business model from day one—not something you discover after launch when the bills start arriving.

Keeping Your App Safe from Hackers

Right, let's talk about something that keeps me up at night—app security. I mean, it shouldn't be scary, but the reality is that hackers love mobile apps. They're like treasure chests full of user data, payment information, and personal details. And guess what? Keeping them out costs money. Ongoing money.

When I first started building apps, security felt like something you sorted once and forgot about. Boy, was I wrong! These days, new threats pop up constantly. A vulnerability that didn't exist six months ago suddenly becomes a major risk. Your app might be perfectly safe today, but by next month? Different story entirely.

Security updates are probably one of the biggest ongoing expenses you'll face. We're talking about regular security audits, penetration testing, and constant monitoring. A basic security audit for a medium-sized app runs about £3,000-£8,000, and you should be doing this at least twice a year. Then there's the actual fixes—patching vulnerabilities, updating encryption methods, and strengthening authentication systems.

The average cost of a data breach for small businesses is £3.86 million, but most small app developers think they'll never be targeted

But here's the thing that really gets me—most app owners think they're too small to be targeted. That's mental! Hackers use automated tools that scan thousands of apps looking for weaknesses. They don't care if you're a massive company or a tiny startup; they just want easy targets. The good news? Investing in proper security from day one makes everything cheaper in the long run. Trust me on this one—I've seen what happens when security is an afterthought, and it's never pretty.

When Things Break and Need Fixing

Here's the thing about mobile apps—they're basically tiny computers running on thousands of different devices, and computers break. I mean, they don't physically snap in half (usually), but software breaks in ways that can be really frustrating for your users and expensive for your business.

When I first started building apps, I naively thought that once an app was "finished" and working perfectly on my test devices, that was it. Job done. But then reality hit. Users started reporting crashes on specific Android phones I'd never heard of. The app worked fine on iPhone 12 but crashed constantly on iPhone 8. Some people couldn't log in, others couldn't upload photos, and a few unlucky souls experienced all these problems at once.

The truth is, bugs are like weeds in a garden—you can pull them all out, but new ones will always pop up. Maybe Apple releases a new iOS update that changes how photos are handled, and suddenly your photo-sharing feature stops working. Or perhaps your payment processor updates their security requirements, and now nobody can buy anything through your app. These aren't hypothetical scenarios; they happen all the time.

The Cost of Staying Bug-Free

Most app agencies charge between £75-150 per hour for bug fixes, and a typical monthly maintenance retainer runs £500-2000 depending on your apps complexity. Sure, it sounds like a lot, but here's what I tell my clients: fixing bugs quickly isn't just about keeping users happy (though that's important)—its about protecting your investment. One major bug that prevents users from making purchases could cost you thousands in lost revenue within days.

The apps that succeed long-term are the ones that treat maintenance as seriously as they treated the original development. Because honestly? Your users won't care how brilliant your app was when it launched if it doesn't work properly today.

Adding New Features Users Actually Want

Building new features is where things get really interesting—and expensive. I mean, you've launched your app, people are using it, and then the requests start flooding in. "Can you add this?" "What about that?" It's brilliant that users care enough to ask, but each new feature means more development time, more testing, and more ongoing maintenance costs.

The tricky bit is figuring out which features are actually worth building. Just because ten people ask for something doesn't mean thousands will use it. I've seen apps bloated with features that seemed like good ideas at the time but ended up confusing users and creating technical debt that haunts developers for years.

Here's what most people don't realise: every new feature you add increases your app maintenance needs significantly. It's not just the initial build cost—each feature needs updating when operating systems change, requires bug fixes, and adds complexity to your entire codebase. A simple social sharing feature might seem straightforward, but it touches authentication, data privacy, error handling, and user interface considerations.

Before building any new feature, track user behaviour data to see if there's genuine demand. Use analytics to understand how people actually use your existing features—you might discover they're not using things the way you expected.

The smartest approach I've found is starting with the smallest possible version of a feature. Test it with a small group of users first. Get real feedback. Then decide if it's worth the ongoing app post-launch costs. Your future self will thank you for being selective rather than building everything users ask for.

Features That Typically Drive Long-term Value

• User personalisation options that increase engagement
• Integration with popular third-party services
• Offline functionality for core app features
• Advanced search and filtering capabilities
• Social sharing and collaboration tools
• Push notification customisation settings

The key is balancing what users want with what your business actually needs. Not every feature request deserves a yes—even if it comes from your biggest client.

Making Sure Your App Still Works on New Phones

Here's something that catches a lot of people off guard—every time Apple or Google releases a new phone or updates their operating system, there's a decent chance your app might break. Not completely fall apart, mind you, but maybe the buttons don't look quite right anymore, or certain features stop working properly.

I've seen apps that worked perfectly fine suddenly start crashing because the new version of iOS changed how it handles memory. It's a bit mad really, but that's just how technology works. Things change, and your app needs to keep up.

When a new iPhone comes out with a different screen size, your app needs to be updated to look good on that display. When Android introduces new security requirements, your app has to meet those standards or it might get kicked out of the Play Store. These aren't optional updates—they're necessary to keep your app functioning.

What Needs Regular Updates

• Screen compatibility for new phone sizes and resolutions
• Operating system compatibility as iOS and Android release updates
• Security protocols that meet current platform requirements
• Performance optimisation for newer, faster processors
• Integration fixes when third-party services change their systems

The tricky bit is that you can't just wait until something breaks to fix it. By then, users might have already left bad reviews or stopped using your app altogether. We typically recommend budgeting for compatibility updates every few months, especially during the autumn when both Apple and Google tend to release their major updates.

Think of it like maintaining a car—you don't wait for the engine to seize up before changing the oil. Regular maintenance keeps everything running smoothly and prevents bigger, more expensive problems down the road.

The Real Cost of Getting People to Use Your App

Right, let's talk about something that catches most people off guard—getting users to actually download and use your app. I mean, you'd think once your app is built and sitting pretty in the app stores, people would just find it naturally? Not a chance.

User acquisition is where things get expensive, and I'm talking properly expensive. In the UK market, you're looking at anywhere from £2 to £10 just to get someone to download your app. That's per person. And here's the kicker—most people will open your app once, have a quick look around, then delete it within the first week. It's a bit mad really, but that's the reality we're working with.

The big players spend thousands every month on Facebook ads, Google ads, influencer partnerships, and all sorts of marketing campaigns. But it doesn't stop at getting downloads; you need people to actually stick around and use the thing. That means more money spent on push notifications, email campaigns, and constantly tweaking your app based on user feedback.

The average app loses 77% of its users within the first three days after download, which means your marketing budget needs to account for much higher acquisition numbers than you might expect.

Then there's the ongoing costs of keeping users engaged. You'll need analytics tools to understand how people use your app (that's another monthly subscription), customer support systems, and probably some budget for app store optimisation to help new users find you. Most of our clients budget at least £1,000-£3,000 per month just for basic user acquisition once their app launches. It's not cheap, but without users, even the best app in the world is just expensive software sitting on a server somewhere.

Conclusion

So there you have it—the real story behind why apps need money long after you think they're "finished." I mean, it's a bit mad really when you first learn about all these ongoing costs, but once you understand them, it all makes perfect sense.

Building an app is just the beginning of the journey, not the end. Its like buying a car—you wouldn't expect to never pay for fuel, insurance, or servicing again, would you? Apps need the same kind of ongoing care and feeding to stay healthy and useful.

From server bills that keep your app running 24/7, to the never-ending cycle of updates needed for new phone models; from security patches that protect your users data, to the marketing spend required to get new people using your app—these costs are all part of what makes a successful mobile app business.

But here's the thing—understanding these costs upfront actually puts you in a much stronger position. You can plan for them, budget for them, and most importantly, build them into your business model from day one. The apps that fail aren't usually the ones with bad ideas; they're often the ones that ran out of money because nobody planned for the ongoing costs.

When I work with clients now, we always have this conversation early in the process. It saves everyone from nasty surprises later on and helps create realistic expectations about what running an app business actually looks like. And honestly? Once you know what you're dealing with, its much easier to build something that can sustain itself long-term.