# How much does an AI mobile app for SaaS companies cost?

_The AI Build Index, published by VIZIO AI. Updated 2026-11-04. USD._

An AI mobile app for SaaS companies typically costs about $1,000. Half of the 31 priced briefs we tracked fall between $120 and $5,100, and one in ten reaches $12,000 or more.

## Key facts

- Typical cost: $1,000, with the middle half of briefs between $120 and $5,100.
- That is 60% below the $2,500 median across all AI builds we track.
- Work expected to take one to three months has a median of $750, against $12,000 for over six months.
- Fixed-price median $300; hourly estimate median $10,000.
- Hourly rates mostly run from $26 to $39 an hour.
- Most requested skills: JavaScript, Mobile App Development and React Native.

## What it includes

An AI mobile app is an iOS or Android app whose main feature relies on AI, such as an assistant, image analysis or personalised coaching, usually backed by a server that calls the models.

SaaS teams usually add AI inside a product customers already pay for, so the work centres on product integration, multi-tenant data separation and keeping model costs inside the margin of each plan.

- The iOS and Android apps, often from one shared codebase
- A backend that holds keys and calls the models
- Accounts, subscriptions and in-app purchases
- App Store and Google Play submission
- Analytics and crash reporting

## Systems it usually connects to

- The product's own API and database
- Stripe or another billing system
- Support tools such as Intercom or Zendesk
- Product analytics

## What drives the cost

Work expected to take one to three months has a median of $750, against $12,000 for over six months. Part of that gap is built in, because hourly estimates are calculated from expected length. Fixed-price briefs state a median of $300, while hourly briefs work out at $10,000 on our estimate: 33 times as much. One likely reason is that fixed budgets tend to cover a small first step, while hourly briefs describe sustained work.

| Expected length | Median cost | Priced briefs |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Under 1 month | Too few briefs | 4 |
| 1 to 3 months | $750 | 18 |
| 3 to 6 months | Too few briefs | 4 |
| Over 6 months | $12,000 | 5 |

| Seniority requested | Median cost | Priced briefs |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Junior | Too few briefs | 1 |
| Mid-level | $150 | 11 |
| Senior | $2,000 | 19 |

- One platform or both, and native or cross-platform code
- On-device features such as camera, audio or offline use
- Subscription logic and store compliance

## Skills and rates

The skills named most often in these briefs are JavaScript (50%), Mobile App Development (39%), React Native (37%) and iOS (37%). Read this as the working stack for this kind of build, and as a checklist when assessing who should do it.

Hourly briefs for this work typically offer $26 to $39 an hour, the middle half of stated rates. The median top of the range is $40 an hour across 10 hourly briefs. These are rates in the open open-market market: agencies and in-house teams usually cost more.

## Who is buying

58% of briefs ask for senior talent. Buyers are most often based in the United States, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, with 24% in the United States. A typical brief draws about 18 responses.

## What to check before you commit

- Never ship model API keys inside the app
- Allow for app store review time in the launch plan
- Check model costs against what a subscriber pays

## Frequently asked questions

### How much does an AI mobile app for SaaS companies cost?

An AI mobile app for SaaS companies typically costs about $1,000. Half of the 31 priced briefs we tracked fall between $120 and $5,100, and one in ten reaches $12,000 or more. That is 60% below the $2,500 median across all AI builds we track.

### How long does an AI mobile app for SaaS companies take?

14% of briefs expect the work done in under a month, 57% in one to three months and 29% over a longer stretch. Work expected to take one to three months has a median of $750, against $12,000 for over six months.

### Why do estimates vary so much?

Fixed-price briefs state a median of $300, while hourly briefs work out at $10,000 on our estimate: 33 times as much. One likely reason is that fixed budgets tend to cover a small first step, while hourly briefs describe sustained work. Scope matters most: one platform or both, and native or cross-platform code and on-device features such as camera, audio or offline use move the price the most.

### What hourly rate should I expect?

Most hourly briefs offer $26 to $39 an hour, with a median top rate of $40. Agencies and in-house specialists usually charge more than the open open-market market.

### What skills does this work need?

Briefs most often ask for JavaScript, Mobile App Development, React Native and iOS.

### Do I need senior talent?

Briefs asking for senior talent have a median of $2,000, 13 times the $150 for mid-level talent. 58% of briefs ask for senior talent.

### Does the industry change the price?

For SaaS companies, the median of $1,000 is below the $2,000 median for AI mobile app across all industries. SaaS teams usually add AI inside a product customers already pay for, so the work centres on product integration, multi-tenant data separation and keeping model costs inside the margin of each plan.

### Where do these numbers come from?

From 31 public project briefs published between December 2025 and November 2026: 21 fixed budgets as stated and 10 hourly briefs we costed from their rate, expected length and assumed hours. They are what buyers offered, not signed contract prices.

## Source

The AI Build Index. "AI mobile app for SaaS: what it costs." Published by VIZIO AI. Updated 2026-11-04. https://aibuildindex.com/cost/ai-mobile-app-for-saas

Method: https://aibuildindex.com/methodology