A mobile app development company: one team from strategy to app store launch

Does Autoesta build mobile apps?

Yes. Autoesta builds iOS and Android apps, cross-platform or native, with product strategy, design, development and app store submission handled by one team. Three of our nine published custom software builds are mobile products: Coo, Drop My Drip and Farmers Market Haul.

This page covers the decisions that are specific to mobile: native or cross-platform, what Apple and Google require before an app can go live, how long store review takes, and who should own the store accounts. Our custom software development page covers the wider capability. If you have not decided between an app and a web product yet, start there.

A real example of a mobile-specific decision: Coo's in-store redemption skips point-of-sale integration. The customer shows a code on their phone and a staff member confirms it, because the target merchant, a four-person salon or hardware shop, has no point-of-sale system to integrate with.

What mobile apps has Autoesta built?

We have published three mobile apps: Coo, a local deals marketplace with 2,100 businesses and 310,000 deals redeemed in its first year; Drop My Drip, an AI-powered custom apparel app with a 4% return rate against a 23% category norm; and Farmers Market Haul, which listed 410 markets and 6,200 vendors in eighteen months.

Results are reported by each client for the window in its case study; the case study hub has the full scope behind each number. Build times cover strategy through development; store review comes after.

Should my app be native or cross-platform?

Choose cross-platform for most business apps, because one codebase ships to iOS and Android faster and costs less to maintain. Choose native, Swift for iOS and Kotlin for Android, when the app depends on heavy camera, AR, gaming or the newest device features.

Coo is cross-platform: one codebase for iOS and Android, which fit its 6-week timeline, since a redemption code and a merchant dashboard need no deep device access. We make the call for your app during strategy, based on how much it relies on camera, GPS, Bluetooth or graphics, and on whether your team wants to maintain one codebase or two.

What do Apple and Google require before an app can go live?

To publish, you need an Apple Developer Program membership at $99 a year and a Google Play developer account with a $25 one-time fee. New personal Google Play accounts must also run a closed test with at least 12 testers for 14 days in a row before the app can go to production.

The Google testing rule is the one that catches founders out: a new personal account cannot launch on the day the build is finished, so we plan the 14-day test inside the schedule. An organization account avoids it, which is one more reason to publish under your company rather than a personal name. The build rules change every year, which is why an app needs maintenance after launch. Requirements were checked on Apple's and Google's developer pages on October 31, 2026.

How much does it cost to build a mobile app?

We quote mobile app development per project after a free strategy call, because platform count, features and design work move the price too much for one number to be honest. Fixed costs you can plan for now are the store fees: $99 a year for Apple and $25 once for Google Play.

For a market reference, not our pricing, Appinventiv's cost guide puts a basic app at $40,000 to $100,000 and a medium-complexity app at $100,000 to $200,000 (checked October 31, 2026). The things that move your quote most are the number of user roles, payments, integrations with systems you already run, and whether the app needs to work offline.

How long does it take to build a mobile app?

Our three published mobile apps took 6 to 8 weeks from strategy through development: Coo and Farmers Market Haul in 6 weeks, Drop My Drip in 8. Store review comes on top: Apple reviews 90% of submissions within 48 hours, Google can take up to seven days, and a new personal Google Play account adds its 14-day closed test.

What does Autoesta's mobile app development process look like?

Our mobile app development process runs discovery and strategy, design, development, device testing, app store submission, then launch and handover, with one team on every step. Store submission is the step a web build does not have.

1. Discovery and strategy. What the app does, for whom, and what version one must include.
2. Design. Screens, flows and a brand system. Coo, Drop My Drip and Farmers Market Haul each shipped with a brand style guide from this step.
3. Development. Built against the agreed scope, feature by feature.
4. Device testing. Real phones, not only a simulator, because touch targets, camera behavior and speed vary by hardware.
5. App store submission. Store listing, privacy details and review by Apple and Google.
6. Launch and handover. The app goes live and you receive the code and documentation.

How long does app store review take?

Apple says it reviews at least 50% of submissions in under 24 hours and 90% in under 48 hours. Google says some apps, especially from newer developer accounts, can take up to seven days or longer. Each rejection and resubmission adds more time, so plan review separately from the build.

Most rejections are ordinary: incomplete or inaccurate metadata, a crash on the device the reviewer uses, or privacy details that do not match the data the app collects. Careful device testing and an accurate privacy declaration prevent most of them, which is why both are separate steps in our process. Apple also accepts expedited review requests for critical bug fixes and event launches.

Who should own the app and the app store accounts?

You own the code and design we build, confirmed in the contract. We recommend publishing under your own Apple and Google organization accounts, so the listing, the reviews and the revenue stay with your business if you ever change developers.

An organization account also skips Google's 14-day testing rule for new personal accounts. We confirm the account setup on the strategy call, before development starts, so nobody has to transfer an app later.

Do you handle app store submission and updates after launch?

Yes. We handle the first submission to the App Store and Google Play as part of launch, and every build includes six months of maintenance at no extra charge. Ongoing listing work and new versions after that period are scoped on the call.

Updates are not optional for long: Apple and Google raise their build requirements every year, so an app left untouched for a year or two cannot ship even a small fix until it is rebuilt against the current requirements.

Does my app need push notifications or offline support?

Push notifications are worth it only when there is a time-sensitive reason to bring someone back, such as a saved deal about to expire or an order status change. Offline support is worth planning when people use the app where signal is weak, such as a shop floor or a market stall.

Both are decisions for the strategy phase, not add-ons. Over-notifying is one of the fastest ways to get an app deleted, and offline support changes how data syncs and what a screen shows when a request fails. Farmers Market Haul shows why the context matters: vendors post their week's stock from a phone at the stall in under two minutes, so the posting flow was designed for someone standing at a busy market, not sitting at a desk.

Mobile app or mobile-friendly website?

A mobile-friendly website runs in the browser and needs no install; an app installs from a store and gets deeper access to the camera, location, notifications and offline storage. If people only need to read content or fill in a form on a phone, a website is faster and cheaper.

See our landing page and website service if that fits. An app earns its extra cost when the product needs device features a browser cannot reach as well, or when daily home-screen use matters more than being easy to find in search.

When is a mobile app the wrong choice?

A mobile app is the wrong choice when a responsive website already does the job, when the idea has not been tested with real users, or when there is no budget for the yearly updates Apple and Google require.

• A website covers the need. No download, no store review, no store fees.
• The idea is untested. A landing page or a clickable prototype tests demand far more cheaply than an app.
• No plan for maintenance. New OS versions and store rules arrive every year; building the app is not the last cost.

More questions about mobile app development

Do you offer iOS and Android app development?

Yes. Our mobile app development services cover iOS and Android, usually from one cross-platform codebase, which is how Coo was built for both stores in 6 weeks. We build native apps in Swift or Kotlin when a feature needs deep device access. App store submission to both stores is part of every launch.

Is your mobile app work different from your GoHighLevel work?

Yes. Coo, Drop My Drip and Farmers Market Haul are standalone apps built from scratch, with no GoHighLevel or CRM underneath. Some "custom apps" sold by agencies are a white-labeled CRM app with a new logo in the store. That can be fine for client access to a CRM, but it is a different product from an app built around your business.

Can you take over an app someone else started building?

Often, yes, depending on the state of the codebase, the documentation and the store accounts. Tell us what exists and where it is stuck on a strategy call. We review the code first and tell you whether finishing it or rebuilding the core will cost less over the next year.

What do I need to provide before the build starts?

A clear owner on your side who can make decisions each week, access to your Apple and Google developer accounts or approval to create them in your company's name, any brand assets you already have, and a short list of what version one must do. We turn that into a written scope during discovery.

Building for the browser too? See custom web applications, SaaS product development and customer portal development.

Sources and further reading

• Apple: App Review, review times and expedited review (checked October 31, 2026).
• Apple Developer Program enrollment, $99 per membership year (checked October 31, 2026).
• Apple: Upcoming requirements, Xcode 26 and iOS 26 SDK since April 28, 2026 (checked October 31, 2026).
• Google Play: app testing requirements for new personal accounts (checked October 31, 2026).
• Google Play: target API level requirements, Android 16 from August 31, 2026 (checked October 31, 2026).
• Apple App Store Review Guidelines and Google Play Developer Policy Center.