Home / App development / Cost in Pakistan
Price guide · Updated 26 September 2026
App development cost in Pakistan, in rupees.
The top results for this question quote "$2,000 to $300,000" with no date and no source. Here are the prices Pakistani agencies actually publish, where they come from, and the costs that arrive after launch that most guides leave out.
for most business apps built by a Pakistani agency in 2026: about Rs 2–5 lakh for a simple app and Rs 5–15 lakh for one with logins, payments and an admin panel.
Marketplaces and real-time apps start around Rs 15 lakh. Freelancers quote less.
What Pakistani agencies publish
These are the ranges on each company's own price page, checked on 26 September 2026. None of them cite data behind their numbers, and several copy the same tiers, so treat them as the market's asking price rather than a rule.
| Source | Simple app | Business app | Complex app | Date on page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Progriso | Rs 2–5 lakh (freelancer Rs 60k–1.5 lakh) | Rs 5–12 lakh (freelancer Rs 1.5–4 lakh) | Rs 10–25 lakh | 25 Feb 2026 |
| IDTS Digital | Rs 2–5 lakh | Rs 5–15 lakh | Rs 15–50 lakh+ | 10 May 2026 |
| MetaLabs (Lahore) | Rs 1.8–4.5 lakh | Rs 5–15 lakh | Rs 20 lakh–1 crore+ | "2026", no day |
| CodeForge | Rs 1.8–3.5 lakh (Flutter MVP) | Rs 3.5–8 lakh | Rs 8–30 lakh | 19 May 2026 |
| Ranglerz (Lahore) | Android Rs 2.25–4.5 lakh · iOS Rs 2.45–3.95 lakh | n/a | Multi-vendor Rs 5.5–20.5 lakh | No date |
Prices as listed by each company on its own website. We don't publish a package price ourselves: we give a written price after scoping, for the reasons below.
Why the same app gets quotes from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 10 lakh
Two quotes for "an app like Daraz" can differ tenfold because they describe different apps. What actually moves the price:
- Screens and flows. A 6-screen booking tool is a different job from a 30-screen marketplace.
- A server or not. An app that keeps data on the phone, like our Invoe and DealNama, skips a whole backend. Logins, sync and an admin panel add one.
- Payments. JazzCash, Easypaisa or card payments each need their own integration and testing.
- Android, iPhone or both. Ranglerz lists iPhone apps slightly above Android for simple builds. Flutter covers both from one codebase.
- Who writes the scope. A quote without a written list of screens and features isn't a price yet. It's a guess that grows later.
Android, iPhone or Flutter?
Most Pakistani users are on Android, so most local businesses start there. If you need iPhone users too, Flutter lets one codebase run on both. CodeForge lists one native platform from Rs 3.8 lakh and both native platforms from Rs 7 lakh, which is roughly the gap Flutter is meant to close. The "Flutter saves 20 to 40%" figure you'll see on many pages is the agencies' own claim, not a measured number.
The costs after launch that quotes leave out
- Google Play: US$25 once. New personal developer accounts must also run a closed test with at least 12 testers for 14 days before publishing to everyone. We've been through this with our own apps; plan for those two weeks.
- Apple App Store: US$99 a year.
- Server: Firebase's free plan covers a small app (1 GiB database, 50,000 reads a day). Agencies quote Rs 3,000 to 40,000 a month for hosting once you outgrow it.
- SMS codes for login: a local gateway such as SendPK charges about Rs 4.70 per OTP message. Twilio charges US$0.47 per SMS to Pakistan, roughly 28 times more. On an app with thousands of logins, that choice matters.
- Maintenance: the common rule of thumb is 15 to 20% of the build cost per year for updates, Android version changes and fixes.
Hire a developer, or pay an agency?
Indeed puts the average Android developer salary in Pakistan at Rs 64,528 a month, and Rs 79,330 in Lahore (updated 4 September 2026). For a long-running product, a salaried developer can be cheaper. For a first version, you'd also need design, testing, publishing and someone to run the server, which is what an agency price includes.
How to get a price you can trust
- Write down the screens and what each one does, even roughly.
- Decide Android first or both platforms.
- Ask for a written scope with the price, not a package name.
- Ask what happens after launch: who publishes it, who fixes it, and what that costs per month.
- Ask to see an app they've published on Google Play and still maintain.
FAQ
App cost, asked plainly.
How much does it cost to make an app in Pakistan?
Published agency prices in 2026 put a simple app at about Rs 2 to 5 lakh, a business app with logins, payments and an admin panel at about Rs 5 to 15 lakh, and a marketplace or real-time app from about Rs 15 lakh upwards. Freelancers quote less, often Rs 60,000 to 1.5 lakh for a simple app.
Is it cheaper to build for Android only?
Usually, yes. Most Pakistani users are on Android, so many businesses start there. A Flutter build can cover Android and iPhone from one codebase, which costs more than Android alone but less than two separate native apps.
What does it cost to publish an app on Google Play?
Google charges a one-time US$25 developer fee. New personal developer accounts also have to run a closed test with at least 12 testers for 14 days before they can publish to everyone. Apple charges US$99 a year for the App Store.
How much does app maintenance cost per year?
The rule of thumb most agencies quote is 15 to 20% of the build cost per year, though nobody publishes data behind it. Server, SMS and store fees come on top and depend on how many people use the app.
Should I hire a developer or an agency?
An Android developer in Lahore earns about Rs 79,330 a month on average (Indeed). One developer is cheaper for a long project if you can manage them, but you also need design, testing and someone to publish and look after the servers.
How long does it take to build an app?
A small, well-scoped app usually takes a few weeks to two months. Business apps with payments and an admin panel take longer. The written scope is what makes the timeline realistic.
Get a written price for your app.
Send us the screens you have in mind, even as a rough list. We'll reply with a written scope and price, or tell you if a smaller build would do.