Shopify Mobile App Cost in 2026: Full Pricing Breakdown

A Shopify mobile app costs about $79 to $500 per month on a mainstream app builder (most publish from $99 to $199), around $1,499 per month plus a one-time setup fee with a done-for-you service, and roughly $40,000 to $120,000 or more up front for a custom build, according to agency estimates published in 2026. Whichever path you take, publishing under your own accounts adds $99 per year for Apple and $25 once for Google Play. In the three budget scenarios below, a small or growing store on a builder spends about $1,300 to $15,000 in year one, far below the six figures you see in custom-development guides.

Disclosure: SimiCart is our product. Prices for every other app come from its own Shopify App Store listing or pricing page, checked October 5, 2026. Custom-development figures are third-party estimates, labeled with their source and year.

Key takeaways

• App builders are the low-cost path: SimiCart, OneMobile and MageNative publish from $99/month, Shopney from $149, Superfans from $150, Plobal and Appbrew from $199, and Tapcart from $500 (Shopify App Store, October 2026).
• Done-for-you services cost more but include the work: MobiLoud’s Business plan is $1,499/month plus a one-time development and submission fee.
• Custom development is a different budget class: 2026 agency estimates run from $40,000 to $120,000 for a mid-level app, plus 15% to 25% of the build cost every year for maintenance.
• The sticker price is not the full price: check push caps, integration limits and fees on in-app sales.
• Store fees are small: $99/year for the Apple Developer Program and a one-time $25 for Google Play, and neither store takes a cut of physical product sales.

How much does a Shopify mobile app cost in 2026?

It depends on who builds the app: you with a no-code builder, a vendor that runs it for you, or a development team. Each path costs roughly ten times the previous one, so pick the path first and the vendor second.

Path 1: How much do Shopify mobile app builders cost?

Most Shopify mobile app builders charge $79 to $599 a month for the plan that publishes your app to the App Store and Google Play. The builder syncs products, inventory and orders with your store, so there is no backend to build, and the vendor handles app updates.

Here is what the most-listed builders charge, taken from each app’s Shopify App Store listing:

We are not the lowest-priced option: Hulk lists $79/month, and a few smaller builders list lower prices still. SimiCart’s Basic plan is cheaper to publish than Shopney ($149), Superfans ($150), Plobal ($199), Appbrew ($199) and Tapcart ($500), as listed on the Shopify App Store in October 2026. For a side-by-side view of every builder, see our Shopify app builder comparison hub or the longer review of the best Shopify mobile app builders.

What you get at each price tier

Plans from $79 to $150 cover a native app synced with Shopify, design blocks, push (sometimes capped) and basic integrations. From $150 to $600 you get more blocks, segmented push, marketing integrations and success managers. Above $1,000 you pay for enterprise features such as A/B testing, developer tools and an uptime SLA (Tapcart Scale and Enterprise+).

On SimiCart, the Free plan lets you build and preview the app on a real device but does not publish. Basic ($99/month) publishes on iOS and Android with unlimited push, reviews, wishlist, product labels and live chat. Pro ($149) adds 30 homepage blocks, a smart app banner, app-exclusive discounts and loyalty program integration. Premium ($249) adds 50 blocks, a customization package, app design support and a dedicated success manager. See our SimiCart pricing page for full details.

Path 2: How much does a done-for-you app service cost?

Done-for-you services charge more per month because the vendor’s team builds, designs, submits and maintains the app for you. The best-documented example is MobiLoud, which turns your existing website into an app and publishes its prices on its pricing page:

• Business plan: $1,499/month, or $1,274/month billed annually (15% off).
• Plus a one-time app development and submission fee, charged at signing. The page does not publish the amount, so ask for a quote.
• Usage: up to 10,000 monthly active users included, then $50 per additional 1,000 MAU.
• Timeline: native iOS and Android app live in 6 to 8 weeks.
• Push: runs through your own OneSignal account, so any OneSignal charges are billed to you separately.

That works out to $17,988 a year billed monthly or $15,288 billed annually, before the one-time fee and any MAU overage. MobiLoud says the Business plan typically fits stores up to $10M in annual GMV.

Path 3: How much does it cost to build a custom Shopify mobile app?

A custom Shopify app typically costs $40,000 to $120,000 with a mid-level US or Canada team, according to 2026 estimates, and can pass $200,000 at a premium agency. These are third-party estimates, not quotes. The two Shopify-specific sources below are published by companies that sell app services, so read them as directional.

Scope drives the price. A custom app uses Shopify’s Storefront API and Checkout Kit, so you pay developers to build every screen, account flow, push and analytics feature for two platforms, then keep them working as iOS, Android and Shopify’s APIs change. Clutch reports an average timeline of about 11 months.

Custom makes sense when you need something no builder offers, such as deep ERP integration or a unique product configurator. If your app is mainly a faster storefront with push, a builder covers it for a fraction of the cost. Our guide on how to turn a Shopify store into a mobile app walks through the builder route step by step.

What are all the costs of a Shopify mobile app?

Beyond the plan or build price, budget for store accounts, design, maintenance, marketing, integrations, push limits and any revenue-based fees. Here is each line and what it usually costs.

1. Builder or service plan (recurring)

This is the biggest line for builders and services. Annual billing saves 10% to 25% where offered: MageNative lists Starter at $1,069.20 a year, Hulk lists Basic at $790 a year, and Plobal lists Growth at $1,990 a year.

2. Apple Developer Program: $99 per year

Publishing under your own brand needs an Apple Developer Program membership at $99 a year, so it belongs in every year’s budget.

3. Google Play Console: $25 one time

Google charges a one-time $25 registration fee for a Google Play developer account. After that, there is no yearly renewal.

4. Design (one time, optional)

On a builder, design is done with templates and blocks, though you may pay a designer for an app icon and App Store screenshots. For custom apps, MobiLoud estimates mobile app design at $5,000 for basic layouts to $20,000 or more for custom interfaces (2026). On SimiCart, Premium includes app design support.

5. Ongoing maintenance (recurring)

Builders include maintenance in the subscription. On SimiCart, most changes after publishing take effect immediately; only a new app icon needs a new app version. Custom apps are different. CartCoders estimates yearly maintenance at 15% to 25% of the build cost (a $40,000 app needs at least $6,000 to $10,000 a year), and MobiLoud puts upkeep for a $100,000 app at $15,000 to $20,000 a year.

6. Marketing and app install campaigns (recurring)

Plan a launch budget, because paid installs are not cheap. Adjust’s 2026 shopping app report, as reported by PPC Land, puts the average cost per ecommerce app install in the first half of 2026 at $3.28 in the US and $3.12 across North America, against a $1.08 global median. The cheaper route is your own audience: a smart app banner on your mobile site (SimiCart Pro), QR codes on packaging, email and SMS announcements, and an app-only discount for the first order.

7. Third-party app integrations

Builders gate integrations by plan. Shopney lists Klaviyo, Rebuy and Nosto on Platinum ($599/month), Plobal caps standard integrations at 2, 4 and 7 on its first three plans, and Superfans lists unlimited integrations at $1,000/month. The integrated apps still bill their own fees. On SimiCart, reviews and live chat integrations start on Basic, and the Features page in your Shopify admin lists the rest.

8. Push notification limits

A push cap on the entry plan can force an upgrade. MageNative’s Starter plan ($99/month) lists 5 push notifications, with unlimited push on Premium ($249/month). Hulk’s Basic plan ($79/month) lists up to 30, with unlimited on Pro ($149/month). SimiCart includes unlimited push notifications from Basic ($99/month), and Shopney, Superfans, Plobal, Appbrew and Tapcart list unlimited push on their entry plans. For custom apps, Firebase lists Cloud Messaging as no-cost, though you pay developers to build the campaign tools around it.

9. Success fees and revenue-based charges

Some builders take a percentage of your app’s sales. From the listings, checked October 2026:

• OneMobile: no fee on the first $2,000 of mobile revenue on Scale-up, then a 2.9% infrastructure fee on revenue above that; Brand-up charges 1.9% above $10,000 and Omni 1.2% above $100,000.
• Plobal: the free Starter plan charges a 3% success-based fee on in-app sales; Enterprise adds 1% of in-app sales to $1,199/month.
• AppMaker: 1% of in-app sales on both plans.
• Appbrew: plan prices are a starting point with “additional charges based on app performance.”
• SimiCart: no success fee on any plan.

Tapcart’s listing also notes that external charges may be billed outside your Shopify invoice. Read every vendor’s terms before you sign; a 1% to 3% fee on app revenue can exceed the subscription once the app sells well.

10. App store commissions: usually $0

Apple and Google do not take their in-app purchase commission on physical products. Apple’s App Store Review Guideline 3.1.3(e) requires apps selling physical goods to use purchase methods other than in-app purchase, such as Apple Pay or card entry, and Google’s payments policy says its billing system must not be used for physical goods.

What does a Shopify app cost in the first year? 3 scenarios

Here is a first-year budget for three typical setups. Lines marked “assumption” are our planning numbers, explained below the table, not published prices.

How we built the assumptions:

• Paid installs. $600 is a small test budget: at Adjust’s $3.28 US average cost per install, it buys about 180 installs. $6,000 ($500 a month) buys about 1,830. Your real cost varies by country and channel.
• Design. A assumes the store builds screens itself. B assumes $2,000 for a freelancer to make an icon, screenshots and launch creative. C assumes design is in the agency price.
• Custom maintenance. A full year at 15% of the low build estimate and 25% of the high one. Backend hosting beyond Shopify’s APIs is not counted, since it depends on your architecture.

Swap the plan line in scenario B for SimiCart Premium ($249 x 12 = $2,988) and the total drops to $11,112 with the same assumptions. If you are weighing those two directly, our SimiCart vs Tapcart comparison lays out what each plan includes.

How can you keep Shopify mobile app costs down?

Buy for what you need today and upgrade later:

• Build and preview before you pay. SimiCart’s Free plan lets you design the full app and test it on your own phone; you only pay when you publish. Other builders offer 7 to 30-day trials.
• Compare the plan you will actually need, not the entry price. If your plan needs 20 push campaigns a month, a $99 plan capped at 5 pushes is really a $249 plan.
• Model revenue-based fees at your target app revenue. A 2.9% or 3% fee looks small at launch and large at scale. A flat subscription with no success fee is easier to budget.
• Pay annually once you are sure. Start monthly, then switch to annual billing for 10% to 25% off where offered.
• Use your own developer accounts. $124 in store fees keeps the listing in your name if you ever switch vendors.
• Grow installs from your own traffic first. Smart app banners, QR codes and email cost little compared with $3+ per paid install.

Is a Shopify mobile app worth the cost?

For stores with repeat customers, an app is often worth it on a builder budget. The case rests on a few published numbers:

• Shoppers are already on mobile. Adobe reported that 56.4% of US online holiday transactions in the 2025 season happened on a smartphone, up from 54.5% in 2024, and EMARKETER forecasts mobile will account for the majority of US retail ecommerce sales starting in 2027.
• Push reaches about half of app users. Airship’s 2026 benchmarks (2025 data) put the median push opt-in rate at 48.85% on iOS and 53.3% on Android. That is an owned channel you do not pay per message for on most builders.
• Paid acquisition is pricey. With US ecommerce app installs at $3.28 each in H1 2026 (Adjust via PPC Land), re-engaging existing customers through push is cheaper than buying them again.

A quick break-even check: scenario A costs $1,312 in year one without paid ads. At a 40% gross margin (an assumption, use your own), the app pays for itself at about $3,280 in app sales for the year, or $273 a month. A custom build at $52,124 needs roughly 40 times that. An app is a weaker fit if most customers buy once or your mobile traffic is still small; fix the mobile site first.

How to choose the right budget path

• Choose a done-for-you service like MobiLoud if you want an agency-style team to build, submit and maintain the app, and roughly $15,000 to $18,000 a year plus a setup fee fits your budget.
• Choose a premium builder like Tapcart if you need A/B testing, segmentation, developer tools or an uptime SLA, and $500 to $2,850 a month is in range.
• Choose custom development if your app needs features no builder supports and you can fund $40,000+ up front plus yearly maintenance.
• Choose SimiCart if you want a native iOS and Android app synced with Shopify, built and previewed for free, published from $99/month with unlimited push and no success fee, and design support available on Premium.

If the builder path fits, start building your Shopify app with SimiCart for free, then pick a plan on the pricing page when you are ready to publish.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does a Shopify mobile app cost per month?

Builder plans that publish range from $79 to $2,850 per month, most between $99 and $599 (Shopify App Store, October 2026). MobiLoud’s done-for-you service lists $1,499 per month plus a one-time fee. Add $99 a year for Apple and $25 once for Google Play.

How much does it cost to build a custom Shopify app?

Agency estimates published in 2026 put a mid-level custom Shopify app at $40,000 to $120,000 with a US or Canada team (CartCoders), and premium agencies at $200,000 or more (MobiLoud). Expect yearly maintenance of 15% to 25% of the build cost. These are third-party estimates; get quotes for your own scope.

Is there a free Shopify mobile app builder?

Some builders have free plans, but publishing usually costs money. SimiCart’s Free plan lets you build, customize and preview the app on a real device; publishing starts on Basic at $99/month. OneMobile’s free plan publishes under OneMobile’s developer account, and Plobal’s free Starter plan charges 3% of in-app sales.

Do I need to pay Apple and Google to publish my Shopify app?

Yes, if you publish under your own accounts. The Apple Developer Program costs $99 per year and a Google Play developer account costs $25 once. Owning the accounts keeps the listing in your name.

Do Shopify app builders take a percentage of sales?

Some do. As listed in October 2026, OneMobile charges an infrastructure fee of 1.2% to 2.9% on mobile revenue above a plan threshold, Plobal charges 3% on its free Starter plan and 1% on Enterprise, and AppMaker charges 1% of in-app sales. SimiCart charges no success fee on any plan.

How long does it take to launch a Shopify mobile app?

With a builder, it can take days. On SimiCart, we process a publish request within 48 hours (a little longer on weekends), and Apple and Google review typically takes another 2 to 3 days. MobiLoud quotes 6 to 8 weeks for its done-for-you service, and Clutch reports about 11 months on average for custom app projects.

What is the cheapest way to get a Shopify mobile app?

A no-code app builder on its entry publishing plan, published under your own developer accounts, is the lowest-cost path for most stores. Among the most-listed builders, entry publishing plans start at $79 to $99 per month, and a few smaller builders list lower prices; check push limits and revenue-based fees, since a cheap plan with caps or a sales percentage can end up costing more. You can compare SimiCart’s plans on our pricing page.