The full answer
The biggest cost driver is scope: how many user roles, screens and workflows the first release needs. A focused MVP that proves one core journey costs far less than a platform that serves customers, staff, partners and administrators on day one.
Platforms matter next. A web app, an iOS app and an Android app can share a backend, and cross-platform frameworks such as Flutter or React Native can reduce effort for mobile, but each additional surface still needs design, build and testing time.
Integrations and data add cost in proportion to how messy they are. Connecting to a modern payment API is quick; migrating years of data from a legacy system or integrating with an undocumented internal tool takes longer. AI features vary too, from a simple assistant to custom models trained on your data.
Compliance and security requirements, such as HIPAA, PCI DSS or data residency rules, add design and testing work. A fixed launch date can also change team size. The discovery call is where we work through each of these factors with you, and the proposal that follows explains exactly what you are paying for.