Custom Mobile Apps for South Africans, From R40,000
Real, custom-built iOS and Android apps without the R200,000 agency price tag. Most apps go live in weeks, not months.
Transparent pricing. Store submission included. You own everything.
From R40,000Real custom apps, real prices
iOS + AndroidBoth stores, one build
Live in weeksNot months
You own itThe code and the store accounts
HONEST APP DEVELOPMENT
The App Development Company in SA That Shows Real Prices
Most agencies will quote you R150,000 or more for a mobile app, and much of that cost is agency overhead. Digital Consulting builds genuine, custom apps for iOS and Android using a modern, AI-assisted process that cuts the build time dramatically, and we pass the saving on to you. Digital Consulting’s own apps are live on the App Store today, including WoordSpel and Golf Analytics by DataTee, built with exactly the process we’ll use for yours. You get a real app, fully owned by you, submitted to the App Store and Google Play, from R40,000.
Apps We’ve Built
Don’t take our word for it. These are our own apps, live on the App Store right now. Search them, download them, judge the quality yourself.
WoordSpel
An Afrikaans word game with daily challenges, streaks, user accounts, and premium subscriptions. Free to play, no ads, works online and offline. A great example of what a self-contained app can be.
Golf Analytics by DataTee
Advanced shot-by-shot golf analytics: 50+ statistics, strokes gained insights, offline tracking that syncs automatically, and a companion web dashboard. The kind of app that talks to outside systems.
Mobile App Development Pricing in South Africa
Every app Digital Consulting builds is a real, custom app for both iOS and Android, fully owned by you and submitted to the App Store and Google Play. The price isn’t set by how many screens your app has or how big it feels. It’s set by technical difficulty: how much your app needs to connect to other systems and data.
| The R40k App | The R70k App | The Custom App | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | R40,000 | R70,000 | From R100,000 |
| Best for | Self-contained apps that do their own thing well | Apps that connect to other systems and services | Ambitious apps with complex connections and logic |
| iOS and Android | Both, from one codebase | Both, from one codebase | Both, from one codebase |
| User sign-up and logins | Included | Included | Included |
| Connections to outside systems | None needed | One or a few outside services | Several systems, custom logic behind the scenes |
| Store submission | Included | Included | Included |
| You own the app and the code | Fully | Fully | Fully |
Prices last reviewed and updated: June 2026.
The R40k App
R40,000Once-off, fixed price
A complete, self-contained app that does its own thing well. Everything lives inside the app: your screens, your data, your users. Sign-up, logins, and accounts are included. Don’t mistake this for a cut-down build: it’s a full app, submitted to both stores, with the screens and features your idea needs.
- Workout or habit trackers
- Loyalty cards and members’ apps
- Staff checklists and handbooks
- Catalogues and digital menus
If your app keeps its information to itself, this is your tier.
Most popular
The R70k App
R70,000Once-off, fixed price
Everything in the R40k app, but now your app works with the outside world, connecting to other systems and data through their APIs. We’ll scope exactly what those connections are together.
- Pulls live info from another service
- Sends or receives data from systems you already use
- Features that depend on an outside provider
If your app needs to talk to other systems, this is your tier.
The Custom App
R100,000+Scoped and quoted individually
For apps where the connections and logic get genuinely involved: several systems talking to each other, custom logic running behind the scenes, or more advanced features. You’ll still pay a fraction of what a traditional agency charges.
- Ties into your existing business systems
- Two-sided apps connecting user groups
- Real complexity under the hood
If your app is ambitious, talk to us and we’ll quote it honestly.
Not sure which tier fits? Most people aren’t, and some apps sit between two. Book a free 30-minute call and we’ll tell you honestly which one your app needs and exactly what it will cost, before you commit to anything.
How It Works
1Free scoping callTell us what your app should do. We tell you which tier fits and exactly what it will cost. 30 minutes, no obligation.
2Fixed quote, scope agreedWe agree the scope upfront in plain language, so the fixed price holds. You approve before any work starts.
3Design and buildWe design and build your app for iOS and Android from one codebase, and you see progress and give feedback along the way.
4Test, submit, hand overTesting on real devices, submission to the App Store and Google Play, then a full walkthrough and handover. The app is yours.
Keeping Your App Live
App Hosting: R2,000/month
Every app needs infrastructure to stay running: hosting, databases, user authentication, and monitoring, all running on systems we maintain. This is included with every app as a mandatory hosting retainer, and it’s how your app stays live, secure, and compatible as iOS and Android update.
App Care: R3,500/month
Everything in hosting, plus two hours of support, updates, or small changes every month. Recommended if you want the app to keep evolving after launch.
Your app is published under your own Apple and Google developer accounts, which you own outright. We handle the setup and submission with you. The only costs are the platforms’ own fees, paid directly to them: Apple charges $99 per year and Google charges a once-off $25. That’s it, no markup from us.
How Digital Consulting Compares
An honest look at your three real options for getting an app built in South Africa. One leading SA agency publishes MVP builds from R650,000 and full custom builds from R1.2 million (see their 2026 pricing guide). Digital Consulting sits in the gap between that and the no-code tier.
| Digital Consulting | Traditional agency | No-code / freelancer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical price | R40,000 to R100,000+ | R650,000+ for an MVP, R1.2m+ full custom | R5,000 to R30,000 |
| What you get | Real custom iOS + Android app from one codebase | Real custom app, large team, long process | Template app with limited customisation |
| Time to launch | Weeks | 4 to 12 months | Days, until you need something custom |
| Ownership | You own the code and the store accounts | Usually yours, check the contract | Often locked to the platform |
| Best for | Founders and SMEs who want a real app at an honest price | Enterprise builds needing a large dedicated team | Quick throwaway prototypes |
Why the price difference? Digital Consulting builds cross-platform: roughly 90% of the code is shared between iOS and Android, which industry analyses credit with cutting development cost by around 30% and build time by about a third (Netguru, 2026). Add an AI-assisted build process on top of that, and the hours, and therefore the bill, shrink dramatically.
“We’re not cheaper because we cut corners. AI-assisted development genuinely changed how long an app takes to build, and I’d rather pass that saving on than pad a quote.”Reinhardt Scholtz, founder of Digital Consulting and developer of WoordSpel and Golf Analytics by DataTee
Why We’re Cheaper (And Why That’s Not a Catch)
Digital Consulting is not cutting corners, we are cutting hours. Traditional agencies bill large teams over many months. We use a modern, AI-assisted build process and cross-platform technology that produces both iOS and Android from one codebase. Same output, a fraction of the time, an honest price.
What Affects the Price of an App?
The honest answer: it is not the number of screens, it is the technical difficulty. What pushes the price up is connecting to other systems (the single biggest driver), custom logic behind the scenes, features that reach deep into the phone’s hardware, and taking payments inside the app.
What doesn’t drive the price much: the number of screens, how big the app feels, or user accounts and logins (those are included at every tier). We’d rather you focus on what the app should do.
Not sure you need an app at all? Sometimes a custom website with good SEO is the smarter first step, and we’ll tell you honestly if that’s you.
Mobile App Development FAQs
Most custom apps run R150,000+ at traditional agencies. We build real, store-ready apps from R40,000, with most apps landing between R40,000 and R100,000 depending on complexity.
Digital Consulting uses a modern, AI-assisted build process and cross-platform technology, so the same app takes far fewer hours to build. We pass that saving on.
Yes. Every app is cross-platform by default, built from a single codebase, and submitted to both the App Store and Google Play at every tier.
Every app carries a R2,000/month hosting retainer that keeps it live: servers, databases, user authentication, monitoring, and compatibility as iOS and Android update. If you want ongoing improvements, App Care at R3,500/month includes all of that plus two hours of support or changes every month.
Most apps go live in a few weeks rather than months.
Yes, fully. The code is yours, and the app is published under your own Apple and Google developer accounts. The only ongoing platform cost is Apple’s $99/year fee and Google’s once-off $25, paid directly to them.
Ready to find out what your app would actually cost?
Send us your app idea, or book a free 30-minute call. We’ll tell you honestly what your app needs, which tier fits, and what it will cost, before you commit to anything.
