How much does it cost to build a mobile app?
The cost of a mobile app depends on scope: number of screens, user roles, payments, subscriptions, chat, maps, integrations, and whether a backend and admin panel already exist. A login, a catalog and a contact form is a different project from a marketplace with payments, push notifications and a provider panel.
DevLunch does not bill by the hour. App development is priced per fixed 6-week cycle (Shape Up). Before a cycle starts, the scope is shaped with you and the price and deadline are set. At the end of the cycle, working software is in production or in the hands of testers through TestFlight and Google Play testing tracks.
If the full app does not fit in one cycle, the first cycle ships the core flow and later cycles add features. You decide after each cycle whether to continue.
React Native or native iOS and Android development?
Native development means two codebases: Swift for iOS and Kotlin for Android, with two teams or twice the work. React Native with Expo builds both apps from one TypeScript codebase, with access to the camera, push notifications, location, video and in-app purchases.
For most business apps (marketplaces, memberships, bookings, field service, customer portals) React Native covers the requirements with one codebase and one release process. DevLunch builds with React Native and Expo, and uses Expo EAS for builds, store submissions and over-the-air updates.
Apps that depend on heavy 3D graphics, games or low-level hardware access are better suited to fully native code. Those cases are identified during shaping, before a price is set.
What does a mobile app need besides the app itself?
A production app needs a backend: an API, a database, user accounts, file storage, push notifications and an admin panel where staff manage users, orders, content and support requests. DevLunch builds the backend with Ruby on Rails or Next.js, PostgreSQL and Amazon S3.
Digital subscriptions sold inside the app use Apple and Google in-app purchases, as the store rules require. Physical goods and services can be charged with Stripe or a Dominican payment gateway such as Azul or CardNet. Gateway work is covered in more detail on the API and integrations page.
How long does it take to publish an app on the App Store and Google Play?
Development time is set by the cycle: each cycle is 6 weeks, followed by a 2-week cooldown. Store review adds time on top. Apple reviews every iOS release, and Google Play reviews new apps and updates. Review times vary and are set by Apple and Google, not by the developer.
DevLunch prepares the store listings, privacy details, screenshots and test accounts that reviewers ask for, and submits the builds. After launch, JavaScript fixes can ship as over-the-air updates through Expo without a new store review, while native changes go through the stores.
Mobile app development company in the Dominican Republic
DevLunch builds mobile apps from Santo Domingo for businesses in the Dominican Republic and the United States, working Eastern Time, in English and Spanish. The Contrata app, a home services marketplace for iOS and Android, has been on the App Store and Google Play since 2021.
Asistina, an iPhone app for a home maintenance membership, launched in November 2023 with in-app subscriptions, scheduled maintenance, repair requests with video, chat, quotes and reviews, plus a Rails platform and a staff panel behind it.
