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CUYCO

Mobile & Product Development

App development covers everything between an idea with wireframes and a product live in both stores: authentication, data, payments, notifications, review submission, and the unglamorous edge cases that decide whether people keep the app installed.

Starting at
From R45,000
Typical timeline
6–12 weeks
Delivered by
Ross Cuyler
Working with
SA · UK · EU

What the work actually involves.

Getting to the App Store is the easy half. Staying installed is the part that needs engineering.

  1. 01One build, both stores

    FlutterFlow and Flutter for cross-platform delivery, so iOS and Android ship together instead of one trailing the other by a quarter.

  2. 02A backend that survives launch day

    Firebase or Supabase for auth, real-time data, and storage — with security rules and access control written deliberately rather than left open and forgotten.

  3. 03Payments and subscriptions

    RevenueCat for in-app subscriptions, Stripe or Yoco for web billing, with webhook lifecycle handling so access actually revokes when someone cancels.

  4. 04Store submission and the aftermath

    App Store and Play Console setup, review submission, deep links with store fallbacks, push notifications, and a support window for the bugs that only appear once real users arrive.

What this looked like the last time.

Snagg went from wireframes to beta on iOS and Android in 10 weeks, with RevenueCat subscriptions, universal deep links, and Cloud Functions watching for price drops. It held a 4.6-star rating through its first update cycle.

App development: costs, timelines, and the awkward questions.

Pricing here is what real projects of this shape have cost. Your quote will be fixed in writing before anything starts.

How much does it cost to build an app in South Africa?

A focused MVP with authentication, a core feature set, and a backend starts around R45,000. Apps with subscriptions, real-time social features, or complex permissions typically run R90,000 to R200,000. HIPAA-style compliance work and role-based access add to that meaningfully.

How long does it take to build a mobile app?

Six to twelve weeks for most first releases, plus one to two weeks of store review and fixes. Snagg shipped to beta on both platforms in ten weeks. Scope discipline matters more than team size here.

Why FlutterFlow instead of native iOS and Android?

Because one codebase ships to both stores at roughly half the cost and half the calendar time, and it drops to custom Flutter code wherever the visual builder runs out. Native is the right call when you need heavy on-device processing, deep OS integration, or platform-specific hardware — for most products, it is a budget spent on parity rather than progress.

Do you work from existing designs?

Yes. Figma files get built to spec — WillPortal was translated pixel for pixel. If there are no designs yet, design is scoped as part of the project rather than assumed.

Talk through an app build.

Thirty minutes on a call is usually enough to work out whether this is a two-week job, a two-month job, or something you should not build at all. You get a written scope and a fixed price before anything starts.

Taking on new work from August 2026 · Replies within one business day