By Quick answer: How much does it cost to maintain an app?
- Rule of thumb — 15–25% of the build cost a year for maintenance, before hosting and third-party services.
- Mandatory work — Google Play's yearly target API level rule and Apple's yearly Xcode/SDK requirement.
- Running bills on top — cloud hosting, maps, SMS, email, AI usage, store fees, monitoring.
- Cheapest maintenance is a smaller, well-tested codebase with up-to-date dependencies.
Key takeaways
- Apps decay even if you change nothing: Android and iOS update every year and the stores make you follow.
- Budget maintenance and running costs separately. Maintenance is people; running costs are usage.
- An annual maintenance contract (AMC) should list what is included, response times and how new features are priced.
- Every library and SDK you add is a future upgrade bill. Choose fewer, well-maintained ones.
- Crash reporting and analytics from day one turn maintenance from guesswork into a ranked list.
Most founders budget for building an app. Very few budget for keeping it alive. Then, about a year after launch, the bills arrive: an Android update breaks the camera screen, Google Play sends a deadline notice, a payment SDK is deprecated, and the developer who built it has moved on. Maintenance is not optional extra polish. It is the rent on the house you just built.
The short answer: 15–25% of the build, every year
Plan to spend 15–25% of your original build cost each year on maintenance, before hosting and third-party services.
| Build cost | Yearly maintenance (15–25%) | Roughly per month |
|---|---|---|
| ₹8 lakh MVP | ₹1.2–2 lakh | ₹10,000–17,000 |
| ₹30 lakh app | ₹4.5–7.5 lakh | ₹37,000–62,000 |
| ₹60 lakh app | ₹9–15 lakh | ₹75,000–1.25 lakh |
| ₹1 crore product | ₹15–25 lakh | ₹1.25–2.1 lakh |
The low end fits a stable app with few integrations and a light update rhythm. The high end fits apps with payments, real-time features, many SDKs, or frequent releases.
- Of build cost, every year
- 15–25%
- Android and iOS changes the stores enforce
- Yearly
- Maintenance (people) and running costs (usage)
- 2 bills
Why apps decay even when you change nothing
The stores move the floor every year
Google Play sets a target API level deadline every year. Today, new apps and updates must target Android 16 (API level 36) to be submitted, and existing apps must target at least Android 15 (API level 35) by 31 August 2026 or they stop being offered to new users on newer phones1. Apple, meanwhile, requires apps uploaded to App Store Connect to be built with a recent Xcode and SDK — currently Xcode 26 or later2. Each of these deadlines means real development and testing work, every year.
Your dependencies age
Every library, SDK and API your app uses — payments, maps, analytics, login, push — releases new versions and retires old ones. Skip a few cycles and an upgrade becomes a rewrite.
Security does not stand still
New vulnerabilities are found in libraries and platforms constantly. The OWASP Mobile Application Security Verification Standard is a good checklist for what a maintained app should keep verifying5.
Phones keep changing
New screen sizes, foldables, notches, permission models and battery rules all surface bugs in code that worked perfectly last year.
What maintenance covers (and what it does not)
Usually included in maintenance
- Yearly Android and iOS updates and store-requirement changes
- Bug and crash fixes, prioritised by impact
- Security patches and dependency upgrades
- Server monitoring, backups and certificate renewals
- Small usability fixes and copy changes
Usually priced separately
- New features and new screens
- Redesigns
- New integrations (a new payment method, a new market)
- Scaling work for a big jump in traffic
- Content and customer support
The running costs on top
Maintenance is people's time. Running costs are usage, and they grow with your users:
| Running cost | Typical range | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Cloud hosting and database | ₹5,000–2 lakh a month | Grows with users, media and real-time traffic |
| Apple Developer Program | US$99 a year | Required to publish and update on the App Store3 |
| Maps, SMS, email, push | Per use | Google Maps, for example, charges per call after its monthly free usage4 |
| AI model usage | Per request | Can become the largest line for AI features |
| Monitoring and crash reporting | Free to a few thousand rupees a month | Worth it from day one |
| Store commission | 15–30% of digital sales | Only on in-app digital purchases |
What an annual maintenance contract (AMC) should say
If an agency or freelancer maintains your app, put it in writing. A good AMC answers:
- What is included: OS updates, store requirements, bug fixes, security patches, monitoring
- Response and fix times by severity (an app that will not open is not the same as a typo)
- Hours or tickets included per month, and the rate for extra work
- How new features are estimated and approved
- Who holds the source code, store accounts, cloud accounts and keys — it should be you
- How handover works if you change provider
- Uptime responsibilities for servers, if they host them
How to cut maintenance costs
- Build less. Every feature is something to maintain forever. Remove what analytics shows nobody uses.
- One cross-platform codebase halves the platform work compared with two native apps.
- Fewer, better SDKs. Prefer well-maintained libraries with large communities over clever niche ones.
- Upgrade a little, often. A monthly dependency update is cheap; a two-year catch-up is a project.
- Automated tests for the flows that make money — sign-up, checkout, booking — so updates do not break them.
- Crash reporting and analytics so effort goes to the problems users actually hit.
- Own your accounts. Store, cloud and domain accounts in the company's name avoid expensive lockouts.
How we estimated these numbers
The 15–25% range is a Science of Apps editorial estimate based on the work the stores and platforms require each year12, typical dependency and security upkeep, and the hourly bands Indian teams publish. It matches the running-cost guidance in our app development cost guide. Figures are before 18% GST and reviewed every six months.
Key terms, defined
Target API level — the Android version an app declares it is built for; Google Play sets a minimum every year. SDK — a software development kit, a package of tools or code from a platform or vendor. Dependency — a library or service your app relies on. AMC — an annual maintenance contract. Crash-free rate — the percentage of user sessions without a crash, a core health metric.
Frequently asked questions
How much does app maintenance cost per year?
Plan for 15–25% of the original build cost every year: about ₹1–2 lakh for a ₹8 lakh MVP, ₹4.5–7.5 lakh for a ₹30 lakh app and ₹15–25 lakh for a ₹1 crore product. That covers OS and store updates, bug fixes, security patches and dependency upgrades. Hosting, third-party services and new features are extra.
What does app maintenance include?
Updating the app for each year's Android and iOS releases and store requirements, fixing bugs and crashes, patching security issues, upgrading libraries and SDKs, monitoring servers, renewing certificates and accounts, and small usability improvements. Major new features are usually priced separately.
What happens if I don't maintain my app?
It degrades. New phone OS versions break features, Google Play limits the app to older devices if it misses the target API level deadline, Apple will not accept updates built with outdated tools, security holes stay open and third-party SDKs stop working. Eventually users see crashes and the stores stop showing the app to new users.
What is an app AMC and what should it include?
An annual maintenance contract is a yearly agreement with a developer to keep your app working. It should list what is covered (OS updates, bug fixes, security patches, monitoring), response and fix times by severity, the hours included, how extra work and new features are priced, and who owns the code and accounts.
How much does it cost to host an app per month?
From a few thousand rupees a month for a small app on managed services to several lakh for apps with heavy media, real-time features or AI. Hosting grows with users and usage, so track cost per active user from launch rather than relying on a fixed estimate.
How can I reduce app maintenance costs?
Keep the codebase small and tested, use a single cross-platform codebase, limit third-party SDKs to well-maintained ones, upgrade dependencies a little every month instead of all at once, use managed cloud services, and set up crash reporting so effort goes to the problems users actually hit.
Sources
- Google Play Console Help — Target API level requirements for Google Play apps
- Apple Developer — Upcoming requirements (Xcode and SDK versions)
- Apple Developer — Membership details and pricing
- Google Maps Platform — Changes to volume discounts and monthly free usage (March 2025)
- OWASP — Mobile Application Security Verification Standard (MASVS)
- Checked October 23, 2026. Figures that change — fees, salaries, prices — are reviewed every six months; if something is out of date, tell us.
Where to go from here
- App development cost in India — build costs and the hidden running costs table
- How long does it take to build an app? — real timelines by app type
- App developmentApp development cost in India (2027): the real breakdown by app typeWhat an app really costs to build in India in 2027 — ₹3 lakh to ₹1.5 crore by app type, what drives the price, hidden costs, team rates and how to spend less.
- App developmentAI app development cost in 2027: what you'll actually payAn AI app costs ₹12–60 lakh to build in India, ₹5–20 lakh to add AI to an existing app — plus a cost on every request. The full build and per-user running math.
- How to make an appHow to add payments to your app: Razorpay vs Stripe setup for Indian appsAdd payments to your app safely: choose Razorpay or Stripe, create orders on your server, verify signatures and webhooks, and follow app-store rules.
- App developmentHow long does it take to build an app? Real timelines, not agency promisesA simple app takes 6–10 weeks, most first versions 3–6 months, complex fintech or marketplace apps 6–12 months. Phase-by-phase timelines and what really slips.
- Templates & toolsThe ultimate app launch checklist: every task from eight weeks out to the first month after launchAn app launch checklist covering product readiness, store listings, compliance, analytics, marketing, launch week and the first 30 days after release.
- App developmentMVP development cost for startups: how lean is too lean?An MVP costs ₹0–3 lakh as a no-code or manual test and ₹3–15 lakh as a real app in India. What to include, what to cut, and when it's too lean.
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