A basic app takes at least 40 working days to build, about eight weeks, and a typical app with a backend and an admin panel about nine weeks (45 working days). The work runs in six steps: discovery and user flows, design, build, testing on real phones, store submission, and launch. Building Android and iOS separately in native code takes longer, about twelve weeks. Store review then adds anything from a day (Apple reviews 90% of apps within 48 hours) to a week or more (Google Play, for some new accounts).
"How long will my app take?" is the first question almost every client asks, and the honest answer depends on what the app has to do. This guide walks through each step of the mobile app development process, how long it usually takes, what you need to do at each point, and the parts of the timeline nobody controls, such as the app stores' review.
How long does it take to build an app?
It depends mostly on how many kinds of users the app has, whether it needs a backend, and how many systems it connects to. These are the timelines we work to:
| App | Example | Typical time |
|---|---|---|
| Basic app | A small number of screens and one kind of user, such as a catalogue or information app for one business | At least 40 working days (about 8 weeks) |
| Typical app | A customer app with a backend and an admin panel, such as ordering, booking or a learning app with logins and payments | About 9 weeks (45 working days) |
| Native Android and iOS | Two separate apps in Kotlin and Swift, for apps that need the deepest phone features | About 12 weeks |
| Larger platform | Several kinds of users, an app and a web platform, dashboards and reports | Several months, often built in phases |
Cross-platform frameworks such as Flutter and React Native build the Android and iOS apps from one codebase, which is why a typical app takes about nine weeks instead of twelve. Our Flutter vs React Native vs native comparison explains when each makes sense.
The six steps of the mobile app development process
For a typical nine-week app, the time splits roughly like this:
| Step | What happens | Typical time | What you do |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Discovery and user flows | Who uses the app, what each person needs to do, the screens and the features for version one | Week 1 | Explain your business, agree the feature list |
| 2. Design | Key screens first, then the rest; two full rounds of revision | 1–2 weeks | Review and approve the designs |
| 3. Build | The app, the backend (server and database) and the admin panel, built in parallel | About 5 weeks | Send content, logos and test logins; review the weekly builds |
| 4. Testing | On real Android phones and iPhones: every flow, slow networks, payments | About 1 week | Test it yourself and report anything odd |
| 5. Store submission | Store listings, screenshots, privacy details, then Apple's and Google's review | A few days to 2 weeks | Approve the listing text |
| 6. Launch and fixes | The app goes live; three months of free bug fixes follow | From launch day | Tell your customers |
1. Discovery and user flows
Before anyone designs a screen, we map who will use the app (customers, staff, delivery partners, admins) and the path each of them takes: sign up, browse, order, pay, track. This is where the feature list for version one is agreed, and where most time is saved later. Every feature that waits for version two shortens the build. Our guide to MVP design and user journeys goes deeper.
2. Design
The key screens are designed first and shown to you for approval, then the rest follow. Two full rounds of revision are included at this stage, because changing a design is quick and changing a built screen is not.
3. Build
The longest step. The app, the backend that stores the data, and the admin panel your team uses are built side by side. You get a test build to install on your phone as features are ready, so you see progress every week rather than at the end.
4. Testing on real phones
Emulators miss what real phones show: small screens, older Android versions, slow mobile data, notifications and payments. Every flow is tested on real Android phones and iPhones before submission.
5. Store submission and review
The store listing needs a description, screenshots, a privacy policy and answers about the data the app collects. Then Apple and Google review the app (see the next section).
6. Launch and bug fixes
Once approved, the app goes live. Real users find things testers don't, so the first weeks after launch matter: three months of free bug fixes come with every app we build.
App store review: the part you can't hurry
Some of the timeline is in Apple's and Google's hands:
- Apple App Store: Apple says it reviews at least 50% of submissions within 24 hours and 90% within 48 hours. If the app is rejected, it needs a fix and a new review, so allow a few extra days.
- Google Play: for some developer accounts, Google says review can take up to seven days, or longer in exceptional cases.
- Google Play's testing rule: if your Google Play developer account is a personal account created after 13 November 2023, Google requires a closed test with at least 12 testers who stay opted in for 14 days in a row before the app can be published to everyone. Start that test while the app is still being finished, not after, or it adds two weeks to your launch.
What makes an app take longer
- More kinds of users: a customer app, a delivery partner app and an admin panel are three products.
- Payments and refunds: gateways such as Razorpay, refunds, invoices and failed-payment handling.
- Connections to existing systems: your ERP or billing software, WhatsApp, maps, SMS.
- Live features: chat, live tracking, video.
- Content that isn't ready: text, product data, images and test logins.
- Slow feedback: a design waiting a week for approval moves the launch by a week.
- Native instead of cross-platform: two codebases instead of one.
How to keep your app on schedule
- Decide the must-have features for version one, and park the rest for version two.
- Open your Apple Developer and Google Play Console accounts in the first week; verification can take days.
- Have the text, images, product data and test logins ready before the build starts.
- Name one person who approves designs and builds.
- Reply to each test build within two working days.
- Start the Google Play closed test early if your account needs one.
An example: DNA Learning
DNA Learning is a NEET coaching institute in Kerala. We built its Android app in React Native, its website, and a learning management system with admin and teacher dashboards for courses, students and performance. It took about six months. That is the difference between an app and a platform: several kinds of users, an app and a web platform, and the dashboards that connect them.
After launch
Every app needs looking after. New Android and iOS versions arrive every year, and the stores update their rules. After the three months of free bug fixes, our app maintenance is 15% of the project value a year, and the first improvements usually come from watching how real users use the app.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to build an app?
A basic app takes at least 40 working days (about eight weeks); a typical app with a backend and admin panel about nine weeks (45 working days); native Android and iOS apps built separately about twelve weeks. Store review adds a few days, or two weeks or more for a new personal Google Play account.
What are the steps in the mobile app development process?
Discovery and user flows, design, build (the app, the backend and the admin panel), testing on real phones, store submission and review, then launch and bug fixes.
How long does App Store review take?
Apple says it reviews at least half of submissions within 24 hours and 90% within 48 hours. A rejection needs a fix and a new review, so allow a few extra days.
Why does Google Play ask for 12 testers?
Personal developer accounts created after 13 November 2023 must run a closed test with at least 12 testers opted in for 14 days in a row before the app can be published to everyone.
Can an app be built in a month?
Not one worth launching to customers. Even a basic app needs at least 40 working days, about eight weeks, for design, building, testing on real phones and store review.
Is Flutter faster than native development?
Usually, yes. One codebase gives you both the Android and iOS apps, so a typical app takes about nine weeks instead of about twelve for two native apps.
Planning an app?
Tell us what your app needs to do, and we'll send a written proposal with a fixed quote and a day-by-day timeline. See our mobile app development services and Flutter app development. Testing a new idea first? See our MVP development services.