App budgets in CAD · Figures read 16 Oct 2026
What a mobile app costs a Canadian business in 2026, built remotely from India
Five Canadian cost guides, read side by side, put a simple app at about CAD 15,000–40,000, a standard one at CAD 40,000–100,000 and a complex one above CAD 100,000.
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CAD 30–60 an hourexcl. GST/HSTSee pricing →
- Median of five Canadian guides, in CAD
- Store fees and commissions, Oct 2026
- Running costs from launch to year 3
- Why SR&ED rarely covers an app
- Hourly app work: CAD 30–60
- ★ 4.9 on Google (92 reviews)Lucknow, India profile
- 200+ projects worldwide since 2017
- Top Rated on Upwork, 100% Job Success
Founder-led by Ashish Sharma
What happens after you contact us
Step 1: A reply within 2 hours
Ashish or the team answers on WhatsApp or by email, usually with a few questions about your scope.
Step 2: A call, if you want one
Weekdays between 8am and 12pm Eastern, on a WhatsApp or video call.
Step 3: A free quote within 24 hours
Scope, timeline and either a fixed CAD price or your hourly rate, excluding GST/HST, in writing.
Step 4: You decide, no obligation
If you go ahead, fixed-scope work keeps one price once the scope is agreed, and hourly rates are agreed in writing first. You can pay in CAD or USD by local bank transfer to our Canadian bank account.
Overview
Before the first sale, Apple charges about CAD 141 a year and Google about CAD 35 once. Codingclave's app work is billed at CAD 30–60 an hour, against the CAD 100–160 Toronto agencies publish, and done remotely from Lucknow, India. A fixed figure for your build follows once the scope is agreed.
By Ashish Sharma, founder · Updated 16 October 2026
Quick answer
How much does it cost to build an app in Canada in 2026?
The median of five Canadian cost guides read on 16 October 2026 puts a simple app or MVP at about CAD 15,000–40,000, a standard app at CAD 40,000–100,000 and a complex app above CAD 100,000. Those bands cover the build only. Publishing adds USD 99 a year for Apple (about CAD 141) and USD 25 once for Google (about CAD 35). After launch, commission, card fees, hosting, metered services and a compulsory yearly SDK update make up the bill.
- Simple, standard and complex bands: the median of five guides
- Apple USD 99 a year ≈ CAD 141; Google USD 25 once ≈ CAD 35
- 15% commission under USD 1M a year at both stores, once enrolled in each store's 15% tier
- Stripe Canada: 2.9% + CA$0.30 per domestic card charge
- Google Play collects GST/HST for you unless you give it a GST/HST number
- SR&ED generally excludes work done outside Canada
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Five Canadian guides, one table
Each guide was read on 16 October 2026 and its figures copied from its first cost table. USD figures are converted at 1.4196, the 15 October 2026 daily exchange rate from the Bank of Canada, and rounded. The bold row is the median of the five guides whose tiers line up; two more guides that rank for the same searches sit below it.
| Guide | Simple / MVP | Standard | Complex | Hourly published |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Databending, Windsor, 5 Jan 2026 | 15,000–75,000 | 75,000–220,000 | 220,000–750,000+ | 124–221 (agencies) |
| Modall, Ontario, 8 Dec 2025 | 15,000–40,000 | 40,000–70,000 | 70,000–100,000 (advanced); 150,000+ (enterprise) | 100–160 (Toronto agencies) |
| Software Development Ontario (SDO), Toronto, updated 6 Sep 2026 | 5,000–20,000 | 20,000–40,000 (basic); 35,000–80,000 (mid-range cross-platform) | 70,000–150,000 (advanced native) | 120–200+ (senior, Toronto agency) |
| TechGuys, Montréal, 19 Jun 2026 | 15,000–40,000 | 40,000–100,000 | 100,000–250,000+ | Not published |
| Appinventiv, headquartered in India, 17 Dec 2025 | USD 40,000–75,000, about 56,800–106,500 (its own CAD figure: 54,000–101,000) | USD 75,000–150,000, about 106,500–212,900 | USD 150,000–400,000, about 212,900–567,800 | USD 75 as an example, about 106 |
| Median of the five | 15,000–40,000 | 40,000–100,000 | Above 100,000 | — |
| DITS (ditstek.ca), 6 Nov 2025; not in the median | 25,000–40,000 | No tier; cross-platform 45,000–180,000 | No tier; native on both platforms 60,000–250,000 | Not published |
| Sidekick Interactive, Montréal, 1 May 2025; not in the median | 10,000–30,000 (basic; no currency stated) | 30,000–70,000 (intermediate) | 70,000–100,000+ | No CAD rate |
Each bold figure is the median of the five guides' figures for that end of the band, in CAD. Modall's advanced band stands in for its complex tier, from its first table (a later table differs). SDO's basic band stands in for its standard tier; its cross-platform band gives the same median. Appinventiv's own CAD column uses an unstated exchange rate, so both versions are shown. DITS prices by platform, not tier, and Sidekick doesn't label its currency, so neither feeds the median.
Want to talk this through?WhatsApp Ashish (opens WhatsApp)Get a free CAD quote →
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Estimating your own app: feature list, hours, then rate
This is a calculator you can check, and any quote can be run through it, ours included.
- List the features: every job a user does on launch day, the admin side, and each outside system the app talks to (payments, maps, a POS).
- Put hours against each line, with design, testing and project management as lines of their own.
- Multiply by the rate. The table below runs one round number of hours through published rates.
Why Toronto quotes run higher
Toronto rates are the highest the guides publish: SDO puts senior Toronto agency work at CAD 120–200+ an hour, and Modall's Toronto band is CAD 100–160 against CAD 80–120 in Calgary and CAD 60–100 in Halifax. The difference is overhead (office rent, sales staff, senior salaries), not a different kind of app.
Two lines to look for first in another studio’s quote
The admin panel and the store-submission round trip. A low quote often leaves one out, and it comes back later as a change request.
| Rate source | CAD per hour | 500 hours |
|---|---|---|
| Modall, Halifax agencies | 60–100 | 30,000–50,000 |
| Modall, Calgary agencies | 80–120 | 40,000–60,000 |
| Modall, Toronto agencies | 100–160 | 50,000–80,000 |
| Software Development Ontario, senior Toronto agency | 120–200+ | 60,000–100,000+ |
| Databending, agencies | 124–221 | 62,000–110,500 |
Already have a quote? Send its total and hours and get our estimate beside it, free.
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The bill after launch: build year to year 3
Four of the five guides put upkeep at 15–20% of the build a year, and SDO at 15–25%: CAD 6,000–8,000 a year on a CAD 40,000 build. Use that to sanity-check a budget, then replace it with the lines below.
Deadlines that force an update every year
Google raises the Android target for apps and updates each August, and Apple moves its Xcode and SDK rule each spring. Miss one and no update ships, urgent fixes included (this year's rules).
Keeping user data in Canada
AWS lists two Canadian regions, Canada (Central) in Montréal and Canada West in Calgary. The region you pick changes which backend and plan get quoted, not a fixed percentage on top. Pick it before the build: moving a live database between regions later means planned downtime and a paid migration.
Privacy work that sits on your side
Counsel's time on PIPEDA and, for Quebec users, a Law 25 privacy impact assessment belongs in your own budget, and it returns whenever the data you collect changes (the rules).
| Line | Build year | Year 1 after launch | Year 2 | Year 3 | Where it's set |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Developer Program | ~141 | ~141 | ~141 | ~141 | Apple |
| Google Play registration | ~35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Play Console Help |
| Store commission on digital sales | — | 15% while under USD 1M a year (if enrolled at each store) | Same | Same | Apple, Google |
| Card fees on physical goods and services | — | 2.9% + CA$0.30 per domestic charge | Same | Same | Stripe |
| Hosting in a Canadian region | Set up in the build | Quoted on the backend chosen; Databending and Modall publish CAD 50–500 a month | Same | Same | Your cloud provider's plan |
| Yearly Apple and Google deadline update | — | Quoted | Quoted | Quoted | Apple's and Google's yearly SDK rules |
| Privacy work, including a Quebec PIA | Your counsel | Again when a feature changes the data you collect | Same | Same | PIPEDA; Quebec's Law 25 |
| Maps, SMS and email services | Test usage | Billed by use | Billed by use | Billed by use | Each provider's pricing page |
| Store accounts plus the guides' hosting band, small app | ~176 | About 741–6,141 | About 741–6,141 | About 741–6,141 | Apple, Google, Databending and Modall; before commission, card fees, metered services and updates |
Fixed store fees across the four columns come to about CAD 599. Everything else moves with usage, sales or the calendar.
Questions about this?WhatsApp Ashish (opens WhatsApp)Get a free CAD quote →
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Apple and Google fees, October 2026
A store charges twice: an account fee to publish at all, and a commission on digital sales inside the app. Each row was read on 16 October 2026 at the store's own page.
| Item | Apple App Store | Google Play |
|---|---|---|
| Account fee | USD 99 a year, about CAD 141; the price shows in your currency at enrolment | USD 25 once, about CAD 35; prepaid cards not accepted |
| Account checks | An organization needs a D-U-N-S number | Identity verification; you may be asked for a government ID and a card in your legal name |
| Commission under USD 1M a year | 15% in the Small Business Program if last year's proceeds were no more than USD 1M (new developers qualify); enrolment required | 15% on the first USD 1M of earnings each year, for developers enrolled in the 15% service fee tier |
| Standard rate, or above USD 1M | 30%, set in Schedule 2 of Apple's developer agreement | 30% on earnings above USD 1M |
| Auto-renewing subscriptions | 15% inside the program; outside it, 30%, falling to 15% on renewals once a subscriber has more than a year of paid service | 15% |
| 2026 fee change | — | US, UK and EEA from 30 Jun 2026; Australia and Japan from 30 Sep 2026; no date for Canada |
| A CAD 9.99 in-app purchase at 15%, before sales tax | About CAD 1.50 to Apple, CAD 8.49 to you | About CAD 1.50 to Google, CAD 8.49 to you |
Two dates people miss. Apple's 15% starts 15 days after the end of the fiscal month in which Apple approves your enrolment, and Google lists its 15% for developers enrolled in that tier, so enrol at both stores before launch. Google names no Canadian date for its 2026 fee structure, so the rates above still apply here.
A personal Play account created after 13 November 2023 must also pass a closed test before its first production release: at least 12 testers, each opted in for 14 straight days, per Google's testing-requirements help page. Which account type to open is covered in the Flutter page's accounts section.
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05of 10
Card fees and GST/HST on what your app sells
If the app sells something that happens off the phone, like a meal or a ride, you take cards through a processor such as Stripe and the stores take no commission. Digital items used inside the app, like a premium tier, go through Apple's and Google's billing and commission.
GST/HST on Google Play sales
Google's Play tax help page sets out the Canadian rule. Google charges and remits GST/HST, and QST for Quebec buyers, on paid apps and in-app purchases for developers outside Canada and for Canadian developers who haven't given it a GST/HST number. A registered Canadian developer that provides its number handles those taxes itself. Google lists itself as responsible for BC PST, Saskatchewan PST and Manitoba RST.
GST/HST on App Store sales
The CRA's GST/HST measures for digital-economy businesses have been in effect since 1 July 2021 (see the sources). Ask your accountant whether Apple collects GST/HST for you as a Canadian-resident developer; it turns on the tax terms of Apple's developer agreement and on whether you are registered.
| Payment | Fee rule | Fee on a CAD 40 order |
|---|---|---|
| Domestic card | 2.9% + CA$0.30 | 1.46 |
| International card | 2.9% + 0.8% + CA$0.30 | 1.78 |
| International card that also needs currency conversion | 2.9% + 0.8% + 2% + CA$0.30 | 2.58 |
| Manually entered card | 2.9% + 0.5% + CA$0.30 | 1.66 |
| Pre-authorized debit | 1% + CA$0.40, capped at CA$5.00 | 0.80 (CAD 250 invoice: 2.90; the CA$5 cap applies from about CAD 460) |
Stripe charges no setup or monthly fee (Stripe), and GST/HST on a physical sale is charged as on any other sale once you are registered. A delivery app on thin margins feels the 2.9% more than a booking app taking deposits.
Questions about how this works for you?WhatsApp Ashish (opens WhatsApp)Get a free CAD quote →
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Delivery, ride-hailing, booking, marketplace: where the money goes
Each type below adds its own lines to the bill. Modall, SDO and DITS publish per-type figures without saying how they were worked out; they are printed as published, read 16 October 2026.
| App type | What drives the cost | Canadian lines it adds, and how money moves | Published figures |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food ordering and delivery | Customer, courier and restaurant apps plus dispatch, often tied to a POS (POS options) | Maps usage, SMS updates, French menus for Quebec (copy from us, with a fluent French reviewer); Stripe, with tips and refunds | Modall on-demand or marketplace: 70,000–150,000+; SDO e-commerce or on-demand: 40,000–120,000 |
| Ride-hailing or courier | Live location, rider-driver matching, driver sign-up | Maps and routing usage, driver document storage; Stripe | Modall Uber-like: 120,000–200,000+; SDO Uber-like: 45,000–130,000; DITS transportation and delivery monitoring: 60,000–160,000 |
| Booking (salon, clinic, rentals) | Calendar, reminders, deposits; short-stay rentals may need a property system | SMS reminders; a Law 25 assessment if Quebec clients' data leaves Quebec; Stripe deposits | SDO restaurant or booking: 15,000–60,000; DITS telemedicine: 70,000–200,000 |
| Marketplace | Two-sided sign-up, listings, seller payouts, disputes | Split payouts priced by the payment provider; GST/HST on your seller fees is your accountant's call; Stripe | Modall on-demand or marketplace: 70,000–150,000+; SDO fully custom marketplace: 120,000+ |
| Loyalty or rewards | Points ledger, link to the till | Counsel's view on Law 25 if you track Quebec customers' habits; in-app purchase only for digital perks | None published |
| Field-staff or driver app | Offline sync, photos, signatures, a dispatch link | Job data in a Canadian region if a contract requires it; an internal tool, so no payments | DITS fleet and telematics: 60,000–180,000 |
None of these figures is ours; your version is quoted once the scope is agreed. Tell us which type yours resembles and which parts you need first.
Questions about this?WhatsApp Ashish (opens WhatsApp)Get a free CAD quote →
07of 10
SR&ED and IRAP: why most app budgets don’t shrink
Neither SR&ED nor IRAP pays for a routine build, and both care where the work is done.
SR&ED
SR&ED rewards resolving technological uncertainty: problems known methods can't solve. A booking flow or delivery tracker uses known methods, so most business apps won't qualify, whoever builds them. The CRA's pool policy (in the sources) also says spending on SR&ED performed outside Canada can't be claimed, apart from special rules for part of the salary or wages, so a credit generally applies only to eligible work done in Canada.
IRAP
The National Research Council's IRAP contributes toward approved costs on innovation projects at small and medium-sized businesses, with no promise of funding. Whether a contractor outside Canada counts is settled with NRC, so ask your Industrial Technology Advisor before you sign any developer, us included.
Net-cost arithmetic
- Onshore net = onshore quote − (qualifying share × credit rate)
- Offshore net = offshore quote, with no SR&ED credit on that work
Say a fifth of an onshore build qualified at the CRA's 35% enhanced rate, which only some corporations can claim. The credit would take 7% off that quote, not 35%, and only once the CRA accepts the claim. Claims that SR&ED recovers 30–60% of a build apply, at most, to the qualifying share. Compare net against net, then weigh the points under when a studio inside Canada is the better buy.
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Making the app yourself: AI assistants, no-code builders, a PWA
If your app is one main screen and a sign-in, you can probably build a first version yourself. Here is what that still costs.
Where an AI assistant stops
ChatGPT will write most of a screen and explain an error well. It won't hold your signing key, sit through Apple's review, fill in the store privacy forms or build an in-app path for deleting an account.
No-code builders
Check which plan lets you export the code before you commit: a project you can't export has to be rebuilt if you outgrow the builder. Taking over a FlutterFlow export is covered on the Flutter page.
A PWA or one platform first
A progressive web app has no store fees and no review queue, a cheap way to test demand. On iPhone, though, it can send push notifications only after the user adds it to the home screen. One platform first is the other low-cost start (native vs hybrid apps).
What still costs money if you do it yourself
Both store accounts, any builder subscription, the closed test on a new personal Play account, the yearly SDK update and your own hours, usually the largest line.
Stuck halfway? Send the repo or builder project. A take-over audit, quoted once the scope is agreed, tells you whether to finish or start clean, and it starts with who holds the signing key and both store logins.
Does this fit your project?WhatsApp Ashish (opens WhatsApp)Get a free CAD quote →
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Lines a Canadian app quote often leaves out
When two quotes for the same app sit far apart, the cheaper one often lacks some of these:
- Store accounts, and whose name they are in. Yours from day one.
- Hosting provider, plan and region. "Cloud hosting" alone means the region is undecided.
- Metered services. Maps, SMS and email bill by use: which ones, on whose account?
- Account deletion. Who builds the in-app path for it?
- Privacy forms and the PIA. Apple's privacy details, Google's data safety form, a Law 25 assessment for Quebec users.
- French copy. Who writes it, and do the screens fit longer strings?
- Rework after a store rejection. Included, or billed?
- The bug-fix window. How long, and what counts as a bug.
- The yearly SDK update. Who pays in years 1, 2 and 3.
Our answers. Bug fixes: free for 6 months after launch. Code and IP: yours once the final payment is made. French: we supply the copy, checked by a fluent French reviewer, and build the language switch and layouts that fit longer French strings. Replies to store rejections and the yearly update: priced in your quote, as hourly work or a fixed line.
Questions about this?WhatsApp Ashish (opens WhatsApp)Get a free CAD quote →
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Who builds it, and the gaps in our record
Where the work happens
Codingclave Development LLP is led by its founder, Ashish Sharma, and works remotely from Lucknow, India. Nobody works for us in Canada.
What you can check
The six projects we can show are web work, not store apps: a WooCommerce online pharmacy store for Anand Medico Chemist, a membership and publishing platform for the European Society of Medicine, the Dubai Digital Xchange Summit website, the Correct Prices price-comparison web app, a healthcare portal with online booking for Dr. Akash Dubey, and, in Uttar Pradesh, one template system behind the websites of 20+ government polytechnics. A booking app would add phone screens, store submission and the yearly SDK update to a backend like that portal's.
How to start without much risk
The estimate is free. A take-over audit of code you already have is quoted once the scope is agreed. If you go ahead, the second payment falls due at the mid-project milestone, and the code and IP are yours on final payment.
When a studio inside Canada is the better buy
When the work must be SR&ED-eligible R&D done in Canada, when a contract bars anyone abroad from the data, or when you want in-person workshops, hire in Canada.
Pricing in CAD
What we charge for app work, in CAD
Only the hourly rate and the fixed-scope terms on this page are ours; every other figure comes from the listed sources.
Hourly
CAD 30 – CAD 60an hour
Excl. GST/HSTDeveloper by the hour · Hourly rate, agreed in writing before work starts
Scoping, fixes, deadline updates and replies to store rejections on an app you already have.
Get a quote for this plan
Fixed-scope app build, iOS and Android
A written scope and one price for it, with the exclusions named.
Yearly store-deadline update
The SDK target bump, rebuild, testing and resubmission to both stores.
Take-over audit of an existing app or builder project
Who holds the keys and accounts, what state the code is in, and whether to finish or restart.
Not sure: app, web app or online store?
If you mainly sell physical goods, a store may come before an app; the Shopify cost guide covers that route.
- Fixed price in CAD once the scope is agreed
- Free quote within 24 hours
- No obligation
Fixed scope. One price, set once the scope is agreed and paid 40/40/20 across the start, the mid-project milestone and launch; the code and IP are yours with the last payment.
Prices are in Canadian dollars (CAD) and exclude GST/HST. Our invoices are issued from India; if your business is GST/HST-registered, ask your accountant how to account for imported services. You can pay in CAD or USD by local bank transfer to our Canadian bank account.
Free CAD quote
Your app, feature by feature
List the screens and features you can't launch without, in any form. The estimate comes back set out against that list, so you can hold any other quote beside it.
Ashish Sharma
Founder, Codingclave
Replies within 2 hours; free quote within 24 hours. Live calls 8am–12pm Eastern, Monday to Friday.
What happens next
A reply within 2 hours
Ashish or the team answers on WhatsApp or by email, usually with a few questions about your scope.
A call, if you want one
Weekdays between 8am and 12pm Eastern, on a WhatsApp or video call.
A free quote within 24 hours
Scope, timeline and either a fixed CAD price or your hourly rate, excluding GST/HST, in writing.
You decide, no obligation
If you go ahead, fixed-scope work keeps one price once the scope is agreed, and hourly rates are agreed in writing first. You can pay in CAD or USD by local bank transfer to our Canadian bank account.
- ★ 4.9 on Google (92 reviews) · Lucknow, India profile
- 200+ projects worldwide since 2017
- Top Rated on Upwork, 100% Job Success
- Founder-led by Ashish Sharma
Prefer WhatsApp?
WhatsApp AshishFeature list by WhatsApp, the form or email
Screens, users and must-haves in any form: a list, a sketch, or an app you want yours to resemble.
A free estimate set out against your list
Each feature gets its own line, so you can lay it beside any other quote.
Fixed written price
One figure for the agreed scope, with the exclusions named.
Store accounts in your company's name
Request the D-U-N-S number early: Apple needs it for an organization account.
Build in three paid milestones
The second payment falls due at the mid-project milestone and the last at launch.
Submission, review and the first yearly update
We submit to both stores and answer reviewers' questions; a personal Play account runs its closed test first.
FAQ
Common questions about hiring us from Canada
Can’t see yours? Ask on WhatsApp and get a straight answer, not a sales script. Replies come within 2 hours.
Founder-led by Ashish Sharma
How much does a simple app cost to build in Canada?
How much does it cost to hire an app developer in Canada?
How much does it cost to publish an app on the App Store and Google Play?
Does Apple take 30% of app sales in Canada?
How much does it cost to run and maintain an app each month and each year?
How long does it take to build an app?
Are there government grants for app development in Canada?
Can I build an app myself, with ChatGPT or a no-code builder, and what does it cost?
How much does it cost to build an app like Uber in Canada?
How much is an app with 100,000 users worth?
Ashish Sharma · Founder
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- About
Who runs Codingclave
Ashish Sharma
Founder, Codingclave · Updated 16 October 2026
Ashish Sharma founded Codingclave and still leads it. The team works remotely from Lucknow, India, with 200+ projects worldwide since 2017; there is no Canadian office.
How we put this page together
Researched and drafted for Codingclave, then reviewed and approved by its founder, Ashish Sharma. Every rule and guide figure was read at the linked pages on 16 October 2026, with USD converted at 1.4196 (Bank of Canada, 15 October 2026). Only the hourly rate and the fixed-scope terms are ours.
Sources (14)· public sources cited on this page
- Apple Developer – Enrolling in the Apple Developer Program
- Apple Developer – App Store Small Business Program
- Play Console Help – Register for a Google Play developer account
- Play Console Help – Service fees
- Play Console Help – Tax rates and value-added tax (Canada section)
- Stripe – Pricing (Canada)
- Canada Revenue Agency – GST/HST for digital economy businesses
- Canada Revenue Agency – Pool of deductible SR&ED expenditures policy
- Bank of Canada – Daily exchange rates
- Databending – How much does it cost to build a mobile app in Canada
- Modall – Mobile app development cost in Canada
- Software Development Ontario – How much does it cost to develop a mobile app
- TechGuys – Mobile app development cost
- Appinventiv – Cost to develop an app in Canada