What does it cost to build an app in 2027?
Four ways to get an app built, what each costs per month, and what costs money after launch — the App Store, Google Play, payments, BankID and hosting. Every figure has a source.
Kenny Tran, Ketryon · published 12 October 2026
a month for an employed developer, with payroll tax and pension
SCB, Lönestrukturstatistik 2025: Mjukvaru- och systemutvecklare m.fl. (SSYK 2512), privat sektor
Four ways
What a month costs.
One question, four answers: hire, rent a consultant, a subscription, or a fixed price. Excluding VAT.
| Way | Per month | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Employed developer | SEK 73,229 | Median salary SEK 53,600 + payroll tax 31.42% + ITP 1 pension. Excluding holiday pay, equipment and recruiting. |
| Full-time consultant | SEK 135,200 | SEK 845/h × 160 h. Frontend developer, KeyMan autumn 2025. |
| Subscription (Ketryon) | SEK 29,900 | One request at a time, not full-time. Pause or cancel whenever you like. |
Using the average salary (SEK 55,900) instead of the median, it comes to SEK 76,942 a month.
Fixed price, paid once
One defined thing — a landing page, payments, BankID — costs SEK 9,900–SEK 24,900 excl. VAT at Ketryon, with nothing recurring.
These aren't one thing at four prices. An employee gives you full-time hours and ownership, a consultant gives you hours, a subscription gives you one thing at a time. Compare what you need, not just the price.
After launch
What costs every month.
The app is built. This is what it costs to keep it out there, with prices from the providers' own pages (12 October 2026).
| What | Price | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Apple Developer Program | USD 99 per year | developer.apple.com |
| Apple's cut of in-app purchases (EU) | 26% standard, 15% for small developers and subscriptions after year one | developer.apple.com |
| Google Play registration | USD 25, once | support.google.com |
| Google Play service fee (EEA) | 10% on subscriptions; 20%–25% on one-time purchases; +5% with Google's billing | support.google.com |
| Stripe, cards (EEA) | 1.5% + SEK 1.8 per purchase | stripe.com |
| Swish via Stripe | 1% + SEK 3, max SEK 7 per purchase (a preview at Stripe) | stripe.com |
| BankID via Idura | from €67 a month + €0.013 per login | idura.eu |
| BankID via Xenit | from SEK 3,350 a month + SEK 0.28 per login | xenit.se |
| Hosting: Vercel Pro | USD 20 a month per developer | vercel.com |
| Database: Supabase Pro | from USD 25 a month | supabase.com |
| App builds: Expo EAS | USD 19 or 199 a month | expo.dev |
New since last year: Apple and Google have cut their fees in the EU. The 30% many people still budget for no longer applies to apps in Sweden.
Time
How long it takes.
From Ketryon's own products, dated from their version history. This is one experienced developer with ready-made templates, not an average — but it shows what's possible when the scope is small and clear.
2 days
untitled cards: from first commit to a paid plan
Read the case →3 days
Tickleaf: from first commit to Google Play
Read the case →2 days
Syndera: from first commit to paid plans
Read the case →1 day
Motionpad: from domain to working version
Read the case →2 days
minia: from first commit to generation and payments
Read the case →
What agencies say
Price guides, with a warning.
There is no independent Swedish survey of what apps cost to build. What exists is agencies' own price guides, without a method and often undated. They give roughly SEK 60–150k for a simple app or MVP, 150–300k for a mid-sized one, and from 500k up to SEK 2M for an advanced one. Read them as sales material, not statistics.
Method and sources
How we counted.
- Employee: the median salary for software and systems developers in Sweden's private sector in 2025 (SCB), plus 2026 payroll tax (31.42%) and ITP 1 pension (4.5% up to SEK 52,125 a month, 30% above). Holiday pay, the special payroll tax on pension, insurance, equipment and recruiting are not included — the real cost is higher.
- Consultant: KeyMan's price barometer for frontend developers, autumn 2025, times 160 hours. KeyMan draws on engagements on its own platform and doesn't state its method or VAT treatment.
- Subscription and fixed price: Ketryon's own published prices, excl. VAT.
- Running costs: the providers' own pricing pages, retrieved 12 October 2026. USD and EUR prices are not converted.
- Missing: 2027 payroll tax (not decided at publication), an independent survey of app budgets, public prices from several BankID providers.
Sources
- SCB, Lönestrukturstatistik 2025: Mjukvaru- och systemutvecklare m.fl. (SSYK 2512), privat sektor
- Skatteverket, Belopp och procent 2026
- Collectum, Aktuella premier och basbelopp (ITP 1)
- KeyMan, Prisbarometern (hösten 2025)
- Apple, Apple Developer Program
- Apple, Update on apps distributed in the European Union
- Google Play Console, registreringsavgift
- Google Play, avgifter i EES från 30 juni 2026
- Stripe, priser Sverige
- Stripe, lokala betalmetoder
- Idura (tidigare Criipto), priser
- Xenit eID
- Vercel, priser
- Supabase, priser
- Expo EAS, priser
Employer cost per month at the median salary: SEK 53,600 + 16,841 + 2,788 = SEK 73,229
Feel free to cite
Use the figures, link here.
The figures may be used freely in articles, presentations and proposals, as long as you link to the report.
Source: Ketryon, "What does it cost to build an app in Sweden in 2027?", https://www.ketryon.com/en/rapport/vad-kostar-en-app-2027
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