Hire Mobile App Developers
Two decisions shape the cost of a mobile app more than any feature. The first is whether to build natively for each platform or once with a cross-platform framework. The second is who looks after the app when it is live, because Apple and Google change their requirements every year whether or not you change your app.
Our mobile developers cover native Android and iOS as well as Flutter and React Native, so the advice is not tied to one tool. The engineer works in your accounts and repository and is directed by you. We carry the employment, the devices and the cover.
What mobile developers do once the app is live, and before it starts
Mobile work divides into deciding, building and keeping. The six items below lean towards the first and the last, which are the ones most often neglected.
A written platform recommendation
Before any code, a short document: the features you need, which of them depend on platform APIs, what your existing team can maintain, and therefore whether native, Flutter, React Native or Kotlin Multiplatform is the sensible route.
Store compliance updates
Raising the Android target API level, rebuilding with the Xcode version Apple currently requires, completing the Data safety form and privacy labels, and adding in-app account deletion where the rules demand it.
SDK and dependency renewal
Payment, analytics, maps and sign-in SDKs all retire old versions. We keep a list of what the app depends on, upgrade in small batches and test the affected flows after each batch.
Crash and review triage
A weekly pass through crash reports, ANR figures and store reviews. Faults are ranked by the number of users affected, not by who complained loudest, and fixed in that order.
Features for an existing app
New screens and flows added in the style of the code already there, behind a feature flag where possible, and released to a percentage of users before everyone.
Rescue of an inherited app
The project no longer builds, the previous developer is gone and nobody is sure who holds the signing key. We get it compiling, regain control of signing and store access with you, and document the release steps.
Platforms and frameworks covered
A mobile generalist needs a working knowledge of each route to the stores, and depth in at least one.
- Native Android
- KotlinJavaJetpack Compose
- Native iOS
- SwiftSwiftUIUIKit
- Cross-platform
- FlutterReact NativeExpoKotlin Multiplatform
- App services
- Firebase Cloud MessagingAPNsRESTGraphQLSQLite
- Testing
- EspressoXCUITestMaestroAppium
- Release & watch
- Play ConsoleApp Store ConnectTestFlightFastlaneFirebase CrashlyticsSentry
Choosing a level for mobile work
Maintenance looks like junior work until a store deadline meets a dependency that will not upgrade. Consider the worst week, not the average one.
Junior
Handles text and layout changes, small bugs and routine version bumps on one platform, following a release checklist that someone else wrote.
Choose when: the app is stable, the checklist exists, and a senior person signs off each release.
Mid-level
Looks after an app on both stores: plans the yearly platform updates, adds features, keeps dependencies current and runs releases from start to finish.
Choose when: you need one dependable person to keep a live app healthy and moving.
Senior
Advises on native against cross-platform with reasons, takes over undocumented projects, sets up CI, signing and monitoring, and guides other developers.
Choose when: the platform decision is still open, or the app you inherited is in poor condition.
From enquiry to a maintained app
Tell us what you have
An idea, a design, or an app already published. For a live app, the store links and the framework it was built with let us respond precisely.
We introduce one developer
You are given the name and background of the engineer we think fits, and you talk to them. A second suggestion follows if the first is not suitable.
Open with a bounded task
For a new project that might be the platform recommendation; for a live app, one overdue update. Either shows how the person works.
Move to a routine
Work items sit in your tools. Once a week you get a summary covering releases, open problems and upcoming store deadlines, and you are invoiced once a month.
Mobile developer rates
Our rates are published. Pick the role and move the sliders for an indicative budget.
Rate card
| Role | Hourly | Monthly* |
|---|---|---|
| Frontend / WordPress | AED 110 | AED 17,600 |
| Backend / API | AED 118 | AED 18,880 |
| Full-stack | AED 129 | AED 20,640 |
| Mobile (React Native / Flutter) | AED 129 | AED 20,640 |
| DevOps / Cloud | AED 147 | AED 23,520 |
| AI / Automation engineer | AED 165 | AED 26,400 |
| QA / Test engineer | AED 92 | AED 14,720 |
| UI / UX design | AED 103 | AED 16,480 |
*160 hrs/month full-time. Rates are indicative for planning, in UAE dirhams (converted from our US-dollar rates at the fixed peg of 3.6725), before VAT where applicable, and depend on seniority, contract length and timezone overlap. Longer engagements and multi-role teams are discounted — ask.
Is a dedicated mobile developer what you need?
We are a good choice when
- You have an app in the stores and nobody assigned to look after it.
- You are about to start and want an unbiased view on native against cross-platform.
- You want a named engineer who learns your app and stays with it.
- You are an agency whose clients need app maintenance you cannot staff.
Look elsewhere when
- You want a one-time change and no ongoing care.
- You are after a game built on a game engine; that is a different specialism.
- You expect a fixed price for an app that is still an idea.
- You cannot allow outside access to your store accounts in any form.
Answers on platforms and upkeep
Native or cross-platform: which should we choose?
Cross-platform suits apps made mostly of forms, lists and content, and teams that want one codebase. Native suits apps built around the camera, Bluetooth, background processing or the newest OS features. Budget, hiring and the skills you already have count as much as the technology.
How often does a finished app need updating?
Plan for at least one compliance release a year per platform, because both stores raise their SDK requirements annually. Add security and dependency updates in between. An app left untouched for two years is usually a project, not an update.
Can you take over an app someone else built?
Yes. We begin by building it from a clean checkout, listing what is outdated and confirming who controls the store accounts and keys. You receive those findings in writing before we propose any changes.
We have lost the signing key or the account login. Is the app gone?
Usually not. With Play App Signing the upload key can be reset through Google, and iOS certificates can be reissued by the account holder. Regaining the developer account itself is a matter between you and the store, and we help you prepare the request.
Is a small monthly arrangement possible?
Yes. A retainer of 40 hours a month is the smallest we offer, which suits an app that needs upkeep more than new development.
Who owns the code and the store listing?
You own both. Code is pushed to your repository and the app is published from your developer accounts. The written agreement covers ownership and confidentiality.
Give us the outline of your app
Store links if it is live, a sentence on what it does if it is not, and what you would like to happen next. We reply within one business day.