How to Choose an App Development Company in the UK

To choose an app development company, start with the apps it has already shipped and check them yourself. Download them, read their store ratings and ask which of the people proposed for your project built them. Then test the rest: who owns the code and the store accounts, how store review is handled, design before the build, support after launch, and what the quote leaves out.

We build apps ourselves, so we are one of the firms you might shortlist. We name no competitors and rank nobody here. Our app development work starts with app design and validation from £5,000, then a build from £15,000, both fixed before work starts. The sections below cover the types of company, how to check a portfolio, ownership, store review, pricing and support, and the questions and red flags to put to every firm.

Key takeaways

• Judge a firm by apps you can download. A live app shows its store rating, how often it is updated and how it behaves on a real phone.
• Ownership has two parts: the code, and the Apple and Google developer accounts. Get both in your company’s name, in writing, before work starts.
• Store review is a risk to plan for. Apple says it rejects apps that crash or show obvious technical problems, so ask who tests, submits and answers the reviewer.
• An app needs work after launch, because Apple and Google both set minimum build requirements. Ask what support covers and what it costs.
• Send every firm the same one-page brief, and compare what each quote includes before you compare the totals.

How do you choose an app development company?

Pick the type of company first, then test each firm against the same checklist. The companies that build apps fall into a handful of types, and each suits a different job.

Type	Suits	Watch for
Freelancer	A small, defined app	One person: illness, holidays, leaving
Small studio	A first app or focused product	Cover for specialist skills
Mid-size agency	Larger apps, several disciplines	Who delivers after the sales team
Large consultancy	Programmes with heavy governance	More process than one app needs
App builder platform	A simple app you build yourself	Apple’s rule on template apps

Our guide to choosing a software development company covers these types for software in general. Our guide to hiring an app developer compares a freelancer, an agency and an in-house hire in detail. This article stays with what is specific to apps.

Whichever type you pick, the checks are the same. Each of the sections below is one of them.

How do you check an app portfolio and reviews?

Download the apps and use them. A portfolio page is what a company says about its work, and the store listing is what users say. Check the rating and how many ratings sit behind it, read the recent reviews, and look at when the app was last updated.

Then ask what the company actually did on each piece of work:

• Was it the design, the whole build or only part of it?
• Which of the people proposed for your project worked on it?
• Will the client take a reference call?

Anonymised case studies are normal for work under NDA, so ask for a reference call on those. A prototype shows design work, while a live app shows the company can pass store review and keep an app running.

The seller name on a store listing depends on whose developer account published the app. A name that differs from the company’s proves little either way, so ask.

Here is what we can show. One Place is an iOS and Android app for planning group trips and events, and it holds a 4.8 App Store rating with thousands of downloads. Simple PT, a booking-and-payments app, was live on both app stores two months from kick-off. Connect by CoCentric runs on iOS, Android and the web.

Native or cross-platform: what should they offer?

Ask which approach a firm would pick for your app and why. A native app is built separately for iOS and Android. A cross-platform app is built once and shipped to both stores, using a framework such as React Native or Flutter. A firm that works only one way tends to recommend it for every job, so look for one that can explain when each earns its cost.

Adinkra is a React Native app for iOS and Android. Its development phase took under a month, at roughly half the cost of building separately for each platform. Our guides to React Native vs Flutter and to web app vs website vs native app cover the trade-offs, so we leave them there.

What do reviews and directories tell you?

Directories and review sites help within limits. Clutch says it verifies reviews using reviewer-provided information and online research, and that it does not give specifics of its verification methods. It also says that if it cannot verify the reviewer’s identity or project details, but the information is still useful for buyers, it publishes the review as Not Verified (Clutch Help Center).

Look for that marker. For an app company, set its directory reviews beside the store reviews of the apps it built, which come from the people using them. We are rated 4.9 on Clutch from nine reviews, a small sample. A directory page that ranks companies is not a recommendation, so check how it sets the order. Our guide to choosing a software development company covers the public-record checks that apply to any supplier.

Who owns the code and the store accounts?

You should own both, and neither is automatic. GOV.UK says a company you commission is the first legal owner of the code it writes unless you agree otherwise in writing (GOV.UK). Apple shows the account holder as the seller, so an app published from the developer’s account names the developer (Apple). Our guide to hiring an app developer covers the assignment wording and app transfers.

Open both accounts in your own company’s name before development starts, and give the company access. Start early, because enrolling an organisation with Apple needs a D-U-N-S Number, and Apple uses it to verify the organisation’s identity, legal entity status and address (Apple).

With us, all code and IP are yours once the work is delivered and paid for. This is not legal advice, so have a solicitor read any contract of consequence.

If the company will handle your users’ personal data for you, the ICO says that every time a controller uses a processor to process personal data, there must be a written contract (ICO). The ICO notes that its guidance is under review because of the Data (Use and Access) Act, so check the current version.

What happens before the build and at launch?

Two stages decide how smoothly an app reaches users, the design work before any code is written and the store review after it. Ask a company about both.

Design and validation before code

Ask whether the company designs and tests the app before it builds it. Screen-by-screen design, tried on a real device by real users, lets you check the idea cheaply. It also means every firm can quote the build against the same design.

Ours is app design and validation: two to four weeks, from £5,000, ending in a fixed quote for the full build, with the design files yours to keep. A fixed build price quoted on a few lines of brief rests on guesses about scope.

Store review and launch

An app does not go live when the code is finished. It goes through review. Apple says App Review typically reviews at least 50% of submissions in less than 24 hours and 90% in less than 48 hours. It adds that an incomplete submission may be delayed or may not pass (Apple).

Apple’s guidelines say submissions should be final versions with working URLs and no placeholder text, tested on a device, with demo account details and a live backend if the app has a login. They add that Apple rejects incomplete app bundles and binaries that crash or show obvious technical problems (Apple App Review Guidelines, 2.1).

Two more Apple rules bear on the company you pick:

• Guideline 4.2 says an app should go beyond a repackaged website, so a plain wrapper around a website risks rejection.
• Guideline 4.2.6 says apps created from a commercialised template or app generation service are rejected unless the provider of the app’s content submits them directly.

Google has its own gate. Its Play Console Help says developers with personal accounts created after 13 November 2023 must run a closed test with at least 12 testers, opted in continuously for at least 14 days (Google). If the app will be published from a personal account opened after that date, the plan needs that fortnight in it.

So ask who handles submission, what the company does when Apple rejects a build, and which developer account the app will be published from. Our app build includes App Store and Google Play submission.

What does an app company charge, and what does support cost?

Compare what each quote includes before you compare totals. Our guide to how much an app costs in the UK explains what moves the number: features, platforms, integrations, design depth and the backend. If one quote is far below the others, check whether it prices a smaller scope.

These are our published prices, at a fixed price agreed before work starts:

• App design and validation: two to four weeks, from £5,000.
• App build: from £15,000, with the backend, APIs and integrations included.
• Maintenance and support after launch: from £400 a month.

You pay by milestone as each stage is delivered, never a large sum up front. Whichever company you choose, tie payments to delivered work.

What support after launch should cover

An app is not finished at launch, because Apple and Google keep raising the minimum versions that new builds must use. Our guide to app maintenance costs sets out the current requirements and what upkeep costs.

That is why support is part of the decision. Ask what it covers, such as store-required updates, bug fixes, security patches and monitoring. Ask for response times and a monthly price in writing, and find out who holds the hosting and repository access. Ours starts from £400 a month.

Questions to ask an app company, and red flags

Send every firm the same one-page brief and the same questions, and compare the written answers side by side. The brief needs the users, the one job the first version must do, the platforms, anything the app must connect to, and a budget range.

Ask	A good answer	A red flag
Which live apps are closest to mine?	Apps you can download, plus a reference call	Screenshots only
Native or cross-platform, and why?	A reason tied to your app	The same answer for every app
What happens before the build?	Design tested with users, then a fixed quote	A fixed price from a few lines
Whose accounts publish the app?	Your company’s Apple and Google accounts	The developer’s own account
How do you handle store review?	A named person and a rejection plan	”Apps just get approved”
What does support cover after launch?	Store-required updates, fixes and a monthly price	No answer
How do you handle personal data?	A written processing contract	Nothing in writing

Two more warning signs are a rush to sign before the scope is written down, and portfolio pieces that cannot be opened. Our guide to hiring an app developer has the questions on code ownership, code access and payment.

Where we fit, and where we do not

We are a London-led studio with a remote team, founded in 2019, with more than 50 projects since then and a 4.9 rating on Clutch.

We fit when you have an app idea and want it designed, tested with users and quoted at a fixed price before you commit to the build. Our app development service runs in those two stages, from £5,000 and then from £15,000.

We fit when you want the company that builds the app to handle store submission too. Scope and price are fixed before work starts, and you pay by milestone as each stage is delivered. You can cancel within the first 21 days of a build and get your money back in full.

We do not fit when your whole-app budget is below our £15,000 starting price for a build. A freelancer or a no-code prototype will serve you better, and app design and validation from £5,000 may be the right first step.

We do not fit when a website or web app would do the job. Our guide to web app vs website vs native app helps you check, and we will say so if that is the answer.

Your next step

Write the one-page brief, send it with the questions in the table above to three companies, and compare what comes back as well as what it costs. Open the apps they name before you read their proposals.

If you want our answer, our app development page sets out the two stages, and a free 20-minute consultation will tell you which one fits your app.