Top mobile app development companies from all over the world

This is the list of best mobile app development companies across USA, Canada, UK, European countries and other parts of the world. From 6,500 software agencies making apps we’ve selected 20 from various regions, based on reviews and client ratings. In addition, we also name several honorable mentions with developer rates lower than typical at the end of article. Competition is fierce in the app development area, so proven expertise, diverse portfolio of iOS apps and Android apps, tech stack were key to our analysis.

Top mobile app development companies

One more mobile app development agency from UK we can’t leave out is Apadmi. And it is not only building mobile apps, but all kinds of products within the mobile landscape. Those include app, server systems, artificial intelligence (AI), IoT (check out previous post with top IoT companies), big data, VR and AR.

They delve into multiple partnerships with SMEs, investors and news organizations, constantly identifying new tech opportunities. With teams of app developers, project managers, technical leads and  test engineers, Apadmi develops end-to-end mobile apps. They also offer services for enterprise-level solutions and marketing.

Top apps: Range Rover Evoque app, Argos, The Guardian, BBC Music, DonorPath, Lexus IS Series.
Specialties: mobile application development, IoT, big data consulting, design, testing, Ajax, ASP.Net, Apex, servers and infrastructure.
Hourly rate: $100-150 / Location: Manchester, UK / Employees: 60 / Contact: +441618501300.
Website: https://www.apadmi.com/

Based in Vancouver Canada, Pieoneers is a globally connected web & mobile app building studio with designers, developers and strategists working together to serve clients around the world. Experts in interactive design, mobile and high-load applications, Pieoneers has the edge when it comes to mastering the latest tech and optimizing it to create a user experience that’s both intuitive and engaging.

Specialties:  iOS, Android, Ruby on Rails, Python / Django, Go, React, and Node.js.
Hourly rate: $150 / Location: Vancouver, Canada / Employees: 13 / Contact:  hi@pieoneers.com
Website: https://www.pieoneers.com

With potent portfolio of native and cross-platform mobile apps for such industries as healthcare, real estate, e-commerce, trading/finance, Softermii is an international team of app and web developers, ever growing and evolving. As one proof of their strive for excellence, we can watch their progress on producing their own in-house applications: VidRTC, a video conferencing engine, and Apartmii, a real estate app with 3D imagery. They offer various services, typical of mobile app development, i.e. MVP development, app development, staff augmentation, audit, project management, QA.

Specialties: native app development, MVP, hybrid apps (cross-platform), UX/UI, product design.
Hourly rate: $50 / Location: Austin, USA / Employees: 120 / Contact: info@softermii.com
Website: https://www.softermii.com

Established in 2014 WebClues Infotech is an advanced USA mobile app development company with offices in India, USA, UAE, UK and Canada. The company aims to deliver high-quality IOS, Android, Windows and mixed app development solutions for the clients all over the globe.

During the 5 years of the company’s prosperity the WebClues team already successfully created and delivered over 720 projects for more than 700 satisfied clients. The WebClues team consists of over 140 developers, engineers, designers, mobile specialists and other team members.

Specialties: iOS, Android, React Native, Flutter, Ionic App Development.
Hourly Rate: $20 / Headquarters: Ahmedabad, India/ Employees: 150
Contact: sales@webcluesinfotech.com. Website: https://www.webcluesinfotech.com/

Exyte is a mobile development company that specializes in pixel-perfect apps construction, with wide sets of functionality and complex animation. Specializing in creating mobile applications for iOS and Android OS, a team of 23 engineers providing high-quality results for over 5 years. The Exyte guys used to work on projects from ideas to their full implementation. With Exyte, a client may find not only a development team but also project assistants, which bring it to perfection.

Top apps: HES, Micro Skills, CSort.
Specialties:  iOS, Android, Augmented reality apps, Widgets, Contextual Learning.
Hourly rate: $50 / Location: USA, Russia / Employees: 23 / Contact: info@exyte.com
Website: exyte.com 

Parsed is a mobile app development company based in the USA. Their mobile app developers specialize in building apps based on the React Native framework, which means customers receive a custom iPhone and Android compatible app in one cross-platform solution.

Top apps: DJ City, Settle In, Push Press / Hourly rate: Fixed project cost
Location: Pittsburgh, PA USA/ Employees: 21 / Contact: hello@parsed.io.
Website: https://parsed.io

Rootstrap is a distributed team of agile ninjas that are business strategists before designers, developers, and growth hackers. They believe in having a global outlook that’s not only fresh but unexpected. That’s why Rootstrap keep offices in New York, Los Angeles, and Montevideo – because if the smartest person in the room is the room itself, it better be filled with the best minds from around the world.  They partner with brands. Together they have done great things.

Top apps: StyleMD, Living Healthy, SalesForce, Cash Money, Heroku, Arbor, NOWL, and WeAreTV.
Specialties: Roadmapping, Web Development, Mobile Development, Growth User Acquisition, Emerging Technology, and Staff Augmentation.
Hourly rate: $150-200 / Location: West Hollywood, California / Employees: 50-100/ Contact: hello@rootstrap.com.
Website: https://www.rootstrap.com/

GlobalLogic is Ranked as Best Mobile App Development Company focusing on delivering high standards iOS, IoT & Android app development services from retail shopping mobile app, fitness devices apps to Healthcare app development. As GlobalLogic Mobile App Development services help customers bring their products to life effectively through the help of top tech experts working towards the goals.

Specialties: Mobile App Development, UX design, IoT, embedded services.
Hourly Rate: $50 / Location: California, USA / Employees: 10,000
Contact: info@globallogic.com / Website: https://www.globallogic.com/

Peerbits is a global mobile app development company with its presence in four countries; India, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Colombia. We, at Peerbits offer a spectrum of custom mobile app development ranging from enterprise mobility solutions to startup apps, on-demand mobile apps, and healthcare mobility solutions. Their expertise lies in tailoring the mobile applications that fit client’s requirements with a promise to deliver more than what they expect from.

Specialties: Mobile app development, Web development, Blockchain development, UX/UI design, IoT, Android, iOS, iPad, Apple Watch, Android watches, Java, PHP, Objective C, Swift, Python, JavaScript, AngularJS.
Hourly rate: $50-100 / Location: Ahmedabad, India / Employees: 105 / Contact: +1 877 707 0459, info@peerbits.com.
Website:https://www.peerbits.com

Being a full-cycle software company, Bamboo Agile focuses on providing mobile application development from scratch to launch. The Bamboo guys with 16 years of experience not just feature back-end and mobile parts of apps, but make highly entertaining UI design for users’ facilities. The company specializes in delivering solutions on iOS and/or Android platforms with such mobile technologies as Swift, Objective-C, Kotlin, Java, C++, as well as HTML 5.  The company works with a wide variety of areas and can create both a taxi application and a sports application for football fans.

Top apps: RANKmapp, Velcom Recommends, Duelbet.
Specialties: mobile apps, eCommerce development, secure software development, performance analysis.
Hourly rate: $25-50 / Location: Tallinn, Estonia / Employees: 30+ / Contact: +372 63 462 94.
Website: https://www.bambooagile.eu/

With over decade of market presence, Anadea Inc. is a company providing custom software development. With offices in Ukraine, Belarus, Spain and HQ in the USA, the team creates mobile apps and solutions,  mostly for businesses. To be more precise, their expertise lies in areas of management/CRM systems, time tracking tools, real estate/education/healthcare/travel systems, and e-commerce products. Tech stack is extensive, including tools for server/client side processes, mobile, databases, cloud computing, payments, testing ,etc.

Top apps: Dressli, Chatboard, Viventor, Coaching app, Agentfolio, Getsocio Mobile.
Specialties: mobile apps, custom software development, CRM, Ruby on Rails, Spring MVC, Java, ecommerce.
Hourly rate: $25-50 / Location: Ukraine, Belarus / Employees: 128 / Contact: +13152151575.
Website: https://anadea.info/

Aurity is a London based web and mobile app development company that helps businesses to define their MVP, scale their team and deliver new projects quickly. Using a blend of React Native and React, they develop cross-platform applications (Web, iOS, Android), allowing companies to release one app for multiple platforms at once.

Their well-tested architecture enables them to create code that can easily be adjusted to the requirements needed to support agile development and solve the most complex problems. Their remote team designed infrastructure and developed applications for many startups and some of them raised more than £20m.

Specialties: web and mobile app development, developer recruitment, and architecture consulting.
Hourly rate: $50-100 / Location: London UK / Employees: 15 / Contact: hello@aurity.co.
Website: https://aurity.co/

Fueled specializes in designing and developing award-winning mobile apps and websites that are fast, attractive, responsive, and easy to use. But we’re not here to work on just any apps or for any client. We come to work in the morning to work on the most interesting projects with the best clients, whether for startups or big brands, because we’re united by an unwavering passion for quality. It’s what makes us tick.

Top apps: MGM International Resorts, 9Gag, Rite Aid, Verizon, Crunchbase, Afterlight, Quizup.
Specialties: Mobile app design and development, iOS, Android, UX/UI Design, Web Design, AR
Hourly rate: $175 / Location:  New York, The USA / Employees: 98 / Contact: +1-212-763-7726, hello@fueled.com.
Website: https://fueled.com/

You can also find famous German excellency, here in app development, with smaller teams like Budacode. They specialize in all things JavaScript, using it to build high-performing iOS, Android, web and desktop apps. When looking for close cooperation and communication in person, with such team of ten experts you’ll know everyone by name and can count on good results. They also provide services in web development (with Node.js and Angular.js), IT consulting and social media marketing.   

Top apps: BeerGo, Transfermarkt, AnyPlan, Ivory.
Specialties: mobile apps, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, React Native, Ionic 2, Node.
Hourly rate: $50-100 / Location: Hamburg, Germany / Employees: 10 / Contact: +4915731970769.
Website: https://budacode.com/

With 18 years in business, and offices in Italy and USA, Iperdesign is among smaller app development companies who manages to catch big clients. Brands like Ernst & Young, Abbott, World Wild Fund for Nature (WWF), Wall Street Journal, and hundreds of others entrust app making to them.

The company promotes their so called “4D development process”. It consists of defining strategy, design, development and deployment. Applying it to each case and with the extensive tech stack they do great job in mobile development, web apps, design, CMS, ecommerce, etc.  

Top apps: Whook, Renal Chart, Abbvie Calculator, Hausmann, Peripheri, ConnecTable.
Specialties: mobile app development/design, UX/UI, ecommerce, AR apps, WordPress, MySQL.
Hourly rate: $100-150 / Location: Rome, Italy / Employees: 15 / Contact: +390664781980.
Website: https://www.iperdesign.com/

If in addition to app development you also need services like digital strategy, service architecture, UX design, prototyping, branding, lean analytics, check out IWA. based in Finland and with offices in Thailand, UAE, their open-minded team of frontend, backend, full-stack devs is there to turn your ideas into reality.

Using only latest and relevant tools/technologies, they strive to create user-friendly apps that look wonderful on any device. Their approach is “agile” – working in 1 to 3 weeks cycles to ensure flexibility in decision making along the way.

Top apps: Ecocity Evaluator, Virta, Goland, Talokeskus, Flioz, Ankkalampi.
Specialties: Android, iOS, Swift, Objective-C, Ruby on Rails, HTML5, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, Angular,  Unity 3D, Amazon AWS, Bootstrap, Cordova, ECMAScript, Ember.js, PhoneGap, React.
Hourly rate: $50-100 / Location: Helsinki, Finland / Employees: 130 / Contact: +358407307813.
Website: https://iwa.fi/

Eleks is one of the biggest in staff and oldest in business IT companies in Ukraine. The country is well-known for wealth of developers, and if you’d specifically search for mobile app development companies from Ukraine, Eleks would definitely come up. Full-cycle development, any kind of technology, wide range of complementary services…you can count all on this huge team. Only positive customer feedback and affordable rates are good incentives to check it out.  

Top apps: Teleologica, Russmann, Black Box, Reactoo, Havas, Xceedium.
Specialties: custom software development, tech consulting, business intelligence, data science, R&D, QA, staff augmentation, AWS, wearables, Windows server, Azure, AI, chatbots.
Hourly rate: $25-50 / Location: Lviv, Ukraine / Employees: 1,100 / Contact: +17029787116.
Website: https://eleks.com/

Young, dynamic and diverse team of software developers across offices in Norway, Poland, Sweden and Denmark. BSG emerged from several small agencies joining forces to provide efficient mobile app development and design.

Now they cater to business fields of a) software platforms, b) custom development, c) research and development, d) innovation for enterprises. BSG Solutions builds products mostly for media, entertainment and travel companies. For instance, PlayBetter – a platform for multi-screen applications with no coding skills, or WorkBetter  – a mobile platform for enterprise to manage operations, sales, logistics.

Top apps: KFC app, Northstar, TubaFM, Meritum Bank, Skycash, Medicover.
Specialties: mobile apps, hybrids apps, PWA, UX/UI, smart TV, fintech.
Hourly rate: $50-100 / Location: Oslo, Norway / Employees: 41 / Contact: +48601050325.
Website: http://bsgroup.eu/

Since 1995, Huenei has been both regional and offshore/nearshore IT services provider from Argentina’s capital. In terms of app development, they provide the whole product lifecycle or specific services like business insight and analysis, programming, quality assurance, etc.

Moreover, you may also hire Huenei for maintenance of mobile apps, staffing, consulting or mobile proof-of-concept implementation. They develop apps on the following platforms: iOS, Android, Windows, Blackberry, JQuery, Phonegap, Rhomobile, Sencha Touch and Titanium.  

Top apps: Claro, Virtusa, Falabella, Everis, Foodista, BBVA.
Specialties: custom software, mobile apps, business analysis and PM, software architecture, testing, Java, .Net, MS Sharepoint and Liferay, other IT services.
Hourly rate: $25-50 / Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina / Employees: 161 / Contact: +541141063500.
Website: http://www.huenei.com/

Providing high-class mobile app, web and cloud solutions, Okoone operates from Hong Kong and is an established mobile agency in Asia. They always try to balance best technologies and affordable prices for work to help customers achieve goals. Along with mobile apps, the team offers web solutions, cloud computing and digital marketing. Native apps, iOS apps, Android apps, hybrid apps, web apps and other related services are there.  

Top apps: AirVisual, K1nd, GrandStream, OgilvyOne.
Specialties: mobile development, web development, cloud infrastructures, mobile marketing.
Hourly rate: $50-100 / Location: Hong Kong / Employees: 21 / Contact: +85577495202.
Website: https://www.okoone.com/

Though a small team of designers, programmers and strategists, DreamWalk is one of the best mobile app development companies in Australia. Indeed, their iPhone app and Android apps have reached No.1 rankings in app stores in Australian many times (see Jam, The Secret, Surfy).

Developing apps is always a challenge for them, and they always try to apply expertise to make it the best. And if you see mobile apps ordered by the Melbourne University, Arts Victoria, Holmesglen Institute, State Library of Victoria, you know it’s worth the deal. Want more? Get your basic app delivered in 36 hours under their Proof Program.

Top apps: Camping Around Australia, Jam, Surfy, Word Invaders, Tappd, Showdates.
Specialties: UX design, mobile development, custom software, educational programs, rapid app development.
Hourly rate: $100 / Location: Melbourne, Australia / Employees: 10 / Contact: +61390887508.
Website: https://dreamwalk.com.au/

Credencys Solutions is a software development company that specializes in delivering high-quality mobile app services to develop iOS, Android & Cross-platform applications. With over 10 years of experience the company aims to deliver such app development solutions as:

• Native and hybrid app development;
• Robust backend;
• Enterprise mobility;
• Web to mobile.

Also the company offers such an app development services as e-commerce app development, custom app development, mobile app design, app migration, and upgrade, etc. The Credencys Solutions team consists of over 150 high-experience employees that create the best mobile app solutions for the customers worldwide. In its portfolio, there are more than 500 successfully delivered projects and over 200 satisfied clients.

Top apps: VanMile, Field Service Management Solution, Chase.
Specialties: Mobile development, cloud, custom Software, design, VR/AR.
Hourly rate: $50/ Location: LA Palma, US / Employees: 200 / Contact: +1 310 294 9973
Website: https://www.credencys.com/

Intellectsoft is a software development and consulting company counting more than a thousand employees. Their main office is in Palo Alto, California but they have a lot of other offices across the world. In the past 10 years, they helped big companies from Fortune 500 to build solid software foundations.

In the Mobile app development, they are covering all of the bases developing apps for iOS, Android, Hybrid and even now-discontinued Windows Phone. Intellectsoft has experience in developing mobile apps for a wide range of industries and has a well-rehearsed development process that includes all steps: kick-off, development, support.

Noteworthy point is that they have mastered all popular languages and technologies for trending platforms such as Java, Kotlin, JavaScript, Swift, Objective-c and C++, C#, React Native. And don`t forget the server side of the development that is also a high-skill point of the IntellectSoft, without it none of the big powerful projects could even start, these include SQLite, Core Data, Realm Mobile Database, RestKi, MongoDB, Redis.

Top apps: Radar, Wipro Dashboards, Bombardier, Taxi Advisor, Count Doku.
Specialties: Mobile development, Custom Software development, UI/UX Design, Big Data and Analytics, IoT, QA, Virtual reality, Augmented reality, Blockchain Solutios, Cloud Computing, DevOps.
Hourly rate: $25 – $49 / Location: Palo Alto, US / Employees: 250 – 999 / Contact: +1 650 300 4335
Website: https://www.intellectsoft.net/

Sidebench is a product design & development company founded in 2012 and based in Los Angeles, CA. It is an expert in creating custom business applications from strategy to implementation. Sidebench caters to both innovative enterprise companies and top new ventures. The company’s services are available for a huge amount of industries. As for services, the company offers the following range: HIPAA Compliant Products development Mobile & Web Apps development Systems Integration UI/UX Design eCommerce and Business Intelligence development

Top apps: Ghostbusters VR, Red Bull Photo Booth App, IEHP App, nOCD, Red Bull Music Artist Evaluation, Baby Steps LA.
Specialties: Mobile development, Web development, UI/UX Design , Marketing, QA, Game development.
Hourly rate: $150 – $199 / Location: Los Angeles, US / Employees: 50 – 249 / Contact: +1 310 893 3589
Website: http://sidebench.com/

Founded in 2000, Instinctools is a digital product agency headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany, with offices in Ukraine, Belarus, and the USA. They concentrate on custom-tailored mobile and web app design & development.

They cater to entrepreneurs, mid-market, and large enterprise clients globally, and also offer UX, analytics & consulting, and even a trial period to evaluate services risk-free. Their 500-person team develops using Java, JavaScript, Node.js, Hybris, Xamarin, C Sharp/.NET, PHP, and more to deliver:

• Custom mobile app for iOS, Android & hybrid platform
• Web app development
• UI/UX design and prototyping

Top apps: Multi-module application for school, Nostrum LMS, DITAworks, ThyssenKrupp Content and Messaging System.
Specialties: Web development, Mobile development, Custom Software development, Blockchain.
Hourly rate: $25 – $49/ Location: Stuttgart, Germany / Employees: 250 – 999 / Contact: +4971166483694
Website: http://instinctools.com/

The company was founded in 2004, with the main office in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, and additional offices in the US, Australia, and the UK. The company`s size counts over 500 specialists, that are capable of developing custom software solutions for Web, Mobile, IoT, Blockchain, ML and other fields.

PixelCrayons offers such mobile app development services as:

• Native iOS/Android/Ionic app development
• Cross-platform app development (Xamarin, React Native, Flutter Native)
• Wearables app development
• AR & IoT app development
• Custom mobile app development

The company provides mobile app solutions for eCommerce, Social networking, Lifestyle & Sport, Games & Entertainment, Mobile loyalty, and other industries. Currently, PixelCrayons` portfolio counts more than 13,800 projects for over 6,800 clients from 38+ countries around the world.

Top apps: Bill Rates Display App, Living Organic, Football Statistics App.
Specialties: Web development, Mobile development, Custom Software development.
Hourly rate: <$25 / Location: Noida, India / Employees: 250 – 999 / Contact: +91 888 210 8080
Website: http://www.pixelcrayons.com/

Knowledge base

Mobile apps have taken over the world already, there’s no doubt. As of January 2019, there were 2.6 million apps in Google Play Store, over 2 million apps in Apple App Store, 670.000 apps in Windows Store. The process of designing, programming, building and launching an app is called mobile app development. Apps must be useful or entertaining to users, have excellent design, certain set of features, and, of course, be stable and functional. Thus, a practice has been established to delegate this task to expert mobile app development companies.

Whether platform-specific, like iOS apps or Android apps, or cross-platform, or wearable apps, or IoT apps, etc., app development is the ongoing process which does not halt with launching and publishing. Mobile apps tend to grow, extend in functionality, upgrade to new versions, redesign or rebrand, as well as have to provide maintenance and support. Obviously, most of businesses cannot sustain those operations in house.

If you partner with a great mobile app development company and produce a beneficial and/or engaging app, it might be your path to success, outreach, new opportunities, new customers, etc. Unsurprisingly, the market of mobile apps is thriving, and the cost of app development is becoming more affordable. Just take a look at Statista research, showing a $88 billion total revenue of the mobile app industry in 2016, and projecting to at least double by 2020. Those revenues come from app stores download, in-app advertising, product placement etc.

App development is not just about the money or hiring the best mobile app developers at sky-high rates. Before hiring a development agency, we encourage you to learn more about the process of app development and industry inner workings. Expertise is key, and it might be quite a challenge to dig through thousands of mobile app developers offering rich tech stacks to find the right partner. A good practice is to make a shortlist of several firms, talk to them and let them offer a quote on your project. Generally, it would takes about 6-9 months to develop an average fully-functional mobile app. Bottom line: there must be commitment and enough budget.

What is an app development company?

We need to take a step back here and go to basics. A development company is a team of experts that develop something, some product or service. In our case, it is mobile apps. Building, designing and launching an app is called “mobile app development” and that’s what these companies (aka agencies, studios, developers) provide. It’s a rather complex set of services, involving software programming, project management, design and UX, quality assurance, support and maintenance. Yet, with stunning rise of app popularity, development companies started popping up all over the world in hundreds.

According to TechTarget, app development is a type of software programming, that focuses closely on specific mobile platforms and devices. That is why we see the majority of those agencies promoting themselves as “Android developers” or “iOS development company”, due to the largest market share of 2 kinds of devices – Android phones and iPhones. As of Aril 1, 2019, there are over 10K companies globally.

How do app development companies work?

A short answer would be – professionally, fast and reliably… in a hopeful scenario. But joking aside, there are several aspects to be aware of. As a rule, these agencies are small teams up to 2-3 dozens of coders, designers and marketers, most of whom are young, creative and skilled enough experts. Of course, there are some that managed to grow to enterprise level, with up to 400-500 employees, and their rates are clearly higher. Basically, companies put themselves out by offering professional mobile app development, highlighting their successful cases, and competing in cost with each other to attract customers. So price per value ratio is becoming more sensible with each year, one can say.

In terms of working methods and communication with a client, the rule #1 for app developers is to “follow customer requests through continuous delivery”. Here we’ve already dipped into terminology like Agile and Scrum, so let’s elaborate. Due to the fact, that app development may stretch for months and client could not get a final product right away, developers typically abide by Agile methodology, which means dividing a project in stages and deliver results by progression. These stages are called iterations or sprints, and Scrum is one of the frameworks to manage and keep track of all tasks (and a source of insider memes, haphazardly). This way clients have strict control over progress and flexibility is any amendments have to be made anytime.

What services and business value do app agencies provide?

As mobile phones/smartphones/digital devices have become omnipresent and basically a one extra body part for virtually every person on the planet, brands and businesses have no way of ignoring mobile presence. So naturally, any business, large corporation or a flower shop, start thinking about a mobile app to connect with customers. For that they hire an app development agency, whose primary service is building an app. The industry term for it is “mobile development” or “app development”, and first of all it implies software programming.

But it doesn’t end there. You might also need design, marketing, or special features, say Augmented Reality. Today’s app agencies are quick to adapt to market realities, and thus their services include: mobile strategy (to make a proper business plan), development, design & UX, quality assurance, marketing, launching & maintenance, as well as innovative aspects, e.g. AR, VR, Artificial intelligence (AI), IoT, Machine learning (ML), Big data, etc.

In regards to coding, there isn’t a problem to find any kinds of experts in a specific language, framework, library, database, SDK or whatever else. There are companies that provide native app development – like exclusive iOS or Android apps, cross-platform development – aka hybrid development of apps working similarly on all devices, custom app development – coding an app with unique set of features from scratch and without using presets, or even all types of app development.

It is also worth noting, that there are app companies specializing in particular market segments, so they offer better expertise in that niche and therefore hiring those may be of great benefit. For example, if you clearly know what is your product and what kind of customers it has to reach out to, your business may partner with developers who are focusing on mobile games, e-commerce apps, lifestyle apps, booking apps, startup app, educational apps, etc.

In terms of business value, by hiring professional developers to launch an app a business entity might kill two (or more) birds with one stone. We are talking about presence in mobile sphere, creating a new digital product, a new way of connection and communication with clients, a source of information about products and services, introducing contests and rewards to attract new customers, and overall raise company profile.

For something more real and visible commercial results, let’s take ASDA, the UK supermarket chain who wanted to improve shopping experience via a mobile app, especially for grocery products. After collecting feedback and implementing barcode scanner, store locator, new price finder and other features, ASDA reached the following gains:

• 2 million app installs
• 18% increase in grocery shopping
• 90% of increase contributed by the app
• 1.8 times higher shopping frequency via app compared to website
• more repeat customers

For more mobile app success stories with figures and facts we encourage you to read about 9 app marketing cases and 21 epic mobile app studies. Or check out this brief guide on how to get loyal customers via a mobile application for business. Few options highlighted are direct contact with customers letting them know about product delivery, new deals, introducing loyalty cards, happy hours, etc.

How to choose the right mobile app company

Start with your app itself: idea, concept, type, prototype, business model, etc. Clear-cut vision will help both to find the right app development agency and to meet the deadlines of development stages. Finding a company is known as “discovery stage” and it encompasses several steps/aspects, ending ideally with a project price offer from 2 or 3 companies. A thorough research will typically include:

• Website and portfolio – the face and first presentation, offering a glance at company’s work, style and capabilities. Professional mobile app development services should be able to have a professional and perfect website, hinting at the fact that clients should expect the same.
• Team – see who will be working on a mobile app as developers, designers, project managers, marketers (LinkedIn or social media profiles), check their skills and spirit, as those are the people you will be communicating with over next few months and entrusting them your business idea execution.
• Customer reviews – but be sure to find the authentic feedback, as often testimonials of the official website are generic and doubtful. Check other sources, tech portals and topical directories, social media to learn more about the reputation of a given mobile app development company.

By the way, the goal of our present ThinkMobiles directory with Mobile developers category is to aid such research. Here you may find information about location, size, expertise area, portfolio, customer reviews about each app development agency. You might also visit our blog post – 20 top mobile app development companies all over the world for some really great suggestions.

Important questions to ask / Things to explore

To answer the question “how to select a mobile app development company” you might want to take a closer look at few factors. Based on the specifics and business goals, we recommend researching the following aspects: type and/or size of mobile company, location, hourly developer rates, similar projects in portfolio. There’s always temptation to choose the one that will cost less, but that’s a really huge risk to the quality of the end product.

• Types of mobile app development companies

Enterprise mobile app developers or boutique app development agencies – which would suit your better? On the one hand, big guys like Fueled or Savvy Apps offer proven skills to build any kind of apps, capable of hosting up to millions of users. On the other hand they work at high rates and personal touch might fall prey to company’s production standards. Smaller teams, 10-30 members as a rule, may offer close relationship throughout the process, more dedication and creativity. There’s no good or bad here, the question is what type does one prefer?

• Company location

The market of app development services provides 3 options: onshore, nearshore and offshore teams. This is about communication and supervision preferences. Onshore companies are your fellow countrymen, which means the same language, culture, time zones and maybe even a city. For Northern America and Western Europe the downside is that onshore app developers work at high rates.

Nearshore companies are located in neighboring or close countries, probably in the same time zone, and working at lower rates. For US clients, nearshore app developers are typically from Latin America, for example. Offshore companies are the ones from countries far from yours, say Eastern Europe to the USA. Of course, there are risks to such type of mobile app development outsourcing, although modern tools of communication and strict process guidelines may smooth things out.

• Developer hourly rates

There might be an option to set the fixed price for the whole project, though, as practice shows, most contracts imply hourly developer rates. For cases with limited budgets, this often turns out to be the crucial factor. US and Canadian app development companies are known for the highest rates – according to Statista, $100 to $150 on average.

Rates in Western Europe vary from country to country, the average range for hourly work is $70-$115. Companies in Eastern Europe, e.g. Poland or Ukraine, one of the most popular choices due to talent, charge between $30 and $60.

• Relationship

One final point to make is relationship. Things may be very bright and promising on paper, and yet one will always discover the real situation when talking to the team. One extra step is also finding out about a company’s past projects that are similar to what you are planning. Meet the CEO in person or talk to developers on the phone and you’ll see if their values and possibilities match your goals, think how well would you get along in the process.

FAQ

Q: What is an app development company?
A: A development company is a team of experts that develop something, some product or service. In our case, it is mobile apps. Building, designing and launching an app is called “mobile app development” and that’s what these companies (aka agencies, studios, developers) provide. It’s a rather complex set of services, involving software programming, project management, design and UX, quality assurance, support and maintenance.

Q: How do app development companies work?
A: A short answer would be – professionally, fast and reliably… in a hopeful scenario. But joking aside, there are several aspects to be aware of. As a rule, these agencies are small teams up to 2-3 dozens of coders, designers and marketers, most of whom are young, creative and skilled enough experts. Of course, there are some that managed to grow to enterprise level, with up to 400-500 employees, and their rates are clearly higher.

Q: What services and business value do app agencies provide?
A: Mobile strategy (to make a proper business plan), development, design & UX, quality assurance, marketing, launching & maintenance, as well as innovative aspects, e.g. AR, VR, Artificial intelligence (AI), IoT, Machine learning (ML), Big data, etc. In regards to coding, there isn’t a problem to find any kinds of experts in a specific language, framework, library, database, SDK or whatever else.

Q: How to choose the right mobile app company?
A: Website and portfolio – the face and first presentation, offering a glance at company’s work, style and capabilities. Team – see who will be working on a mobile app as developers, designers, project managers, marketers (LinkedIn or social media profiles), check their skills. Customer reviews – but be sure to find the authentic feedback, as often testimonials of the official website are generic and doubtful.

Q: Does company location matter?
A: The market of app development services provides 3 options: onshore, nearshore and offshore teams. This is about communication and supervision preferences. Onshore companies are your fellow countrymen, which means the same language, culture, time zones and maybe even a city. For Northern America and Western Europe the downside is that onshore app developers work at high rates.

Q: What are app developer hourly rates?
A: US and Canadian app development companies are known for the highest rates – according to Statista, $100 to $150 on average. Rates in Western Europe vary from country to country, the average range for hourly work is $70-$115. Companies in Eastern Europe, e.g. Poland or Ukraine, one of the most popular choices due to talent, charge between $30 and $60.