Custom business app cost in France: 2026 price ranges

For a small or mid-sized business in France, guides published in 2026 put the cost of a custom business app between a few thousand and several tens of thousands of euros. It depends on the type of app:

• brochure website, as a reference point: €900 to €5,000 for a basic site (France Num);
• client portal or extranet: from €3,500 for a simple client area (Ondev), €10,000 to €25,000 for a client portal (KreaRise);
• internal tool: €8,000 to €20,000 (KreaRise);
• app with approval workflows: €15,000 to €40,000 (KreaRise).

Every year, add maintenance, estimated at 15 to 25% of the initial cost (EID Lab), and hosting.

These figures come from the pages listed at the end of this article, accessed on 7 and 9 October 2026. Most are published by agencies that sell these projects: they are estimates, not statistics. They are still enough to place a quote. The estimator above uses these ranges and places your project within them, based on the features you tick.

Price ranges by type of app

Three takeaways.

1. The same words cover very different projects. A “business app” can be a quote form or software that replaces an ERP.
2. The ranges overlap. A well-scoped extranet can cost less than a vague internal tool.
3. Guides do not all count the same things. Some include scoping and design in the price, others charge for them separately (€1,500 excl. VAT at creation-site-pro.fr, deducted if the project goes ahead).

At the other end of the market, freelance platforms show much lower amounts. On Codeur.com, the average budget of web development projects posted in October 2026 is €1,437, for an average day rate of €135. These budgets mix jobs of every size: they do not compare with a complete app.

What drives the price, feature by feature

The price follows the number of working days. KreaRise sums it up: every screen, every role and every business rule adds days. Here is the effect of each feature offered in the estimator above.

Accounts and roles

One type of user is simple. Each extra role (employee, manager, client, accountant) needs its own screens, permissions and tests.

Forms and data entry

A form on its own costs little. The cost comes from the rules: fields required in some cases, calculations, checks before sending. Each rule has to be written, then tested.

Multi-step approvals

This is what separates a data-entry tool from a business app. A request moves from one person to the next, with thresholds, reminders and a history. At KreaRise, the range goes from €8,000 to €20,000 for an internal tool to €15,000 to €40,000 for an app with workflows.

Integrations with your software

Connecting the app to your accounting software, CRM or ERP removes double entry. The effort depends on the software on the other side. According to KreaRise, a modern, documented API takes a few days to connect; old software without an API can cost as much as a whole module. If the app issues invoices, keep French e-invoicing in mind: see our article on e-invoicing in France in 2026.

Online payment

Taking payments online goes through a payment provider, whose fees are public. Stripe lists 1.5% + €0.25 per payment with a standard European Economic Area card, and €0.35 per SEPA Direct Debit, with no setup or monthly fees. On the development side, a one-off payment stays simple; subscriptions, refunds and automatic invoices take more work. Ondev includes Stripe payment in its business extranet (€8,000 to €20,000). KreaRise puts booking with payment among advanced platforms (€30,000 to €80,000).

PDF documents

Quotes, purchase orders, certificates: generating a PDF from your data is common. The cost depends on the number of templates and their layout. Nocode Factory lists an automated quote form, with a PDF sent to the client and an internal email, among simple tools, at €5,000 to €15,000.

Dashboard

A summary screen that reads the app’s own data (open requests, lead times, amounts) stays reasonable. It becomes a project of its own when it combines several software tools or updates in real time. Details in our article How much does a dashboard cost for a small business?

Mobile app

A well-built web app already works on a phone, in the browser. An app published on the App Store or Google Play is a different project: Nocode Factory puts it at €25,000 to €80,000. Publishing has a price too: Apple charges USD 99 a year for its Developer Program.

Data migration and scoping

Two items that are often forgotten. Taking over and cleaning your existing Excel files takes time: ask for it to be priced separately. Scoping can also be billed on its own, for example €1,500 excl. VAT at creation-site-pro.fr, deducted if the project goes ahead.

Who builds it

The day rate multiplies everything else. KreaRise reports €400 to €700 a day for a freelancer in France, up to €1,200 for an agency and €250 to €500 offshore. Outside Paris and the largest cities, Silkhom puts an experienced full-stack JavaScript developer at €350 to €450 a day (2025 barometer). As a result, according to KreaRise, the same 20-to-40-day internal tool costs about €8,000 with an entry-level freelancer, and over €40,000 with an agency at €1,200 a day.

Custom build, SaaS or no-code?

Three routes, three ways to pay.

The last two references disagree: KreaRise builds in code, Nocode Factory sells no-code. Each presents its own route in the best light.

The maths changes with the number of users: a subscription grows with your team, an app you own costs mostly up front, then in maintenance. Run the numbers over three years with your own headcount.

No-code also has a running cost. Fictional example: 10 users on Power Apps Premium cost €173 excl. VAT a month, or €2,076 excl. VAT a year, before any build. Ask what happens if you stop the subscription: can you export your data and screens?

Sometimes you do not need an app at all. If the need is to move data between software you already have, an automation may be enough: see AI and automation.

Running costs to plan for

EID Lab gives an example: for a €5,000 app, €750 to €1,250 of maintenance a year. KreaRise mentions about €3,000 a year. Before you sign, get in writing what maintenance covers: security updates, fixes, backups, small changes.

How to write your brief

You do not need a thirty-page specification. A good brief fits on one or two pages and answers eight questions.

1. Which process? From the trigger (a request comes in) to the result (the order goes out).
2. Who uses it? The roles, and how many people in each.
3. Where is the data today? Spreadsheets, software, paper. What needs to be taken over.
4. Which software to connect? Accounting, CRM, ERP, email.
5. What should the app produce? PDFs, emails, exports, a dashboard.
6. Where is it used? Office, workshop, site, phone.
7. What can wait for version two? Writing down what is out of scope avoids misunderstandings.
8. What budget, by what date?

Fictional example: “A maintenance company with 25 employees manages purchase requests in a shared spreadsheet. It wants three roles (requester, manager, accounting), a two-step approval above a set amount, a PDF purchase order and an export to its accounting software. The tool will be used in the office and on phones, in the browser. Out of scope for version one: mobile app, stock management.” Five lines are enough to get comparable quotes.

How to compare quotes

• Send the same brief to every provider.
• Ask for a breakdown by item: scoping, design, development, testing, go-live, training.
• Ask for the number of days and the day rate, to see where the gap comes from.
• Compare excl. VAT with excl. VAT. A company that recovers VAT compares amounts before tax. A provider that is not VAT-registered bills a net price, with no VAT.
• Look at what happens after delivery: warranty, maintenance, hosting. Who pays what, every month?
• Check ownership: the code, the data and the access (hosting, domain name, third-party accounts) must be yours.
• Choose fixed price or time and materials knowingly. With a fixed price, overruns are the provider’s problem; with time and materials, they are yours.

Red flags

• A price given without a single question about your process.
• A one-line quote, “app development”, with no detail.
• No testing phase with your users before go-live.
• The code or hosting stays with the provider, with no export planned.
• A no-code platform whose per-user subscription is not disclosed.
• Mandatory maintenance whose content is not written down.
• A discount valid “if you sign today”.
• A project that tries to cover everything at once. A first version on a single process teaches you more.

FAQ

How much does a custom web app cost for a small business?

It depends on the type: from €3,500 for a simple client area (Ondev), €8,000 to €20,000 for an internal tool and €15,000 to €40,000 with approval workflows (KreaRise). Add maintenance and hosting every year.

How long does it take?

KreaRise delivers its web projects in 3 to 8 weeks depending on complexity. Ondev quotes 4 to 8 weeks for a client area. For no-code, Nocode Factory counts 2 to 8 weeks.

Can we start small?

Yes, and it is often safer. Nocode Factory prices a prototype at €1,000 to €3,000 and a first no-code version at €5,000 to €15,000. One process covered well beats five covered halfway.

Do we need a mobile app?

Rarely at first. A web app works on a phone, in the browser. An app published on the stores makes sense when the phone becomes the main tool, every day. It costs €25,000 to €80,000 according to Nocode Factory.

Do we own the code?

It depends on the contract. Check that it transfers the rights to the code, gives you access to the source code and servers, and lets you export your data.

What about KAVDAL?

Our prices are public. Websites and apps start at €4,500, net price (VAT not applicable, article 293 B of the French tax code). That price covers a complete, working, turnkey app for one process. You get the keys and you own the code. It sits below most of the ranges above, because the scope is set together up front: one process, covered well.

Details are on our Websites and apps and Pricing pages. To place your project, book a free 20-minute call.