How Much Does It Cost to Maintain an App in 2025?

App development doesn’t end with launch; it actually starts here. In 2025, keeping your app up and running isn’t something to be handled by IT experts, it’s a major part of your business strategy. Whether you’ve developed a lean MVP or a full-scale SaaS platform, knowing how much does it cost to maintain an app helps you plan your budget, manage total cost of ownership, and make sure your product can scale without wonders.

At Codiant, we often meet clients who planned meticulously for app development but underestimated the ongoing mobile app maintenance costs. This leads to delayed updates, rising bugs, poor reviews, and in extreme cases, complete rewrites.

If you’re asking, “how much does it cost to run an app in 2025?” or “how much does it cost to keep an app running?”, this guide breaks down every factor, benchmark, and task that goes into app maintenance cost—from infrastructure to optimization to user experience.

Let’s break it down.

Why App Maintenance Matters More Than You Think

Apps that aren’t updated fall behind. Here’s why maintaining your mobile app post-launch matters more than ever:

1. User Retention Relies on Performance
   Even the app with an appealing UI/UX loses its value over time if it is slow and getting crash frequently. Unaddressed problems push users toward faster and more responsive ones. As expectations grow, the cost to maintain an app also includes preventing revenue loss from poor retention.
   Data shows apps with regular updates see 2.5x higher retention over six months (Source: Statista).
2. Security Risks Evolve Daily
   Leaving bugs or outdated tools in your mobile app is like leaving the door open for attackers. With standard data privacy laws applicable, using old SDKs or libraries can even lead to heavy fines. Regular maintenance keeps your app secure and compliant, so you don’t run into trouble.
   GDPR and HIPAA fines for non-compliant apps can exceed $100,000 per incident, which is a cost far higher than regular updates.
3. Device and OS Fragmentation Increases Complexity
   Devices like foldables, tablets, smartwatches, and updates like Android 15 and iOS 18 rolling in the market, it is quite typical to stay compatible. Regular updates aid your application to run smoothly on all platforms. Without this, users might get frustrated, give bad reviews, and even, stop accessing it.
4. App Store Rankings Are Tied to Freshness
   Outdated apps lose visibility. Google play store and iTunes work on certain algorithms that prioritize recently updated apps with fewer crashes and better ratings. Maintaining your app gives signal that your app is active, safe, and worth downloading.
5. Third-Party Services Change Often
   Every payment gateway, login API, or analytics SDK you use is updated independently. Maintenance ensures your app keeps working when these tools change.

Ignoring third-party updates often leads to broken checkouts, login errors, or tracking failures—directly impacting business KPIs.

As user expectations, cybersecurity risks, and platform updates accelerate, one-time development simply doesn’t cut it. In fact, apps that aren’t updated at least once a month see 67% lower user retention. Businesses that approach maintenance proactively grow 2x faster and build longer-lasting user trust.

Key Factors That Drive App Maintenance Costs

App maintenance costs depend on several key factors. Have a look at some of the key factors driving maintenance costs.

1. App Architecture Type

App architecture comprises of native, hybrid, and web apps.

• Native apps are basically run on Android and iOS platforms. Such apps demand more coding, testing, and deploying updates.
• Cross-platform frameworks like Flutter or React Native can help decrease development time through code sharing. However, it needs device-specific testing to avoid further issues.
• Web applications are more focused on browser compatibility and backend processing to run on various resolutions and browsers.

Remember, the cost of app maintenance for native apps can be 30–40% higher annually.

2. Platform & Device Support

More devices including phones, tablets, and watches support your application, more complex the UI and QA adjustments are! As in, it demands to add new OS versions each year and so, the testing matrix grows swiftly.

Multi-device testing can raise mobile app maintenance costs by $3,000–$12,000 annually.

3. Hosting & Cloud Infrastructure

If you’re wondering how much does it cost to host an app, the answer varies based on usage and stack:

4. Bug Fixing & Performance Tuning

No app stays bug-free. From minor UI glitches to major crashes, fixes are a major chunk of the cost of maintaining an app. Investing in performance optimization early reduces future firefighting costs.

5. Third-Party Integration Maintenance

Every API or SDK in your stack needs recent updates, testing, and possibly UI enhancements. Each of these add ongoing maintenance hours on an annual base.

API compatibility issues can disrupt payments, signups, or analytics—leading to direct revenue or insight loss.

6. Monitoring & Reporting Tools

Tools such as Crashlytics, Sentry, and New Relic cost money and also, it requires time of developers to maintain the app. All these tools offer critical real-time insights, crash logs, and performance dashboards.

App Maintenance Cost Benchmarks

If you want to know how much does it cost to update an app, consider the following app maintenance cost benchmarks.

Common App Maintenance Responsibilities You’ll Pay For

There are some common app maintenance tasks for which you need to pay. Below is the list.

1. Security and Compliance

This includes patching vulnerabilities, updating encryption, and addressing regional laws such as GDPR or India’s DPDP Act. Security failures are expensive in legal terms and missed opportunities to win customer’s trust.

2. OS & Device Compatibility

With each iOS or Android release, your app may experience layout shifts, crash reports, or API failures. Maintenance ensures early adaptation, smoother UX, and positive app store reviews.

3. User Experience Improvements

In response to user feedback and analysis, updates including navigation, onboarding, and accessibility features can be considered. This goes beyond aesthetics — it drives retention and engagement.

4. Performance Optimization

Over time, inefficient code or bloated data calls slow down your app. Regular cleanup improves load time, reduces crashes, and improves overall satisfaction.

5. Backend and Server Management

Framework upgrades, database optimizations, load balancing, and cloud monitoring are continuous responsibilities. This is where the cost to keep an app running becomes most visible.

6. Feature Updates and User-Driven Iterations

New user needs? New competitors? Building small features or A/B testing workflows keeps your app relevant.

Hidden Costs of Maintaining an App (Expanded)

These often-overlooked expenses can blow your maintenance budget:

1. Push Notification Overages

While services like OneSignal offer generous free tiers, once your user base grows, notifications can become a recurring cost. Going over the limit means you’ll pay per notification or per subscriber. That’s an unexpected cost if not planned early on—especially for apps with marketing-heavy strategies or real-time messaging.

For apps with 100K+ monthly users, push notification services can add $500–$1,000/month to mobile app maintenance costs.

2. App Store Metadata and Rejections

Apple and Google change their store policies often. If your app breaks a new clause, either intentionally or unknowingly, you may find your it’s rejected. This means, you require a ‘full clean up’ and resubmission with content adjustments. You’ll also have to keep screenshots, descriptions, and privacy policy up to date. However, it requires development and design team support as well.

A single rejection delay can disrupt product roadmaps and delay feature launches—adding indirect costs of maintaining an app.

3. Certificate and Domain Renewals

SSL certificates, Apple developer accounts, API keys, and custom domains all come with renewal cycles. Miss a deadline, and your app could go down or lose credibility. Maintaining a calendar and automating alerts is a must.

Example: An expired iOS certificate can render an app uninstallable only until renewed, causing hours or days of downtime.

4. Emergency Hotfixes Post-Update

Sometimes, new OS updates or SDK rollouts break your production app overnight. Without proactive QA and test coverage, you’re left pushing an emergency patch, disrupting dev cycles, and working late nights.

Did you know? Emergency hotfixes can cost 3–5x more than planned updates due to urgency, testing, and expedited review submissions.

5. Compliance-Driven Changes

Global data laws are evolving rapidly. Even if your app didn’t need explicit compliance earlier, future updates may demand opt-ins, data export tools, or audit logs. These changes are legal and technical changes, and always time bound.

Conclusion

Maintenance is your app’s lifeline! In 2025, how to maintain an app is as important as how you build it. Your users expect quicker fixes, better security and smoother experiences while your competition is innovating round-the-clock.

The cost to maintain an app may vary—but neglect always costs more.

If you’re scaling your app or planning post-launch, think of maintenance not as an expense, but as an enabler. It’s the mechanism that:

• Prevents churn
• Preserves brand trust
• Delivers business continuity
• Supports innovation
• And protects your infrastructure investment