06/03/2026
Every founder I've talked to who blew their app budget had the same problem. They didn't know the cheapest quote was the most expensive project. Get five quotes for the same app and you'll see numbers from $15,000 to $250,000. Those five teams are not looking at the same project. They're looking at five different versions of it.
The cheap ones are usually leaving things out. Scope that was assumed, not written down. QA that wasn't budgeted. A backend that handles 10 users fine but falls apart at 1,000.
We've been through enough of these post-mortems to see the pattern clearly. The app that was going to cost $40k turns into $120k. Not because the vendor is dishonest, although sometimes they are. Mostly because the spec was vague and both sides filled in the gaps differently.
A few things that actually help before you sign anything:
Ask to see apps they've shipped to the store. Not renders. Not Figma files. Real apps with real reviews, downloaded by real users. Ask what went wrong on their last project and how they handled it. The answer to that one tells you more than any case study deck.
Get the scope in writing, at the feature level. Not "admin dashboard." Write out exactly what the admin can do, what they can't, and what happens when they try.
Across 540+ projects, the engagements that go sideways almost always start with a vague spec and a low bid. The ones that go well almost always start with someone slowing down in week one to define what "done" means.
If you're at the stage of comparing quotes and something feels off, happy to take a look. No pitch, just a straight read.
Comment if you're in that comparison stage and want a second opinion. Or find us at appcrops.com.
