How Much Does It Cost to Turn a Website Into an App? (2026)

How Much Does It Cost to Turn a Website Into an App? The Short Answer

Turning a website into an app costs anywhere from free to $50,000 or more, depending on the method. A subscription "website to app converter" that wraps your site runs about $50 to $250 a month. A no-code AI builder that rebuilds your site as a real app is free to around $25 a month. An agency build ranges from $3,000 for a basic conversion to $50,000-plus for a custom app, and a full custom native build can reach $60,000 to $250,000. Everyone also pays Apple $99 a year to publish. The cheapest route to a real app you own is a no-code AI builder like Superapp, which rebuilds your site as a native app from about free to $25 a month; the priciest is a custom agency build.

Quick answer: how much does it cost to turn a website into an app? The cheapest path is a no-code AI builder like Superapp that rebuilds your site as a native app, free to about $25 a month, and you own the result. Subscription converters that wrap your website in a web view cost roughly $50 to $250 a month (or a one-time license of $229 to $6,000 with tools like Median and AppMySite), but you pay for as long as the app exists. Hiring a freelancer runs $27 to $150 an hour, and an agency charges $3,000 for a basic conversion up to $50,000-plus for a custom app. On top of any method, publishing needs an Apple Developer account at $99 a year and Google Play at $25 once. The big hidden cost is recurring: a wrapper's monthly bill never ends, while a one-time build is yours to keep.

Cost to Turn a Website Into an App, by Method

Here is the full range, sorted from cheapest to most expensive, with what you actually get.

The prices swing this widely because "turn a website into an app" means three very different things: wrapping your site in a web view, rebuilding it as a real app, or building a brand-new app from scratch. The rest of this guide breaks down each.

Subscription Converters: The Cheap Option With a Catch

The tools most people find first are subscription "website to app converters" that wrap your existing site in a web view and submit it to the stores. They are quick and cheap up front, but the cost is recurring, and the output is a wrapped website rather than a real native app.

Real 2026 pricing: AppMySite charges $69 to $249 a month (or $49 to $199 a month billed yearly, or a one-time license of $1,999 to $5,999). Median.co, formerly GoNative, uses a one-time license of $229 to $990 plus a yearly fee of $179 to $669 after the first year, with a fully managed tier from $7,200 a year. Other converters like webtoapp.design run about $59 to $119 a month, and MobiLoud starts around $399 a month. These are real prices for real tools, but note what you are buying: a web view of your site, not a native app.

Hiring Someone: Freelancer or Agency

If you want a custom build rather than a wrapper, you hire it out, and this is where the cost jumps.

A freelancer typically charges $27 an hour at the low end (the median app-developer rate on Upwork) up to $60 to $150 an hour for senior developers, so a small app lands in the low thousands to around $15,000 depending on scope. An agency is more, and more predictable: a basic website-to-app conversion runs $3,000 to $8,000, a medium app $8,000 to $20,000, and an advanced custom app $20,000 to $50,000 or more. A full, ground-up custom native app is a different order of magnitude, commonly $60,000 to $250,000 for a serious product. You own the result in every case, which is the upside of paying more.

Cost by App Complexity

When you pay a freelancer or agency, the biggest cost driver is how complex the app is. A useful breakdown of a custom build:

These are custom-build prices. A no-code AI builder like Superapp produces a basic-to-medium app for free to about $25 a month, which is why it undercuts even the cheapest agency tier for most website conversions.

Cost by Platform: iOS, Android, or Both

Which platforms you target also moves the price, because each store is its own build. Typical custom-build ranges:

If you only need the iPhone, an iOS-only build or a native-Swift AI builder like Superapp is the cheapest route, since you are not paying to build and maintain two apps.

Native vs Cross-Platform: What You Pay For

The other cost lever is whether the app is native or cross-platform. Native costs more but performs best; cross-platform is cheaper because one codebase covers both stores.

A native-Swift AI builder is the exception to the usual tradeoff: it gives you native output at the lowest price, because the AI writes the code instead of a paid developer.

What Actually Drives the Cost

Two "website to app" projects can differ by 10x, and it comes down to six factors. App complexity, how many screens and how much logic the app has. Features, since payments, chat, real-time updates, and offline support each add work. Platforms, because iOS plus Android costs more than one. Design, as custom UI and UX cost more than a template. Backend, because user accounts, a database, and sync (through Firebase, Supabase, or Apple's CloudKit) add setup. And integrations, since every third-party service like maps, payments, or an existing API takes time to wire in. The more of these your app needs, the closer you get to the top of the ranges above.

No-Code AI Builders: The Cheapest Way to a Real App

The newest and cheapest way to turn a website into a real app is a no-code AI builder that rebuilds it for you. Instead of wrapping your site or paying a developer, you describe what the site does and the AI generates the app.

As a disclosure, Superapp is our product, so weigh this accordingly and test the free tier first. Superapp rebuilds your website as a native iOS app in Swift rather than wrapping it, and it is free to start with Pro at $25 a month, so a conversion costs less than a single hour of agency time. Other no-code builders are similar in price, free tiers up to around $36 a month for Adalo or $19 a month for Glide, though most of them output a cross-platform or web app rather than native Swift. The key difference from a subscription converter is what you get: a real app you own, not a rented web view, and covered in more detail on our website to iOS app page.

The Hidden Cost Most Guides Skip: Recurring vs One-Time

The number that matters is not just the sticker price, it is whether you pay once or forever. This is the honest fork in the road:

• A subscription converter is a recurring bill for as long as the app exists. Vendors are open about why: apps must be updated for every new iOS and Android release to keep working, so the maintenance, and the payment, never stop. Median's managed tier literally sells "we update your app ahead of every iOS and Android release, so it never gets delisted," which means that protection ends the moment you stop paying. Cancel, and the wrapper degrades or gets removed.
• A one-time build, whether from an agency, a freelancer, or a no-code builder where you own the code, is yours to keep. After the build, the only mandatory recurring cost is Apple's $99 a year.

So a wrapper that looks cheap at $69 a month is $828 a year, every year, indefinitely, and you never own the app. A no-code AI builder at $25 a month is cheaper, produces a real app, and you keep the code. Do the multi-year math before the monthly price fools you.

Do Not Forget the App Store Fees

Whatever method you choose, publishing has its own fixed costs, paid to Apple and Google, not to your builder:

• Apple Developer Program: $99 a year, recurring, required to publish to the App Store.
• Google Play: $25 one-time, if you also want Android.

That is a minimum of about $124 in the first year to launch on both stores, then $99 a year ongoing. No tool removes these; they are Apple's and Google's fees.

Wrapper vs Real App: The Cost That Shows Up Later

The cheapest conversions are web-view wrappers, and they carry a cost that does not appear on the price page: App Store rejection risk. Apple's Guideline 4.2 (Minimum Functionality) is aimed squarely at apps that are just a repackaged website, so thin wrappers get flagged in review more often than real apps. A rejected app is time and money you did not budget for. A native rebuild clears that bar by default, which is part of why paying slightly more for a real app can be cheaper than a wrapper that never ships. We cover this in why apps get rejected from the App Store.

How to Reduce the Cost of Turning a Website Into an App

You can cut the cost of a conversion dramatically with a few choices:

• Use a no-code AI builder instead of an agency. Superapp rebuilds your site as a native app from free to $25 a month, versus thousands for a developer, the single biggest saving.
• Start with an MVP. Launch the essential features first and add the rest once the app has users, rather than paying for everything up front.
• Reuse your existing website. Your content, branding, and backend can carry over, so you are not rebuilding from zero.
• Go cross-platform only if you need both stores. If the iPhone is your focus, an iOS-only build avoids paying to maintain two apps.
• Do the multi-year math on subscriptions. A wrapper at $69 a month is over $800 a year forever, so a one-time build or an owned no-code app is often cheaper over time.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to turn a website into an app?
It ranges from free to $50,000 or more. A subscription converter that wraps your site costs about $50 to $250 a month, a no-code AI builder that rebuilds it as a real app is free to around $25 a month, a freelancer charges $27 to $150 an hour, and an agency charges $3,000 for a basic conversion up to $50,000-plus for a custom app. Publishing also needs Apple's $99-a-year fee.

What is the cheapest way to turn a website into an app?
The cheapest way to a real app you own is a no-code AI builder like Superapp, which is free to start and around $25 a month. Subscription wrappers look cheap monthly but never stop billing and do not give you a real app. The only unavoidable cost is Apple's $99-a-year Developer account to publish.

How much do website-to-app converters cost?
Subscription converters cost roughly $50 to $250 a month. AppMySite runs $49 to $249 a month depending on billing, or a one-time license of $1,999 to $5,999. Median (formerly GoNative) uses a $229 to $990 one-time license plus $179 to $669 a year after the first year. They wrap your site in a web view rather than building a native app.

Is it cheaper to convert a website to an app or build a new app?
Converting is cheaper. Wrapping a website with a subscription tool or rebuilding it with a no-code AI builder costs from free to a few hundred dollars a year, while building a brand-new custom app through an agency runs $3,000 to $50,000 or more. The trade-off is control and quality: a custom build is fully bespoke, a conversion reuses what you already have.

Do I have to pay monthly to keep my app in the store?
It depends on the method. With a subscription converter, yes, you pay monthly or yearly for as long as the app exists, and it can be delisted if you stop. With a one-time build or a no-code builder where you own the code, the only mandatory recurring cost is Apple's $99-a-year Developer fee.

How much does an agency charge to convert a website to an app?
Agencies charge about $3,000 to $8,000 for a basic conversion, $8,000 to $20,000 for a medium-complexity app, and $20,000 to $50,000 or more for an advanced custom app. A full ground-up native build is far higher, commonly $60,000 to $250,000.

Do I need to pay Apple to put my app in the App Store?
Yes. Publishing any app to the App Store requires an Apple Developer Program account at $99 a year, paid to Apple, separate from whatever tool you used to build the app. Google Play adds a one-time $25 fee if you also publish on Android.

Are website-to-app converters worth it?
They are cheap and fast, but they produce a web-view wrapper, not a native app, so they carry a recurring bill and a higher App Store rejection risk under Apple's minimum-functionality rules. If you want a real app you own for a similar or lower cost, a no-code AI builder like Superapp that rebuilds the site natively is usually the better value.

How much does it cost to convert a website into an iOS app specifically?
An iOS-only custom build typically runs $8,000 to $30,000 through an agency. A subscription converter that wraps your site for the App Store costs about $50 to $250 a month, and a native-Swift AI builder like Superapp rebuilds it as a real iOS app for free to around $25 a month. All of them also need the $99-a-year Apple Developer account.

What makes a website-to-app conversion more expensive?
Six things drive the price up: app complexity, the number of features (payments, chat, real-time, offline), targeting both iOS and Android, custom design, a backend with accounts and a database, and third-party integrations. A simple wrapper of an existing site is cheapest; a custom, multi-feature, two-platform app is the most expensive.

References

• Appshopo: cost to turn a website into an app - agency cost ranges
• Topflight: app development costs 2026 - custom build costs
• AppMySite website-to-app pricing and Median.co pricing - converter prices
• Apple Developer Program and Google Play registration - store fees
• Superapp: website to iOS app - rebuild a site as a native iOS app you own
• Related: why apps get rejected from the App Store and how much it costs to build a business app