The update nobody budgets for.

Cost & Funding · 5 min read

Three months after launch, the phone rings. "The app's not working properly. Something changed." Nothing changed on your end. What changed was iOS. Apple released a new version, and something in your app doesn't behave the same way anymore. Welcome to maintenance.

Every first-time founder budgets for the build. Almost none of them budget for what comes after. They think of the app like a product you buy once. Build it, launch it, done. But an app is more like a car. It needs regular servicing, the occasional repair, and if you ignore it long enough, it stops running entirely.

What breaks and why

Apple and Google release major OS updates every year. Each update can change how your app renders, how notifications work, how permissions are handled, and how the app behaves in the background. If your app uses a camera, location services, Bluetooth, or push notifications, there's a good chance something will need adjusting after each major update.

Then there are third-party services. If your app uses a payment gateway, a mapping API, an authentication service, or any external integration, those services update their own APIs on their own schedules. When they deprecate an old endpoint or change their response format, your app has to adapt. You don't get a choice. You adapt or it breaks.

And then there are the bugs you didn't catch. Real users on real devices in real conditions will find things your testing missed. A phone with low storage. A network that drops halfway through a save. A user who rotates their screen at exactly the wrong moment. These aren't hypothetical. They happen.

What maintenance actually costs

Industry research from Gartner suggests that annual maintenance costs typically run between 15% and 20% of the original development cost. So if your app cost $80,000 to build, expect to spend $12,000 to $16,000 per year keeping it running. That's not adding features. That's just keeping the lights on.

On top of that, you've got hosting and infrastructure costs. A backend server, a database, file storage, email services, push notification services. For a typical MVP, that runs $200 to $800 per month depending on your user base. Small at first. But it's there from day one and it never stops.

Apple charges $149 AUD per year for a developer account. Google charges a one-time $25 USD. If you use services like Firebase, AWS, or any analytics platform, those have their own pricing tiers that scale with usage. None of it is dramatic on its own. But none of it was in your original budget either.

How to plan for it

Set aside a maintenance reserve before you launch. I tell clients to budget 15% of their development cost per year as a baseline. If the build cost $60,000, put $9,000 aside for year one. You might not use all of it. But if a major OS update drops and something breaks, you're not scrambling to find the money.

Keep your relationship with your developer active. The worst time to find a new developer is when something's broken and users are complaining. If the person who built your app is still available and familiar with the codebase, fixes happen faster and cost less. That relationship is worth maintaining.

And think about maintenance when choosing your tech stack. Some frameworks and tools are more stable than others. Some have larger communities and better long-term support. Your developer should be able to explain the maintenance implications of the technology choices they're recommending. If they can't, that's a red flag.

Sources
IT Spending Forecasts (Gartner) - Annual maintenance costs typically run 15–20% of initial development cost.
Apple Developer Program (Apple) - Annual membership required to distribute apps on the App Store.

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