Owners ask us this on almost every first call. The price depends on a handful of decisions, and you can make most of them before you talk to anyone. Here they are, roughly in the order they move the number.
Which devices you need
An iPhone and Android app is the starting point for nearly everyone. Each device you add after that is its own app: Apple TV, Roku, Fire TV, Samsung and Android TV each have their own code, their own store and their own review process. A watch app and a web app are two more.
More devices means more to design, build, test and update. It also gives members more places to train. If you're unsure, ask your members which screens they use today. We cover the TV side in more detail in putting your fitness app on Apple TV, Roku and Fire TV.
Tip
Plan for one login across every device from the start. Adding it later means reworking accounts and subscriptions in apps that are already live.
How much video you have, and how it's organized
A library of standalone classes is simpler to build than multi-week programs with a session for each day, progress tracking and round-by-round coaching. Live classes add more again: a streaming setup, a schedule, reminders, and recordings that land in the library afterwards.
Video also has a running cost. You pay to store it and to deliver it, and delivery grows with the minutes your members watch. A large library of long classes watched on TVs in high quality costs more to serve than short phone workouts.
If your videos already live on another service, moving them is part of the job. That covers titles, descriptions, thumbnails and the way classes are grouped, as well as the files themselves. See how to move your fitness videos off Vimeo OTT for what that involves.
Standard features and features only you have
Most fitness apps share a core: sign-up and onboarding, programs and a workout player, progress and streaks, a community feed, push notifications and subscriptions. When those are already built and running for other apps, you're paying to brand and configure them.
Custom features are where budgets grow. Each one has to be designed, built, tested on every device you support and kept working through every operating system update. Common examples:
- Camera-based form tracking or rep counting
- A challenge or points system with rules unique to your brand
- Connections to gym booking or membership software you already use
- Data from wearables such as heart rate during a class
AI messaging often ends up on this list too: software that picks which members to contact and when. Built from scratch, it needs each member's full history plus limits that stop anyone getting too many messages, which makes it a large job. On our platform it's already there. Cortex picks who gets a message, what it says, which channel it goes on and when. It runs as part of the platform each app is built on, so there is nothing extra to design or build for it.
A useful exercise: list every feature you want, then mark the ones members would pay for and the ones that would just be nice. Launch with the first list.
Subscriptions and payments
If members pay inside the iPhone or Android app, Apple and Google handle the payment and take a commission. Their rules on what you can sell in the app and whether you can link to a web checkout have been changing, so check the current terms for your country before you plan your pricing.
The work here is easy to underestimate. Plans, free trials and promotional offers have to be set up in each store. Members who subscribe on the web need to be recognized in the app, and members who switch phones need their purchase restored. Your finance team will want one report that adds all of it up.
Who runs the app after launch
This is the part most budgets miss. Apple and Google release new operating systems every year, and apps need updates to keep working on them. Store policies change. Servers and video delivery are billed monthly. Someone has to answer members who can't sign in.
Ask anyone who quotes you what happens in the second year. A low build price with nothing included afterwards often costs more over three years than a higher price that includes hosting, updates and support.
Building from scratch or on a platform
There are two broad ways to get a branded fitness app. A custom build from an agency means you pay for everything, including the parts that work the same in every app, like accounts, payments and the video player. You get full control, and you pay for each update after launch too.
Building on a platform means those shared parts already exist and are kept up to date for every app on it. You pay to design and brand your app, and a monthly fee to run it. You give up some control over the underlying technology in exchange for not having to maintain it.
We do the second: we design and build your app for phone, TV and watch, then host it, update it and release it to the stores, and your team runs members and content from one console.
How to get a quote you can compare
Quotes are only comparable when everyone prices the same thing. Before you ask for one, write down:
- How many members you have now, and how many you expect in a year
- Which devices you need at launch, and which can wait
- How many videos you have, how long they are, and whether you run live classes
- Your must-have features, kept separate from the nice-to-haves
- Whether you're moving from another app or video service
- Who answers member support questions today
We price on how many members use the app, how much of the platform you use, and whether we're building the app too. You can read what affects the price on our pricing page, or ask us for a number in writing.
Common questions
- Can we launch on phones first and add TV apps later?
- Yes. Many brands start with iPhone and Android and add TV apps once members ask for them. If accounts and subscriptions are designed for several devices from the start, adding the TV later is a new app rather than a rebuild.
- Is a template app cheaper than a custom one?
- Usually, at the start. Template apps share one design across many brands, so they cost less to set up but look and work like everyone else's. A branded app on a shared platform sits in between: your own design and features, with the plumbing shared.
- Do we need our own Apple developer account?
- In most cases, yes. Apple's review guidelines expect apps built on a shared platform to be published by the business whose content is in them. Enrolling as a company requires a D-U-N-S number, so it is worth starting early.
- What ongoing costs should we expect after launch?
- Hosting, video storage and delivery, app updates for new phone and TV operating systems, app store fees, and support. Some providers include these in a monthly fee and others bill them separately, so ask for the second-year cost in writing.
Written by
The Click Digital team, which has designed, built and run fitness and health apps since 2012.