Mobile app
An application (app for short) is software a person uses to get one specific thing done: book a time slot, pay, order, track a delivery. In everyday speech we usually mean the mobile app you install on a phone, but a web app running in the browser is just as much an app. The point isn’t the platform. It’s that the program does actual work for you, not just show information.
The word application comes from the Latin applicare, to apply. App is simply its short form, and phone app stores turned it into an everyday word: even your grandmother downloads an app to buy a bus ticket these days.
From a business angle, though, it’s worth being more precise, because the word app hides very different things, and very different price tags.
| Type | Where it runs | Typical example |
|---|---|---|
| Native mobile app | installed on the phone, from a store | banking app, Spotify |
| Cross-platform mobile app | installed on the phone, one codebase for iOS and Android | most new business apps |
| Web app | in the browser, no install | online invoicing, booking admin |
| PWA | from the browser, but installable and partly offline | the app-like version of an online shop |
| Internal company app | on company devices or the intranet | warehouse inventory app, shift log |
Choosing between these types is mostly a question of cost and user experience. We break down the details in two separate articles: native, hybrid or web app and website or web app.
Not every company needs its own app. It pays off where there’s recurring, repeated interaction with a customer or a colleague. A few typical situations from our own projects:
One important lesson from our own work: for a good share of these ideas, our clients end up building a web app instead of an installable mobile app. If a user logs in once a month, downloading a store app is more of an obstacle than a convenience. The installable app wins where there’s weekly or daily use, and where you need push notifications, the camera, or offline operation.
Short version: a first, narrower release runs between 4 and 8 million HUF (roughly 10,000 to 20,000 EUR) on the Hungarian market, and a mid-size app sits between 8 and 15 million HUF, budgeted together with a year of upkeep. We wrote up the itemized breakdown, the hidden costs and the ways to save in a separate article: how much a mobile app costs. If you’d first just like to validate the idea, read our article on the MVP.
What’s the difference between an app and a program? In everyday use there’s no real difference: both are software. We tend to use the word app for user-facing, task-oriented software, while program is broader. A server process running in the background is also a program, but you’d rarely call it an app.
Can an app only be built for phones? No. A web app running in the browser is also an app, with no install needed. For many business tasks it’s the more practical and cheaper option.
How do I know whether my company needs an app or a website? If the goal is to introduce yourself and share information, you need a website. If the user also does something (books, orders, records data), that’s already an app. We walk through the decision in detail in the website or web app article.
How long does it take to build an app? A first version is usually ready in two to four months, including the store launch. More complex systems can run longer than six months.
Thinking your business might need an app? Tell us what you want to achieve with it, and we’ll tell you which form and budget fit: contact us.