Custom software
The difference in one sentence: a website presents, a web app works. On a website the visitor reads, looks around, and at most fills in a form. In a web app that same person logs in, records data, and runs a process end to end. This isn’t nitpicking, it’s the question that decides the order of magnitude of your quote. A company website is a 600,000 to 3.5 million HUF project (roughly 1,500 to 8,750 EUR); a web app starts at 2 million and can run all the way to 30 million (roughly 5,000 to 75,000 EUR).
A classic website has one job: people find you, understand what you do, and start to trust you. Home page, services, case studies, contact. The content is the same for everyone, and no login is needed. That keeps it relatively simple on the technical side: the emphasis is on the copy, the design, and search optimization.
This category covers the company profile site, the landing page, and basically the blog too. We wrote a separate, itemized piece on pricing: website development costs.
A web app is software that runs in the browser. From the outside it can look just like a website, but under the hood there’s a database, user management, and business logic doing the work. A few examples we run into with clients: a booking tool with an admin panel, a client portal with documents and statuses, a quote builder, a stock tracker, an internal job-sheet manager.
With a web app the emphasis is on the processes: who can see what, who can record what, what happens after a button is pressed. That’s why planning it starts differently too: not with copy and mockups, but by mapping out the workflow.
We regularly get requests that start with “we need a website,” and then the first call reveals that on the site they’re asking for, customers would log in, place orders, and staff would handle the confirmations. That’s not a website, it’s a web app, and it’s worth clearing this up before you request a quote. The two types of project call for a different specialist, a different timeline, and a different budget, and mixing them up is exactly what produces the projects that drag on for months and keep getting more expensive.
The reverse holds too: if all you need is to introduce your company, don’t pay web app prices. A well-written, fast, findable website is a serious business tool in its own right.
If the answer to all four is no, you need a website. If even one is yes, plan for an app, and read our article on web app development costs.
A web app runs in the browser with nothing to install, so it’s often the more practical first step. An installable mobile app is worth paying for when you need daily use, push notifications, the camera, or offline operation. We unpack the types and the decision here: what an app is and native, hybrid, or web app.
| Website | Web app | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical price | 600k to 3.5M HUF (approx. 1,500 to 8,750 EUR) | 2M to 30M HUF (approx. 5,000 to 75,000 EUR) |
| Timeline | 3 to 8 weeks | 6 weeks to several months |
| Main cost driver | design, content, number of subpages | roles, integrations, processes |
| Maintenance | low, from a few tens of thousands HUF a year | 15 to 20% of the build price per year |
| When it’s the right choice | company profile, lead generation | admin work, record keeping, processes |
Can I have a website and a web app at the same time? Yes, and it’s the most common setup: a public-facing company profile out front, with a login-protected app behind it. The two can also be built in stages, the site first, then the system.
Is a webshop a website or a web app? It lives on the border between the two: to the visitor it’s a website, but in the background (cart, payment, stock, admin) it’s an app. On price it sits between the two as well.
Why is a web app more expensive? Because there’s more logic inside it: users, permissions, a database, integrations, and all of that has to be tested too. We break down the hours of a 450-hour app project in our web app pricing article.
Can I turn the web app into a mobile app later? Yes, and in most business cases that’s the recommended order. The web app’s backend can be reused, and the mobile app can be built on top of it later.
Not sure which one you need? Tell us what you want to achieve, and we’ll tell you which category and what budget fits: contact.