Most well-scoped apps go from kickoff to launch in two to nine months. Where you land depends on scope and how decisions get made along the way.
The phases of a build
- Discovery & scoping (1–2 weeks). Align on goals, users, features and priorities.
- UX & UI design (2–5 weeks). Flows, wireframes and a polished interface to review before a line of code.
- Development (6–16+ weeks). Building the apps and backend in iterative sprints.
- Testing & QA (ongoing + 1–2 weeks). Real-device testing, bug-fixing and polish.
- Launch (3–7 days). App Store / Google Play submission and review.
What speeds it up — or slows it down
The fastest projects share a few things: a tight MVP scope, a single decision-maker who gives timely feedback, and ready content and brand assets. The slowest ones grow in scope mid-build, wait on third-party approvals, or stall on feedback.
A realistic rule of thumb
A focused MVP is achievable in roughly 2–4 months; a full product is more like 4–9 months. If someone promises a complex app in two weeks, be cautious — quality and a smooth launch take real time.