The hidden price of fast and cheap app development

That’s often how it begins. You need an MVP. You’re not expecting bells and whistles. Just something to prove the concept, or get to market fast.

But here’s the problem: quality doesn’t scale backwards.

If the app is poorly built to begin with, shaky foundations, rushed architecture, and no real design thinking, you’ll quickly hit a wall. Features become harder to add. Bugs creep in. Costs spiral when you realise you need to rebuild or retrofit something that should have been considered from the start.

According to reports, nearly 70% of app development projects go over budget, often due to underestimating the work needed or trying to save on costs early on.

So while a “quick and cheap” MVP might look like progress, it’s usually just deferring the real investment. And by that point, you're paying twice.

In most cases, it buys:

• A generic template with zero scalability
• Code that’s unreadable or unmaintainable
• An app that looks nothing like your brand
• Features that only half work, or break when you add more users
• A backend that can’t support your future roadmap

Worse still, you’ll likely spend more time managing that product than benefitting from it. We’ve had clients come to us after months of firefighting with offshore teams or low-cost freelancers, desperate for stability. By then, the fix isn’t small. It’s a full-on rebuild.

This is not to knock every budget build, but it is to say: know what you're trading off. The phrase "you get what you pay for" applies just as much in app development as anywhere else.

When you work with seasoned application developers in the UK (teams like ours), it’s not about dragging out the timeline or inflating the scope. It’s about asking the right questions early, so you don’t end up solving the wrong problem later.

That includes:

• Validating your user journeys
• Choosing a scalable tech stack
• Prioritising performance and accessibility from the start
• Designing a UI that doesn’t just look good, but works
• Building with the future in mind, even if you’re only launching v1

We’re not interested in gold-plating your idea. We’re here to deliver what your product actually needs to succeed in the real world on real devices, for real users. Fast where it matters. Flexible where it counts. Solid at the core.

Time pressure is real. Especially when you’ve got investors, internal stakeholders, or seasonal peaks to hit. But rushing often introduces more risk than reward.

A study by McKinsey found that software projects that are rushed are 66% more likely to fail outright.

Why? Because speed without process breaks everything. Testing gets skipped. Documentation disappears. Shortcuts pile up.

That’s why we always advise our partners: move fast, but don’t rush. There’s a difference. We can accelerate the right parts of your build, reusing proven components, leveraging tools like React Native for cross-platform apps, but we won’t compromise on the things that make your product resilient.

We're not the cheapest. We’re also not the slowest. What we are is experienced, honest, and obsessed with building exceptional digital products that last.

Our team of senior UK-based app developers work closely with you to understand what success actually looks like for your business, not just what it should cost or how quickly we can ship it.

That means we don’t jump straight to code. We start with discovery. Strategy. Architecture. We build in a way that’s easy to maintain, grow, and hand over. You’ll know exactly where your budget’s going and what you’re getting.

And if you’ve already been burned by a cheap build? We’re the team that can help you recover.

If you’re weighing up your options right now, here’s our advice:

1. Be honest about your budget, but clear on your goals. A smaller budget doesn’t mean a poor app; it just means you have to be more focused.
2. Invest in discovery. You’ll avoid waste later by clarifying your product’s purpose and users from day one.
3. Choose a team that treats your app like their own. Not just a pair of hands for hire, but a long-term partner who challenges and supports you.
4. Plan beyond v1. Whether you’re looking for internal tools or a customer-facing app, think beyond launch day. A good foundation now avoids a costly rebuild later.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to move quickly or stick to a budget. We get that, really. But if the pitch sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

Fast and cheap can sometimes get you live, but it rarely gets you far.

If you’re serious about creating an app that delivers real value to your users, your team, and your business, then the smart move isn’t the cheapest - it’s the one that’s built to last.

Need help figuring out the best route forward? We’re happy to talk through your options, no strings attached. Because we believe every successful app starts with the right conversation.