![](https://www.codeloop.ba/_next/image?url=%2Fimages%2Fcodeloop-logo.png&w=3840&q=75) Timeline # How long does it take to build an app? Most custom mobile apps we build take 3–9 months from idea to launch. That is not a slogan — it is the range we publish because discovery, design, engineering, device QA, and store review all take calendar time. A small MVP with a frozen feature set can ship faster. A product with hardware, health workflows, or many roles sits toward the long end. [Get an estimate](https://www.codeloop.ba/online-estimate)[App development cost](https://www.codeloop.ba/app-development-cost) ![Clock and planning materials for an app build timeline](https://www.codeloop.ba/_next/image?url=%2Fimages%2Flandings%2Fhow-long-to-build-an-app.jpg&w=3840&q=75) Photo by [Brett Jordan](https://www.pexels.com/@brett-jordan) on [Pexels](https://www.pexels.com/photo/1092730/) ## The months are not padding. They are the work. Most custom mobile apps we build take **3–9 months** from idea to launch. That is not a slogan. Discovery, design, engineering, device QA, and store review all take calendar time. [How long to build an app](https://www.codeloop.ba/how-long-to-build-an-app) is the question founders ask when a slide already has a date on it. Week one is not Xcode. We freeze the slice, map screens, and pick native versus Flutter versus React Native after we see the features. Then design, then vertical slices you can tap, then QA on phones, then App Store and Google Play. Review cycles are not “a Friday.” If you skip discovery you do not save a month — you donate it to rework. A focused MVP can sit toward the short end when the cut is real — that conversation is [MVP development](https://www.codeloop.ba/mvp-development). Money and levers live on [app development cost](https://www.codeloop.ba/app-development-cost). The studio is in Sarajevo. UK and EU teams work with us in English, with CET overlap hours so you are not waiting overnight for every answer. A written range comes back within **24 hours** of a brief via the [online estimate](https://www.codeloop.ba/online-estimate). ## How long to build a mobile app for a US team Most custom mobile apps we build take 3–9 months from idea to launch, whether the client is in New York, London or Berlin. Location changes the meeting schedule, not the amount of work. CodeLoop Studio is a studio in Sarajevo working with US, UK & EU teams. Time zones don't have to add months. For a US team we either keep your hours — our team works nights in Sarajevo — or build while you sleep, so each morning starts with a build to test. We're a flexible team that's willing to do what it takes to make your product succeed. **What moves you toward 3 months vs 9 months** • A frozen MVP scope with one user role → closer to the short end. • Many roles, payments, integrations or hardware → toward the long end. • App Store and Google Play review are part of the calendar, not an afterthought. • Fast written feedback from your side saves more time than any time zone. [Send a clear brief and you get a written estimate within 24h.](https://www.codeloop.ba/online-estimate) ## Discovery is not optional padding Week one is not Xcode. We freeze the slice, map screens, and pick native versus Flutter versus React Native after we see the features. Then design, then vertical slices you can tap, then QA on phones, then App Store and Google Play. Review cycles are not “a Friday.” If you skip discovery you do not save a month — you donate it to rework. A clickable prototype in a month is sometimes possible. A store-ready product with accounts, QA, and listings almost never is. We will tell you if your date is a prototype date or a launch date. Hardware adds calendar. Bluetooth scales and measuring tools need protocol time — Koliko and WoodMeter were not a weekend integration. Health workflows add calendar. Many roles add calendar. Unfrozen scope, late design changes, and store-review surprises are how six weeks become six months. We attack those in discovery so they do not show up in month five. One squad for two stores (Flutter or React Native) often beats two native teams on calendar. Native still wins when the OS experience is the product. Founders dating a launch date, operators replacing a paper process, product teams who will not accept six weeks for a nine-month app: that is who asks. Studio in Sarajevo. UK / EU teams, English, CET overlap hours so you are not waiting overnight. We would rather lose a deal than win it with a fantasy calendar. Send what must ship. We return a range and the cut that would make an earlier Friday true. ## Calendar and cost are the same conversation Compressing nine months into six weeks without cutting scope does not save money — it burns it in rework and weekend firefighting. Nearshore CET hours can keep decisions inside a UK or EU workday so calendar does not stretch for timezone alone; unit cost versus a London or Berlin senior pod is the other lever. Qualitative model comparison (no fake €/h): [app development cost](https://www.codeloop.ba/app-development-cost). Nearshore honesty: [nearshore for UK and EU teams](https://www.codeloop.ba/nearshore-software-development). ## A timeline you can paste into a deck — then we tailor it | Phase | What happens | | -------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Estimate · 24 hours | Written scope and range. What would have to be cut to hit an earlier date. Free. Not a launch promise on the first call. | | Discovery + UX · 2–6 weeks | Frozen MVP, wires, stack choice. This is where hardware and health workflows show up as calendar, not as a surprise in month five. | | Build + QA · \~3 months (MVP) or 6–9 months (full) | Iterations on real devices. Accounts, notifications, offline, payments if you take them. Typical studio band remains **3–9 months** idea to launch. | | Store launch · 1–3 weeks in the plan | Listings, privacy labels, signing, review. We put this on the critical path. We do not treat it as a weekend. | ## What actually stretches the calendar Unfrozen scope New roles in week twelve. “MVP plus everything” is a full product. We write down what is out of v0. Late design changes Rework after engineering has started is how six weeks become six months. Copy and flows freeze with the slice. Undocumented hardware Bluetooth scales and measuring tools need protocol time. Koliko and WoodMeter were not a weekend integration. Store review surprises Health claims, privacy copy, screenshots. We plan them so they do not appear as a blocked launch. Two native squads Flutter or React Native can shorten calendar when one team ships both stores. Native still wins when the OS is the product. No decision-maker Async silence is calendar. You need someone on the calls who can cut. ## We would rather lose a deal than win it with a fantasy date A clickable prototype in a month is sometimes possible. A store-ready product with accounts, QA, and listings almost never is. We will tell you if your date is a prototype date or a launch date. [Custom mobile app development](https://www.codeloop.ba/custom-mobile-app-development) is the delivery page; this one is the calendar honesty. Hardware sits toward the long end. Health workflows sit toward the long end. Many roles sit toward the long end. A grocery comparison search in one market, or a QR menu guests can open, can sit toward the short end when the job is sharp. Send the brief. We come back with a range and the cut that would make an earlier date true. ## How we turn your date into a plan 1. 01 ### You send what must ship Stores, roles, hardware, payments. A paragraph is enough to start. 2. 02 ### We return a range in 24 hours And what would have to leave v0 to hit an earlier Friday. That document is the timeline. 3. 03 ### Discovery locks the slice Then design and build on devices. Then stores. Then v1.1 if the slice works. ## Frequently asked At CodeLoop Studio, typical projects take 3–9 months from idea to launch. A focused MVP can be shorter; hardware, health, or multi-role products take longer. A clickable prototype or a tiny experiment, sometimes. A store-ready product with accounts, QA, and listings almost never. We will tell you if your date is a prototype date or a launch date. Unfrozen scope, late design changes, undocumented hardware, and store review surprises. We attack those in discovery so they do not show up in month five. Free estimates at /online-estimate; we respond within 24 hours with a realistic timeline for your brief. One squad for two stores often beats two native teams on calendar and cost. Native still wins when the OS experience is the product. We pick after we see the features. Related * [![Planning an app budget with notes and a calculator on the desk](https://www.codeloop.ba/_next/image?url=%2Fimages%2Flandings%2Fapp-development-cost.jpg&w=3840&q=75)App development costAnyone quoting one app development cost without seeing platforms, roles, and integrations is selling a number, not a build. CodeLoop Studio in Sarajevo gives UK and EU teams a written range within 24 hours — what drives the number, MVP versus full product, and how the estimate is built — without a fake “from $X” banner.](https://www.codeloop.ba/app-development-cost) * [![Team planning an MVP on sticky notes and a whiteboard](https://www.codeloop.ba/_next/image?url=%2Fimages%2Flandings%2Fmvp-development.jpg&w=3840&q=75)MVP developmentMVP development for UK / EU startups starts with one loop a user can finish, not a forty-page spec. CodeLoop Studio is an MVP development agency — studio in Sarajevo, working remotely: a Flutter or React Native mobile app plus a simple web admin when you need it — design for the slice, ship to the stores or a URL, then stay for v1.1 if usage proves the cut. Founders who need the full idea-to-App-Store path should also read \[app development for startups\](https://www.codeloop.ba/app-development-for-startups).](https://www.codeloop.ba/mvp-development) * [![Hands holding a phone while reviewing a custom mobile app](https://www.codeloop.ba/_next/image?url=%2Fimages%2Flandings%2Fcustom-mobile-app-development.jpg&w=3840&q=75)Custom mobile appsYou need a custom mobile app that can pass App Store and Google Play review, survive the next OS release, and get used more than once. CodeLoop Studio designs and builds native and cross-platform apps for startups and companies that want a product team, not a pile of screenshots. Stack choice comes after we see the product — this page is how we engage, staff, and ship.](https://www.codeloop.ba/custom-mobile-app-development) * [![Smartphone ready for App Store and Google Play release](https://www.codeloop.ba/_next/image?url=%2Fblog%2Fshipping-app-store-from-sarajevo-cover.jpg&w=3840&q=75)Shipping to the App Store (blog)How a Sarajevo team prepares iOS and Android listings, handles review, and ships to the App Store and Google Play for clients in Bosnia, the US, and the EU.](https://www.codeloop.ba/blog/shipping-app-store-from-sarajevo) * [![Designers collaborating on a website layout](https://www.codeloop.ba/_next/image?url=%2Fimages%2Flandings%2Fwebsite-development.jpg&w=3840&q=75)Web development · SarajevoCodeLoop Studio does web development in Sarajevo: marketing sites, booking flows, and product pages that load on a phone and convert. We write in English and Bosnian. Buyers are mostly UK and EU product teams; the named team sits in Sarajevo (Dobrinja). This is the website brief — not an app-store binary, and not a logged-in dashboard.](https://www.codeloop.ba/website-development) * [![Online shopping cart — ecommerce website development](https://www.codeloop.ba/_next/image?url=%2Fimages%2Flandings%2Fecommerce-website-development.jpg&w=3840&q=75)EcommerceIf the cart dies on mobile, the theme was free and the revenue is not. We build ecommerce websites around catalog reality: variants, shipping, taxes, and a checkout people finish. The storefront is a sales channel with ops behind it — not a marketing microsite with a Buy button taped on.](https://www.codeloop.ba/ecommerce-website-development) * [![Developer writing custom software code on a laptop](https://www.codeloop.ba/_next/image?url=%2Fimages%2Flandings%2Fcustom-software-development.jpg&w=3840&q=75)Custom softwareOff-the-shelf software stops at your actual process. We are a custom software development agency: MVPs, client portals, internal tools, and AI features that sit inside a real product — built by a studio in Sarajevo that works in English with US and European teams. This is systems work, not a marketing homepage and not a single-platform mobile sprint.](https://www.codeloop.ba/custom-software-development) * [![](https://www.codeloop.ba/_next/image?url=%2Fimages%2Flandings%2Fapp-development-cost.jpg&w=3840&q=75)App development costAnyone quoting one app development cost without seeing platforms, roles, and integrations is selling a number, not a build. CodeLoop Studio in Sarajevo gives UK and EU teams a written range within 24 hours — what drives the number, MVP versus full product, and how the estimate is built — without a fake “from $X” banner.](https://www.codeloop.ba/app-development-cost) * [![](https://www.codeloop.ba/_next/image?url=%2Fimages%2Flandings%2Fmvp-development.jpg&w=3840&q=75)MVP developmentMVP development for UK / EU startups starts with one loop a user can finish, not a forty-page spec. CodeLoop Studio is an MVP development agency — studio in Sarajevo, working remotely: a Flutter or React Native mobile app plus a simple web admin when you need it — design for the slice, ship to the stores or a URL, then stay for v1.1 if usage proves the cut. Founders who need the full idea-to-App-Store path should also read \[app development for startups\](https://www.codeloop.ba/app-development-for-startups).](https://www.codeloop.ba/mvp-development) * [![](https://www.codeloop.ba/_next/image?url=%2Fimages%2Flandings%2Fcustom-mobile-app-development.jpg&w=3840&q=75)Custom mobile appsYou need a custom mobile app that can pass App Store and Google Play review, survive the next OS release, and get used more than once. CodeLoop Studio designs and builds native and cross-platform apps for startups and companies that want a product team, not a pile of screenshots. Stack choice comes after we see the product — this page is how we engage, staff, and ship.](https://www.codeloop.ba/custom-mobile-app-development) * [![](https://www.codeloop.ba/_next/image?url=%2Fblog%2Fshipping-app-store-from-sarajevo-cover.jpg&w=3840&q=75)Shipping to the App Store (blog)How a Sarajevo team prepares iOS and Android listings, handles review, and ships to the App Store and Google Play for clients in Bosnia, the US, and the EU.](https://www.codeloop.ba/blog/shipping-app-store-from-sarajevo) * [![](https://www.codeloop.ba/_next/image?url=%2Fimages%2Flandings%2Fwebsite-development.jpg&w=3840&q=75)Web development · SarajevoCodeLoop Studio does web development in Sarajevo: marketing sites, booking flows, and product pages that load on a phone and convert. We write in English and Bosnian. Buyers are mostly UK and EU product teams; the named team sits in Sarajevo (Dobrinja). This is the website brief — not an app-store binary, and not a logged-in dashboard.](https://www.codeloop.ba/website-development) * [![](https://www.codeloop.ba/_next/image?url=%2Fimages%2Flandings%2Fecommerce-website-development.jpg&w=3840&q=75)EcommerceIf the cart dies on mobile, the theme was free and the revenue is not. We build ecommerce websites around catalog reality: variants, shipping, taxes, and a checkout people finish. The storefront is a sales channel with ops behind it — not a marketing microsite with a Buy button taped on.](https://www.codeloop.ba/ecommerce-website-development) * [![](https://www.codeloop.ba/_next/image?url=%2Fimages%2Flandings%2Fcustom-software-development.jpg&w=3840&q=75)Custom softwareOff-the-shelf software stops at your actual process. We are a custom software development agency: MVPs, client portals, internal tools, and AI features that sit inside a real product — built by a studio in Sarajevo that works in English with US and European teams. This is systems work, not a marketing homepage and not a single-platform mobile sprint.](https://www.codeloop.ba/custom-software-development) [Get an estimate](https://www.codeloop.ba/online-estimate)