Mobile app or web app — what is the right solution for your business

One of the most common questions we get: 'Do we need a mobile app or is a website enough?' The answer depends on what users do inside your product, how often they use it, and whether offline functionality or push notifications are game-changers.

A native mobile app (iOS and Android) makes sense when users open your product daily, when you need access to GPS, camera, contacts or offline mode, and when distribution through the App Store and Google Play is strategically important. For e-commerce, fintech, fitness trackers, and loyalty platforms — native is usually the right call.

For most B2B tools, booking systems, catalogues, and presentation portals — a mobile-optimised website or Progressive Web App (PWA) delivers 80% of the value at 30% of the cost. A PWA can work offline, can be 'installed' on the home screen, and supports push notifications on Android. There is no App Store fee (30%) and no approval process required.

Development costs: a native Flutter app for both platforms starts at €8,000–15,000 for an MVP without a backend. A web application with the same features in Next.js: €3,000–7,000. The difference is not only in price but also in maintenance — every iOS and Android update requires testing and potential adjustments.

Our advice: start with a mobile-optimised web solution, measure usage, and only then invest in a native app if analytics show users want offline mode or daily active use. Feather Studio builds Flutter apps and Next.js web applications — for a short conversation about your case, get in touch.