Project build
Web-app MVP
From KES 250,000one-time
One defined business workflow
- Agreed roles and data model
- Prototype and core application
- Scoped backend and testing
Planning guide · 2026-09-27
Web app or mobile app: which should a Kenyan business build first?
The best platform follows the task your customers or staff must complete. Installation, offline use and device features matter for some products; quick access through a browser matters for others.
Choose the user journey before the technology
Describe one complete workflow: who starts it, what information they enter, which decisions the system makes and what a successful end state looks like. Map the same journey for customers and staff if both groups use the product.
A marketing website or online shop may be enough when the main job is discovery and purchase. A custom application is justified when users repeatedly manage accounts, records, bookings, approvals or operational work.
A web app is often a strong first release
A web app runs in a browser and can serve desktop and mobile users without asking them to install anything. It is well suited to dashboards, business portals and workflows where people may switch devices. Updates can be released centrally.
Browser access does not automatically mean offline support or perfect performance on weak connections. Those requirements need explicit design and testing.
When a mobile app earns its place
A native or cross-platform mobile app can make sense for repeated on-the-go use, push notifications, camera or location features, or carefully designed offline workflows. Android and iOS support, app-store accounts and review processes affect cost and timing.
An app also needs a backend when users share data or sign in. That backend is not free simply because the interface uses a shared codebase. Specify ownership and operating costs before development begins.
Decide with a focused MVP
Select the smallest workflow that proves the product is useful. Agree on platform, roles, screens, data storage, integrations, reporting, security, acceptance criteria and support. Then request a milestone-based proposal.
Webmetro’s published starting prices are planning points. A web-app MVP and mobile-app MVP have different scope boundaries; compare the actual deliverables, not just the headline number.
Compare starting scopes
A budget you can build on.
Project build
Mobile-app MVP
From KES 200,000one-time
One platform; restricted features
- Agreed core screens
- Explicit backend scope
- Store-submission support
Project build
Cross-platform app
From KES 350,000one-time
Defined Android and iOS scope
- Shared application build
- Agreed device testing
- Backend scoped separately
Starting estimates, subject to an agreed scope. Hosting, domains, third-party licences, transaction fees, taxes and additional content are separate unless included in your written proposal. Final tax treatment and total are confirmed before work begins.
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