[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":359},["ShallowReactive",2],{"\u002Fblog\u002Fturn-prototype-into-app-2026\u002F":3,"\u002Fblog\u002Fturn-prototype-into-app-2026\u002F-related":332,"\u002Fblog\u002Fturn-prototype-into-app-2026\u002F-resources":342},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"body":10,"canonical":274,"category":275,"checker":274,"createdAt":276,"description":277,"disclosure":274,"extension":278,"faq":279,"heroActions":292,"howTo":274,"lastVerified":296,"location":297,"meta":298,"navigation":304,"ogImage":274,"path":305,"primaryKeyword":306,"readingTime":307,"related":308,"seo":311,"seoTitle":312,"sources":313,"stem":322,"tags":323,"takeaways":324,"updatedAt":276,"url":330,"__hash__":331},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fturn-prototype-into-app-2026.md","Turn a Prototype Into a Real App: Phases and Costs in 2026",{"name":7,"social":8},"Simon Dziak",{"twitter":9},"@SzymonDziak",{"type":11,"value":12,"toc":264},"minimark",[13,17,22,25,28,63,66,70,73,76,85,89,99,107,111,120,134,138,141,208,221,225,228,261],[14,15,16],"p",{},"A clickable prototype is a model of an app: it shows the screens and how a user moves between them, but nothing it does is saved, shared or paid for. Turning it into a real app means adding the parts a prototype skips, in phases, with a fixed price for each. This guide covers what a prototype gives you, the usual phases, and what each phase costs at App369.",[18,19,21],"h2",{"id":20},"what-a-working-prototype-gives-you-and-what-it-doesnt","What a working prototype gives you, and what it doesn’t",[14,23,24],{},"A working prototype settles the hardest product questions early: which screens exist, what each one shows, and the order a user moves through them. That is real value, because those are the decisions that take the longest in a build.",[14,26,27],{},"What a prototype built in HTML, Figma or a similar tool doesn’t have:",[29,30,31,39,45,51,57],"ul",{},[32,33,34,38],"li",{},[35,36,37],"strong",{},"Accounts."," Nobody signs in, so there is no idea of “my” data.",[32,40,41,44],{},[35,42,43],{},"A database."," Entries disappear on reload, or live only in the browser.",[32,46,47,50],{},[35,48,49],{},"Permissions."," In a family or team app, the rules about who can see and change each record are most of the work.",[32,52,53,56],{},[35,54,55],{},"Email and notifications."," Invites, reminders and password resets need a sending service.",[32,58,59,62],{},[35,60,61],{},"Payments."," A subscription needs a payment provider, webhooks and rules for failed payments.",[14,64,65],{},"The prototype becomes the specification. Its layout and wording carry over, and the app is rebuilt underneath it on a stack that can hold real users.",[18,67,69],{"id":68},"phase-one-a-web-app-real-users-can-sign-in-to","Phase one: a web app real users can sign in to",[14,71,72],{},"The first phase is usually a web app that does the prototype’s core job for real users: they sign in, use the main flow, and their data is saved and visible only to the people who should see it. For a coordination app, that means the shared space, the people in it, and the one or two records they work on together.",[14,74,75],{},"Everything else waits. Reports, extra roles, integrations and a native app are named in the scope as later phases, so phase one ships in weeks rather than months.",[14,77,78,79,84],{},"A web app comes first for practical reasons: it runs on every phone and computer through a browser, and it can change the same day without waiting for store review. Phase one at App369 is built in Vue\u002FNuxt or React with TypeScript on Firebase, and deployed to your own accounts with the code in your repository. See the ",[80,81,83],"a",{"href":82},"\u002Fservice\u002Fmvp-development\u002F","MVP development"," page for how the first version is scoped.",[18,86,88],{"id":87},"phase-two-payments-and-subscriptions","Phase two: payments and subscriptions",[14,90,91,92,98],{},"Payments usually get their own phase because they touch every part of the app: who has access, what happens when a card fails, and how a customer changes or cancels a plan. Stripe’s standard pricing is 2.9% + 30¢ per successful domestic card transaction, with no setup or monthly fees, according to ",[80,93,97],{"href":94,"rel":95},"https:\u002F\u002Fstripe.com\u002Fpricing",[96],"nofollow","Stripe’s pricing page",".",[14,100,101,102,106],{},"A subscription phase usually covers the plans and prices, sign-up through Stripe Checkout, a webhook that keeps access in step with payment status, and the Stripe customer portal so customers manage their own card and plan. If the app already exists and only billing is missing or broken, the fixed-price ",[80,103,105],{"href":104},"\u002Ffixed-price\u002Fstripe-billing-setup\u002F","Stripe Billing Fix and Setup"," covers that part on its own.",[18,108,110],{"id":109},"phase-three-native-ios-and-android-apps","Phase three: native iOS and Android apps",[14,112,113,114,119],{},"A native app is a later phase, once the core flow works on the web, and it has to be more than the website in a frame. Apple’s App Review Guidelines say an app “should include features, content, and UI that elevate it beyond a repackaged website” (",[80,115,118],{"href":116,"rel":117},"https:\u002F\u002Fdeveloper.apple.com\u002Fapp-store\u002Freview\u002Fguidelines\u002F",[96],"Guideline 4.2, Minimum Functionality",").",[14,121,122,123,128,129,119],{},"In practice, the native phase adds what a phone does better than a browser: push notifications, a home-screen app that opens straight to the right screen, and features that use the camera or the calendar. Publishing needs a developer account in each store: Apple’s Developer Program is 99 USD per membership year (",[80,124,127],{"href":125,"rel":126},"https:\u002F\u002Fdeveloper.apple.com\u002Fprograms\u002Fenroll\u002F",[96],"Apple enrollment","), and Google Play charges a US$25 one-time registration fee (",[80,130,133],{"href":131,"rel":132},"https:\u002F\u002Fsupport.google.com\u002Fgoogleplay\u002Fandroid-developer\u002Fanswer\u002F6112435?hl=en",[96],"Play Console Help",[18,135,137],{"id":136},"what-a-phased-quote-costs-at-app369","What a phased quote costs at App369",[14,139,140],{},"At App369 a phased quote starts with a written scoping: $450, 3 business days, no call needed. The scoping turns the prototype into users and roles, screens, the data model and integrations, says what goes in phase one and what waits, and ends in a fixed price and timeline for each phase.",[142,143,144,160],"table",{},[145,146,147],"thead",{},[148,149,150,154,157],"tr",{},[151,152,153],"th",{},"Phase",[151,155,156],{},"What it covers",[151,158,159],{},"Price at App369",[161,162,163,175,186,197],"tbody",{},[148,164,165,169,172],{},[166,167,168],"td",{},"Scoping",[166,170,171],{},"Users, screens, data, phases, fixed quote",[166,173,174],{},"$450, 3 business days",[148,176,177,180,183],{},[166,178,179],{},"Phase one: web app",[166,181,182],{},"Sign-in, core flow, saved data, permissions, deployed to your accounts",[166,184,185],{},"From $6,000, about 4 weeks from the signed quote",[148,187,188,191,194],{},[166,189,190],{},"Payments",[166,192,193],{},"Plans, Checkout, webhooks, customer portal",[166,195,196],{},"Part of the build when named in the written scope, priced in the quote",[148,198,199,202,205],{},[166,200,201],{},"Native iOS and Android",[166,203,204],{},"A native app for the stores",[166,206,207],{},"Quoted separately",[14,209,210,211,215,216,220],{},"Nothing past the scoping starts without a yes. The scope and the pay button are on the ",[80,212,214],{"href":213},"\u002Ffixed-price\u002Fweb-app-mvp\u002F","Web App MVP Sprint"," page. If the prototype was built in Lovable, Bolt or Replit and already has a database behind it, the ",[80,217,219],{"href":218},"\u002Ffixed-price\u002Fai-app-rescue\u002F","AI-Built App Rescue"," checks that version first instead.",[18,222,224],{"id":223},"how-to-prepare-a-prototype-for-a-quote","How to prepare a prototype for a quote",[14,226,227],{},"A prototype gets a faster and more exact quote when it comes with a few written answers. The list below is what the scoping asks for:",[229,230,231,237,243,249,255],"ol",{},[32,232,233,236],{},[35,234,235],{},"A link to the prototype",", the latest version, with any screens that don’t click through marked as such.",[32,238,239,242],{},[35,240,241],{},"Who uses it",": each kind of user, what each one does, and what each one should never see.",[32,244,245,248],{},[35,246,247],{},"The one job phase one must do",", in a sentence, so everything else can wait.",[32,250,251,254],{},[35,252,253],{},"What it connects to",": calendars, email, payments or another app it must read from or write to.",[32,256,257,260],{},[35,258,259],{},"Any hard date",", such as a pilot group or a funding milestone, so the phases are ordered around it.",[14,262,263],{},"With those five answers, the scoping can name the phases and price each one in writing, and the first phase can start as soon as the quote is signed.",{"title":265,"searchDepth":266,"depth":266,"links":267},"",2,[268,269,270,271,272,273],{"id":20,"depth":266,"text":21},{"id":68,"depth":266,"text":69},{"id":87,"depth":266,"text":88},{"id":109,"depth":266,"text":110},{"id":136,"depth":266,"text":137},{"id":223,"depth":266,"text":224},null,"App Development","2026-11-11T12:00:00.000Z","A clickable prototype shows the screens, not accounts, saved data or payments. The phases from prototype to a live web and iOS app, and what each costs.","md",[280,283,286,289],{"question":281,"answer":282},"Can my HTML prototype be turned straight into the app?","Usually the screens and flows carry over, but the code doesn’t. A prototype has no sign-in, no database and no rules about who sees what, so the app is rebuilt on a real stack using the prototype as the specification. Its layout, wording and flows save time in scoping and design.",{"question":284,"answer":285},"How much does it cost to turn a prototype into an app?","At App369 it starts with a $450 written scoping in 3 business days that ends in a fixed price for each phase. Web app builds are from $6,000 and take about 4 weeks from the signed quote. Native iOS and Android apps are quoted separately.",{"question":287,"answer":288},"Should the first version be a web app or an iOS app?","A web app is usually first, because it reaches every device through a browser and can change daily without store review. A native iOS app makes sense as a later phase once the core flow works, and it needs real app features to pass Apple’s Guideline 4.2.",{"question":290,"answer":291},"What does the App Store and Google Play cost to publish?","Apple’s Developer Program is 99 USD per membership year, and Google Play has a US$25 one-time registration fee, according to each company’s own enrollment pages.",[293,295],{"label":294,"to":213},"Start with a $450 scoping",{"label":83,"to":82},"2026-11-11","Miami, FL",{"readingTimeStats":299},{"text":300,"minutes":301,"time":302,"words":303},"5 min read",4.64,278400,928,true,"\u002Fblog\u002Fturn-prototype-into-app-2026","turn prototype into app","7 min",[309,310],"best-app-development-company-mvp-2026","lovable-app-rescue-2026",{"title":5,"description":277},"Turn a Prototype Into an App: Phases and Costs (2026)",[314,316,318,320],{"title":315,"url":116},"Apple, App Review Guidelines (4.2 Minimum Functionality)",{"title":317,"url":125},"Apple Developer, Enrollment",{"title":319,"url":131},"Google Play Console Help, Get started with Play Console",{"title":321,"url":94},"Stripe, Pricing","blog\u002Fturn-prototype-into-app-2026","prototype to app, turn prototype into app, prototype to production, html prototype to saas, phased app development quote, mvp from prototype, prototype to ios app",[325,326,327,328,329],"A working prototype answers what the screens look like and how the flows move. It doesn’t answer who can sign in, where data is saved, who can see it, or how money moves.","Phase one is usually a web app that real users sign in to, with the prototype’s core flow saving real data and each user seeing only their own.","Payments are their own phase: Stripe’s standard price is 2.9% + 30¢ per successful domestic card transaction, with no setup or monthly fee.","An iOS app that only wraps a website risks rejection: Apple’s Guideline 4.2 asks for features, content and UI beyond a repackaged website.","At App369 a phased quote starts with a $450 written scoping in 3 business days; web app builds are from $6,000 and take about 4 weeks, and native apps are quoted separately.","https:\u002F\u002Fapp369.com\u002Fblog\u002Fturn-prototype-into-app-2026\u002F","c-l_XtWEZUIMikTVaR5c3V9YbnAvtJKsjaiP8BELLkw",[333,337],{"path":334,"title":335,"description":336,"category":275},"\u002Fblog\u002Fbest-app-development-company-mvp-2026","6 Best MVP Development Companies for Startups in 2026","Six MVP development companies for startups compared on published prices, how they scope and fix the price, timelines and fit. Facts re-checked October 22, 2026.",{"path":338,"title":339,"description":340,"category":341},"\u002Fblog\u002Flovable-app-rescue-2026","Lovable App Rescue: 7 Problems to Fix Before Launch","Your Lovable app works in the preview, but real users are coming. The 7 problems to check first, from open tables to the Supabase October 30 change.","AI & Technology",[343,348,352,356],{"keyword":344,"url":345,"title":346,"relevance":347},"SaaS","\u002Fglossary\u002Fwhat-is-saas\u002F","What is SaaS?",9,{"keyword":349,"url":350,"title":349,"relevance":351},"How to Make a SaaS Launch Video From Your Real Product Screens (2026)","https:\u002F\u002Fapp369.com\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-make-a-saas-launch-video-2026\u002F",8,{"keyword":353,"url":354,"title":353,"relevance":355},"App Development Costs Too High? Fix It","https:\u002F\u002Fapp369.com\u002Fblog\u002Fstruggling-with-app-development-costs\u002F",7,{"keyword":357,"url":358,"title":357,"relevance":355},"App Development Costs Unveiled","https:\u002F\u002Fapp369.com\u002Fblog\u002Fapp-development-costs-unveiled\u002F",1794451813088]