Honest cost breakdown for building a chat & messaging app — from a minimal MVP to a full-featured platform. No agency fluff, just real numbers.
MVP cost
$3,460
Full platform
up to $30,000
MVP timeline
2–4 weeks
Our delivery
21 days
Typical agency rates. Freelancers may be cheaper upfront but rarely stay within budget.
| Feature | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Auth + user discovery | $300 | $1,500 |
| 1:1 and group messaging | $800 | $4,000 |
| Media upload and sharing | $400 | $2,000 |
| Read receipts + presence | $300 | $1,500 |
| Push notifications | $300 | $1,500 |
| Message search | $400 | $2,000 |
| Reactions + replies | $300 | $1,500 |
| Total range | $2,800 | $14,000 |
Our fixed-price MVP bundles all core features for $3,460 — no hourly surprises.
| Option | Cost | Timeline | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agency (fixed price)← Us | $3,460 – $30,000 | 3–8 weeks | Low |
| Freelancer (hourly) | $4,152 – $45,000 | 2–6 months | High |
| No-code (Bubble / Webflow) | $1,384 – $4,152 | 2–6 weeks | Medium (lock-in) |
| In-house team | $150,000+/year | 6–18 months | Very high |
React Native / Expo
Mobile apps (iOS + Android)
Supabase Realtime
WebSocket messaging
Cloudflare R2
Media file storage
Expo Push / APNs / FCM
Push notifications
Book a free 30-min call. We'll scope your MVP and give you an exact price before you commit to anything.
A basic messaging MVP (1:1 chat, groups, media, push notifications) costs $10,000–$25,000. A WhatsApp-comparable app with end-to-end encryption, voice/video calls, and status features costs $60,000–$150,000.
Use Stream or SendBird if chat is a secondary feature of your app. Build from scratch with Supabase Realtime if chat is the core product — you'll have more control and pay 10× less in monthly fees.