"We spent $25,000 building the app. Now we just need to focus on marketing, right?"
Within two months of saying this, some founders come back with a confused look. "The development team just sent us another invoice. What is this for?"
It happens more often than you'd expect. The initial development was budgeted as a one-time cost, but after the launch, ongoing charges start appearing — and no one had prepared for them. This post is about where those charges come from and what to clarify before signing a development contract.
Launch Is the Beginning, Not the End
Software is often compared to construction. You build a building, and once it's done, the structure stays put. But software doesn't work that way. After launch, the environment around it keeps changing, and the service has to keep up.
Why does software need continuous maintenance?
First, the infrastructure it runs on keeps changing. Cloud providers update their platforms, operating systems receive security patches, and configurations that worked last year may need adjustments today.
Second, the external services your app relies on change on their own schedule. Third-party login systems, mapping APIs, and payment processors all update their interfaces and policies independently. When they do, the integration code in your app needs to catch up.
Third, the devices and browsers your users rely on keep getting updated. When Apple releases a new version of iOS or Google updates Android, unexpected layout issues or feature breakages can appear in apps that were working perfectly before.
These three dynamics alone make "build once and forget" an unrealistic expectation. A live software service is a living system.
The Types of Costs That Appear After Launch
Here's a breakdown of the recurring cost categories that typically emerge after a service goes live.
Server and Infrastructure Costs
Running a service requires servers. Whether you're using AWS, Google Cloud, or another cloud provider, there's a monthly bill based on usage. Early on, with limited users, costs are manageable. As traffic grows, server capacity needs to scale, and costs grow with it. Storage, database services, email delivery, and CDN usage all add to the total.
These aren't margins for the development team. They're actual usage fees paid to infrastructure providers. Many founders encounter this cost for the first time only after their app is live.
Security Patches
New vulnerabilities are discovered in software components on an ongoing basis — open-source libraries, server operating systems, frameworks, and runtime environments are all potential targets. When a vulnerability is found, it needs to be patched before it can be exploited. For services handling user data, this is not optional.
Applying a security patch often seems straightforward in principle, but in practice it can require testing to ensure the update doesn't break existing functionality. That testing takes time and, accordingly, cost.
OS, Browser, and Device Update Compatibility
Apple and Google release major OS updates annually and minor ones throughout the year. Browser vendors like Chrome and Safari regularly change how certain web features behave. Each of these changes can introduce compatibility issues in apps that previously worked without problems.
For apps distributed through app stores, store policy changes add another layer. Both the App Store and Google Play have updated their requirements around privacy disclosures, data collection practices, and payment policies multiple times in recent years. Non-compliance can result in app removal.
External API and Library Updates
Third-party services your app integrates with — social logins, payment processors, map services, analytics platforms — operate on their own update timelines. When they deprecate an API version or change their authentication flow, the integration code needs to be updated. If it isn't, that feature simply stops working.
Open-source libraries follow the same pattern. Security fixes and breaking changes released by library maintainers need to be incorporated into the project to keep the service stable and secure.
User-Reported Bugs and Incremental Improvements
After launch, real users encounter scenarios that weren't tested during development. Edge cases surface. Workflow gaps appear. Minor feature requests accumulate. Addressing these is part of operating a live product, and the effort compounds over time.
None of these tasks are large in isolation, but over months of operation, they represent a meaningful and consistent workload.
How to Estimate Ongoing Costs
The actual numbers vary widely depending on service complexity, user volume, the technology stack, and how many external integrations are involved. That said, there are general frameworks the industry uses.
As a proportion of initial development costs
A common approach is to budget ongoing maintenance as an annual percentage of initial development costs. Simpler services tend toward the lower end; services with many integrations, real-time features, or high security requirements trend higher. This is a rough benchmark, not a precise formula, but it provides a useful starting point for planning.
Factors that drive costs up
- Number of third-party integrations (more connections mean more change management)
- Real-time features such as chat or live location tracking (higher operational complexity)
- Handling of personal or financial data (more rigorous security requirements)
- User volume and traffic patterns (scaling infrastructure costs)
- Number of platforms supported (each platform requires its own compatibility maintenance)
For context on initial development cost ranges, the MVP Outsourcing Cost Guide covers the topic in detail.
What to Clarify at the Estimate Stage
When reviewing development proposals, the following questions are worth asking before any agreements are signed.
1. Is the ongoing operational cost listed separately from development costs?
A proposal that only covers initial development shows only part of the financial picture. Server costs, domain and SSL certificate renewals, app store fees, and maintenance support should all be accounted for. A well-structured proposal separates monthly operational costs from the one-time build cost.
2. What is the warranty period for post-launch defects?
Most development engagements include a period after launch during which the team addresses bugs at no additional charge. Knowing the length of that window and what it covers — and what falls outside of it — helps set realistic expectations and prevents disputes later.
3. What form does ongoing maintenance take?
Maintenance arrangements generally fall into two models: a monthly retainer covering a defined scope of work, or a time-and-materials arrangement where work is billed as it arises. Neither is inherently better; the right fit depends on how the service evolves. What matters is that the structure is agreed upon before issues arise.
For a broader overview of the outsourcing engagement process from MVP through operations, the Startup MVP Outsourcing Complete Guide is a useful reference.
How Integrabbit Approaches This
At Cokee, the thinking behind the Integrabbit service has always included making this conversation happen at the estimate stage rather than after the fact.
Integrabbit quotes break out initial development costs and monthly operational costs as separate line items. The goal is to give decision-makers a realistic picture of ongoing financial commitments before they commit to the project — not a surprise six months into operations.
The operational figures at the estimate stage are projections. They get refined as the technical architecture is finalized during development. But having even a rough range at the start allows for more grounded budget planning.
The core message is straightforward: development costs don't end at launch. Building that reality into the budget from the beginning is what separates projects that sustain from those that stall.
If a realistic picture of total ownership costs — including post-launch operations — would be useful for your current planning, a 30-minute consultation is available at no charge.