App Development
Do You Really Need an App? We Will Tell You Honestly
For employee apps, field service tools, and B2B portals in midsize companies: a PWA is often enough. When native is genuinely needed, we build cross-platform with React Native — honestly scoped, without app store marketing promises.
PWA from €15k · React Native from €30k
Before You Build Native
Operations and IT leads look for app development but are often still unsure whether web, PWA, or native is the right answer.
The Last Agency Was a Disaster
Unclear responsibilities after launch, missing documentation, code that is hard to maintain, and unclear rights to the source code.
Maintenance Gets Underestimated
15–20% of the initial cost every year. Over three years, only 40–60% of the TCO falls on the initial project — the rest is operations.
Native or Cross-Platform?
Nobody explains it with an open mind. Cross-platform saves 30–40% and a PWA 40–60% compared with two native apps — but not every use case needs an app at all.
GDPR for Employee Apps
Data processing agreement, technical and organizational measures, works council agreement — the works council often blocks when data protection and voluntary use are not clearly settled.
Why Artus
Three arguments that matter in every engagement — not just on the website.
Honest Advice: Web vs. PWA vs. Native
We do not reflexively recommend native. For internal tools and B2B portals, a PWA is almost always the right answer.
GDPR and Works-Council Ready
EU hosting and a data processing agreement as standard. Support with the works council agreement and documenting technical and organizational measures.
PWA and React Native — Native on Request
Our stack covers 80% of midsize needs. Swift and Kotlin native we build with partners — communicated transparently.
The Decision Guide Everyone Is Looking for
Comparison Table: Web / PWA / RN / Native
Cost, reach, offline, push, app store, maintenance — honestly side by side. No sales agenda.
80 field staff
Mini Case: Employee App
Shift plan, checklists, and a knowledge base for 80 field staff — ROI through eliminated duplicate paperwork.
A Transparent Maintenance Package
15–20% per year, four-hour response time, defined SLAs. The source code stays yours — even after the project ends.
Web App vs. PWA vs. React Native vs. Native
A decision guide for midsize companies — honestly.
| PWA | React NativeEmpfohlen | Native iOS + Android | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Development cost (mid-size B2B app) | €15k–40k | €30k–80k | €90k–130k |
| Offline capability | Limited | Yes | Yes |
| Push notifications | Yes (browser) | Yes | Yes |
| App store required | No | Yes | Yes |
| OS APIs (camera, NFC, …) | Limited | Good | Complete |
| Maintenance over three years | Low | Medium | High (two codebases) |
A Typical Project Timeline
Weeks 1–2
Use Case and Platform Decision
Do you really need native? Is a PWA enough? We settle that before the first sprint.
Weeks 3–6
MVP with Core Features
Auth, backend, first screens — production ready, not prototype quality.
Weeks 7–10
Integration and GDPR
ERP integration, data processing agreement, works council agreement template on request.
Weeks 11–12
Launch and App Store (If Needed)
Deployment and store submission support — without promising an approval guarantee.
What You Receive
- Git repository with full access from day one
- Architecture and operations documentation (Markdown)
- Deployment scripts and runbook
- Data processing agreement and record of processing activities
- Role and permission model
- Design files and UI components
- App store submission support (for native or React Native)
- Works council agreement template on request
Realistic Budgets
PWA / simple app
€15k–30k
Internal tools, checklists, knowledge base
Medium complexity (auth, backend, push)
€30k–80k
Employee app, field service, offline mode
Complex (integrations, realtime)
€80k–150k
Several roles, ERP, realtime sync
Native iOS and Android in parallel: roughly €90k–130k — on request with a partner. Maintenance 15–20% per year.
Common Questions
Concrete answers — no hedging.
For internal tools, admin panels, and B2B portals: almost always yes. Native pays off for OS-specific APIs, a mandatory app store presence, or heavy offline use.
A data processing agreement, documented technical and organizational measures, and a clear rule on voluntary use are standard with us. We provide a works council agreement template on request.
No — and anyone who does is lying. We know the most common rejection reasons and prepare the submission carefully.
Cross-platform with React Native: yes, in-house. Pure Swift or Kotlin native we build with partners — communicated transparently, no broken trust in the sales conversation.
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