---
title: "App Development | Artus Engineering"
description: "Do you really need an app? Straight advice on PWA, React Native, and native. GDPR-compliant employee apps — from €15k, hosted in Germany."
canonical_url: "https://artus-engineering.de/en/services/app-development"
md_url: "https://artus-engineering.de/en/services/app-development.md"
last_updated: "2026-09-11T14:47:09.931Z"
lang: en
---

# Do You Really Need an App? We Will Tell You Honestly

*App Development*

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 Engineering

### 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.

### Mini Case: Employee App

Shift plan, checklists, and a knowledge base for 80 field staff — ROI through eliminated duplicate paperwork.

**80 field staff**

### 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 Native | 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.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Is a web app or PWA not enough?

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.

### What about the works council?

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.

### Do you guarantee app store approval?

No — and anyone who does is lying. We know the most common rejection reasons and prepare the submission carefully.

### Native iOS and Android — do you do that?

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.

## Related Services

- [Web Applications](https://artus-engineering.de/en/services/web-applications.md)
- [MVP Development](https://artus-engineering.de/en/services/mvp-development.md)
- [Internal Tools](https://artus-engineering.de/en/services/internal-tools.md)

## Next Step

[Start a project](https://artus-engineering.de/en/contact.md)

## Sitemap

Complete overview of every page: [Sitemap](https://artus-engineering.de/en/sitemap.md)