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Mobile Apps for iPhone and Android: How to Get Both Without Paying Double

By Lifesaver Technology ServicesLifesaver Technology ServicesFeb 13, 20265 min read
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A Kelowna nonprofit needed a mobile app for their community programs. They wanted it on both iPhone and Android, but their budget was tight. Building two separate apps was not an option — it would have cost twice as much and taken twice as long.

We built both from a single project. The app launched on both platforms simultaneously, looked and felt native on each one, and cost about half of what two separate builds would have.

This is the approach we use for most mobile projects, and it is the right choice for the majority of Canadian businesses.

The Cost Difference

Building separate iPhone and Android apps the traditional way means two projects, two codebases, and roughly double everything — cost, timeline, and ongoing maintenance. A typical app runs $50,000 to $250,000 per platform.

Our approach builds both from one project. The practical advantage is less duplicated work, one coordinated release cycle, and a simpler maintenance path after launch. When we need to update something, we do it once instead of twice.

What You Actually Get

Apps built this way look and perform identically to traditionally built apps. Your customers will not know the difference — the speed, feel, and experience are the same on both iPhone and Android.

We build in push notifications, offline access, Face ID and fingerprint login, camera and GPS access, background processing, and deep linking.

What We Have Shipped

We have built production apps including a mental health and wellness platform with mood tracking, AI chatbot, community feed, fingerprint login, push notifications, and offline support. One project, both platforms, real users.

We also built the Central Okanagan Food Bank’s digital check-in system — a web app that works on any device and replaced their paper sign-in process.

When Separate Apps Make Sense

For a smaller slice of projects — heavy 3D graphics, complex real-time audio/video, or deep hardware integration — separate native builds are still the right call. For many other projects, a shared codebase is the more efficient option.

Pricing

Focused mobile tools start at $5,000. Full applications with a management dashboard run $15,000 to $50,000. Large-scale platforms with offline capabilities and AI features start at $50,000. Every project gets a clear fixed quote before we start.

Call us at 778-401-6551 to talk about your app idea. We will tell you which approach makes the most sense for what you need.

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Lifesaver Technology Services

AI-Native Software Company · ACM · IEEE · CIPS

Lifesaver Technology Services is an AI-native software company based in Kelowna, BC. Our team holds degrees in Computer Science, Health Science, and Psychology — and maintains professional memberships with ACM, IEEE, and CIPS. We build every system we ship — from custom VAPI voice agents to enterprise SaaS platforms — in-house, from scratch.

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