I'm Shashikant Shah, a software engineer and digital marketing expert in Kathmandu. Mobile app development is the cross platform side of the software I build: React Native apps for Android and iOS from one codebase, and Progressive Web Apps when that is the honest answer. It's for businesses in Nepal with customers who come back often: delivery, bookings, memberships, and internal tools for staff in the field. It sits with the software development I do, and the web development page covers the website an app usually starts from.

Short answer: mobile app development in Nepal starts with deciding whether you need an app. If you do, I build it in React Native so one codebase runs on Android and iOS, connect it to a backend you own, set up the store listings in your name, and plan the install campaign. You get a written scope first, and you keep the code.

When you need this

Most app enquiries come from a business whose customers already do everything on their phone: ordering, paying with eSewa or Khalti, chatting on WhatsApp. The owner has seen Pathao and Foodmandu and wants the same. Sometimes that's right. Often a fast website with a home screen icon does the job.

The other moment is when there's a real reason for an app: push notifications people have opted into, a camera or GPS the job needs, staff in the field with bad signal, or a membership people open every day. Then a web page is not enough.

Then there are the apps that exist and don't work: built by a vendor who has gone, published under the vendor's developer account, crashing on the Android phones most of Nepal uses. The first job there is getting the account and the code back into your name.

The problems I see most often:

  • An app that copies the website and adds nothing, so people install it once and delete it.
  • Store accounts, and sometimes the code, owned by the vendor and not the business.
  • Two native codebases when one shared one would do, so every change is paid for twice.
  • No backend plan, so the app works in the demo and falls over when real orders arrive.
  • A launch with no install campaign and no tracking, so nobody knows whether the twelve installs came from staff.

What I actually do

  • The app or website decision: I look at what the app has to do and tell you in writing whether a React Native app, a Progressive Web App or a better website is the right starting point. You get the decision and the reasons before a build is quoted. An NGO with a field app and a delivery business in Kathmandu both need that answer first.
  • The build: a React Native app in TypeScript that runs on Android and iOS from one codebase, sharing logic with a React or Next.js website where you have one. You get one app to maintain, not two.
  • The backend: the API, database, login and payments the app talks to, built the way the backend development page describes, with eSewa, Khalti or Fonepay where the app takes money. You get an app that still works when real customers use it.
  • Store listings and accounts: the Google Play and Apple developer accounts created in your company's name, the listings and screenshots prepared, and the review process handled. You get the keys, not the vendor.
  • Launch and installs: tracking for installs and what people do afterwards, and an install campaign planned with the budget you have. You learn what an install costs and whether people come back.
  • A Progressive Web App when that is the answer: installable, working offline where it matters, with push notifications and no store review, delivered as part of frontend development. You get most of what an app does for a smaller number.

How it works

First call and scoping. The first thirty minutes are free. You tell me what the app has to do and who will open it every week, and I tell you whether it's an app, a Progressive Web App or a website. If you go ahead, scoping gives you a written document: the screens, the backend, the store accounts, the weeks it takes, a fixed price, and what's not included.

The work. The repository is created under your GitHub account, and you get a test build on your own phone within the first weeks, then every week after. A simple app with a backend is usually two to three months to the store. Store review, Apple's especially, takes days to weeks and is in the timeline.

Reporting, and what you keep. During the build you get a short weekly note on what went in and what's next. After launch, the install and usage numbers come from your own store consoles and analytics, in plain language. You keep the code, the repository, the developer accounts and the hosting, all in your name.

Proof from mobile app development work

I haven't published an app build as a case study yet, and I won't invent one. The two named app engagements on my case studies page are launch and marketing support, not the build: the United Nations Information Center (mobile app launch support and digital reputation management) and Build Change's Surakshit Ghar app (a cost efficient install campaign and ongoing optimisation). They show how I handle a launch and say nothing about my React Native code.

For the code itself, the nearest proof is the full stack work for Kyte Research and AirLyft, two technology companies outside Nepal, and this website, which I built and which passes 15 automated checks on every deploy. An app build gets the same discipline: tests before every release.

What mobile app development costs

An app is quoted per project after the first call, because the scope decides the price. Everything I build is created in your name, on accounts and hosting you control, so ending the engagement costs you nothing but my access. My published retainer for ongoing work is USD 1,800 a month, about NPR 245,000, and the audit and sprint prices are on the pricing page. The first thirty minute call is free, and if a Progressive Web App or a better website does the job, I'll quote that instead.

Questions about mobile app development

Do I need an app, or is a good website enough?

For most businesses in Nepal a fast website with a home screen icon and WhatsApp ordering is enough, and I'll say so. An app earns its cost when you need push notifications, the camera or GPS, offline use, or people open it every day. I'll tell you which one you are on the first call.

Do you build native iOS and Android apps?

I build cross platform apps in React Native, which ship to both stores from one codebase, and Progressive Web Apps. If your project needs deep native Swift or Kotlin work, a game, or heavy hardware integration, I'll say so and point you to someone who does that.

How long does an app take to reach the Play Store and App Store?

A simple app with a backend is usually two to three months from scoping to store, including review. The scoping document gives you the weeks for your app before you commit.

What does an app cost in Nepal?

It's quoted per project after scoping, because a booking app with payments and a staff app with three screens are very different jobs. I'll tell you if a Progressive Web App would cut the price. My retainer for ongoing work is USD 1,800 a month, about NPR 245,000, and the rest is on the pricing page.

Can the app share code with our existing website?

If the website is built in React or Next.js, a React Native app can reuse a meaningful share of the logic: the API calls, the validation, the data types. The screens are still built for the phone.

When are you not the right person?

If you want a native only app in Swift or Kotlin, an app store growth agency, or a team of ten on site, I'm not that. I'm right for a business in Nepal that wants one person to decide honestly, build it, put the accounts in your name and hand over.

All services · Backend development · Frontend development · Website development in Nepal · Software development expert · Pricing.

Tell me about your app

Send me what the app has to do and who would open it every week, and I'll tell you whether it's an app, a web app or a better website, whether or not you hire me. The first thirty minutes are free.

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