Cost Guide
How Much Does It Cost to Build a Booking App?
A booking app — calendar availability, reservation flow, notifications, and payment — runs €5,000–18,000 with a solo senior developer. Agencies charge €30,000–90,000. The biggest cost driver is real-time availability logic and calendar sync.
Last updated: April 2026
Cost comparison
Agency
€30k–€90k
EUR typical range
Timeline: 10–26 weeks
Senior Freelancer
€9k–€33k
EUR typical range
Timeline: 7–17 weeks
Senior quality · Balkans ratesDusko Licanin
€5k–€18k
EUR typical range
Timeline: 5–12 weeks
What's included in base scope
- 01Service and time-slot availability management
- 02Customer-facing booking flow with confirmation
- 03Email notifications (booking confirmed, reminder, cancellation)
- 04Stripe payment or deposit collection
- 05Admin dashboard for managing bookings and availability
What drives the cost
- Calendar sync complexity — bidirectional iCal / Google Calendar sync requires careful conflict resolution
- Real-time availability — preventing double-bookings across timezones is non-trivial
- Notification infrastructure — email + SMS reminders, cancellation flows, and rescheduling logic
- Payment processing — deposits, refund policies, and partial payments each add scope
What's not in base scope
- Bidirectional Google Calendar / iCal sync (add-on scope)
- Native mobile apps
- Multi-location or franchise management
- Customer loyalty or points system
Working with Dusko
BookBed, one of my production projects, handles multi-property booking with iCal sync and zero double-bookings across hundreds of reservations. I know exactly where booking apps get expensive — and how to avoid it.