How much does app maintenance cost?
Last updated July 23, 2026 · Ubikon Technologies
App maintenance is usually budgeted at 15-20% of the original build cost per year, but for most apps it is bought as a monthly retainer. Ubikon Technologies (Indore, India, founded 2016, 300+ projects across 25+ countries) offers Annual Maintenance Contracts (AMC — annual maintenance contract) from ₹5,000/month covering bug fixes with a 24-hour response time, operating-system and library security updates, 24/7 monitoring with a 99.9% uptime SLA (service level agreement), and minor feature changes up to 10 hours a month. Pricing is fixed and quoted before you sign, with a free proposal in 24-48 hours.
Key takeaways
- Budget roughly 15-20% of the build cost per year for maintenance; most teams pay it as a monthly AMC.
- Maintenance is not optional — OS updates, library patches, and store-policy changes break unmaintained apps.
- A good AMC bundles bug fixes, security updates, monitoring/uptime, and a set pool of change hours.
- Ubikon AMCs start from ₹5,000/month with a 24-hour bug-fix response and a 99.9% uptime SLA.
What app maintenance covers, and what Ubikon includes
| Maintenance area | Why it matters | Ubikon AMC |
|---|---|---|
| Bug fixes | Break-fixes keep the app usable | 24-hour response time |
| Security updates | Unpatched OS/libraries get exploited | OS + library patching |
| Monitoring & uptime | Catch outages before users do | 24/7 monitoring, 99.9% SLA |
| Minor changes | Small tweaks without a new contract | Up to 10 hours/month |
| Pricing | Predictable, not open-ended | Fixed, from ₹5,000/month |
₹5,000/mo
starting price for a Ubikon AMC
Source: Ubikon pricing
24 hours
response time for bug fixes
Source: Ubikon AMC terms
99.9%
uptime SLA with 24/7 monitoring
Source: Ubikon AMC terms
What drives app maintenance cost
App maintenance cost is driven less by the app's size and more by how much change flows through it. The recurring floor is technical upkeep: mobile operating systems and third-party libraries ship breaking updates a few times a year, app-store policies change, and security patches must be applied promptly or the app becomes a liability. On top of that floor sits the variable layer — bug fixes as real users hit edge cases, and small feature or content changes the business wants after launch. That is why maintenance is usually expressed as a percentage of the original build (15-20% per year is a common rule of thumb) but sold as a predictable monthly retainer.
Ubikon structures maintenance as a fixed-price Annual Maintenance Contract from ₹5,000/month so the cost is known in advance rather than billed ad hoc. The AMC covers bug fixes with a 24-hour response time, operating-system and library security updates, 24/7 monitoring backed by a 99.9% uptime SLA, and a pool of up to 10 hours a month for minor feature changes. Larger enhancements are quoted separately as fixed-price work, and because Ubikon assigns 100% of the source code and IP (intellectual property) to you before day one with zero vendor lock-in, you are never forced into an AMC to keep running your own app.
Frequently asked questions
- How much should I budget for app maintenance per year?
- A common rule of thumb is 15-20% of the original build cost per year, covering security updates, bug fixes, monitoring, and small changes. Ubikon offers this as a fixed-price AMC from ₹5,000/month so the figure is predictable rather than a moving percentage.
- What does an app maintenance contract include?
- A Ubikon AMC includes bug fixes with a 24-hour response time, operating-system and library security updates, 24/7 monitoring with a 99.9% uptime SLA, and minor feature changes up to 10 hours per month. Larger enhancements are quoted separately.
- Do I have to buy maintenance from the company that built my app?
- No. Ubikon assigns 100% of the source code and IP to you before day one with zero vendor lock-in, so you can maintain the app in-house, with Ubikon, or with anyone else. The AMC is offered because it is convenient, not because you are locked in.
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