The short answer
Choose the company whose live apps look most like the one you need, whose senior people will work on your project themselves, and who gives you a written scope and a price before the build starts. Then check two things in the contract: that the code and the accounts are yours from day one, and that someone will look after the app once it is live.
Budapest has app studios, agencies and freelancers, and almost all of them show a polished portfolio. The checks below help you tell them apart before you sign.
Look at apps that are live
A mockup is easy to make. A live app is not. Ask for apps you can download from the App Store or Google Play, or web products you can sign in to, and try them on your own phone. Notice how fast they load, what happens when the connection drops, and when they were last updated.
Then look for work close to yours. A team that has already shipped a booking app, a fintech app or an internal dashboard has solved most of the problems your version will run into. If the portfolio is mostly branding and websites, the company may be a design agency that passes the build to someone else.
Find out who does the work
Ask who will design and build your app, and ask to meet them before you sign. In some agencies a senior team wins the project and a junior team or a subcontractor builds it. That is not always a problem, but you should know.
Ask how many people will work on your project, what each of them does, and whether the same people stay from kickoff to launch. When designers and engineers work in one team, less gets lost between the design file and the app that ships.
Get the scope and the price before the build
A good company tells you what is in, what is out and what it costs before any work starts. A number given at the end of a short first call is a guess.
Ask for a written scope that lists the features or screens, a timeline, and a price for each phase. If the work is billed by the hour, ask for an estimate of the hours and what happens when they run out. Something will change during the project, so ask how changes are priced as well.
To judge whether a quote is realistic, read How much does an app cost in Hungary?. It covers the rates Hungarian firms charge and the factors that move a price the most.
Ask how you will see progress
You should see working software often, not one big reveal at the end. Ask how often you get a demo, whether it runs on a real device, and who you talk to between demos. A weekly demo is a good standard, because it shows problems while they are still cheap to fix.
Ask which tools they use for tasks and messages, and whether you get access. When you can follow the work as it happens, there are few surprises at the end.
Make sure you own the code
The source code, the design files, the App Store and Google Play accounts and the server accounts should be yours from day one, in your company's name. Put it in the contract. If the developer holds the accounts, moving to another team later can turn into a negotiation.
Ask which technology they plan to use and why. Common choices, such as React Native for mobile apps or React for the web, make it easy to find other developers later. A rare or homemade framework ties you to one company.
Check how they handle personal data
If your app stores names, email addresses, health data or payment details, the GDPR applies. Ask where the data will be stored, who on their side can access it, and whether they will sign a data processing agreement with you. A team that has built apps under the GDPR before will answer these questions without having to look them up.
Ask what happens after launch
An app is not finished at launch. New iOS and Android versions, security updates and the first feedback from real users all need work in the weeks that follow. Ask who fixes bugs after launch, how quickly they respond and how that work is billed.
Some teams keep working with you on a monthly retainer. Others hand the project over to your own developers with documentation. Either works, as long as it is agreed before the build starts.
Read reviews you can verify
Testimonials on a company's own website are chosen by the company. Clutch verifies each review with the client, which makes its reviews harder to fake. You can browse app developers in Hungary on Clutch. Read the long reviews, not only the rating, and look for clients whose projects resemble yours.
If you can, ask for a reference and call them. Ten minutes with a past client tells you more than any case study.
Red flags
- A price before anyone asked what the app has to do
- Only mockups and concept work, no live apps
- The people on the sales call will not work on your project
- No working demo until the end of the project
- The code, the design files or the accounts stay with the developer
- A timeline that stays the same whatever you add to the scope
Questions to ask on the first call
- Which live apps have you built that are close to ours?
- Who will design and build it, and can we meet them?
- What do you need from us, and by when?
- How often will we see a working demo?
- Who owns the code, the design files and the accounts?
- What happens after launch, and what does it cost?
How we work at UPRIVE
UPRIVE is an app development studio in Budapest, working since 2020. Designers and engineers work in one team on iOS, Android and web apps, in English or Hungarian, in the EU time zone. Every project starts with a free scoping call, and within a week you get a plan and a price. You see a working demo every week, and the repository, the design file and the infrastructure accounts are yours from day one.
An MVP goes live in two weeks at most, and projects start from €3,000. We are rated 5.0 on Clutch from 27 verified reviews. See what we build in Mobile App Development, Web App Development and MVP in 2 weeks.
Hold us to the same checklist as everyone else. Start a project or read more about app development in Budapest.