Compose Multiplatform (CMP) lets product teams ship a cross‑platform MVP fast while staying in the Kotlin ecosystem. A brand‑new MVP typically lands between €50 000 and €160 000 depending on scope — roughly 30‑40 % less than building two separate native apps.
Crucially, CMP keeps the door open for a fully‑native iOS interface later: you can drop SwiftUI views on top of the shared Kotlin core with minimal re‑work, whereas Flutter or React Native would need a full rewrite to achieve the same native feel.
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| App Complexity | Est. CMP Budget (€) | Avg. Timeline | Future iOS Native Shift* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic / POC | 50 000 – 75 000 | 8 – 12 weeks | Add SwiftUI screens progressively; keep 70‑80 % shared logic |
| Mid‑tier MVP | 75 000 – 135 000 | 12 – 18 weeks | |
| Feature‑rich | 135 000 + | 18 – 26 weeks |
*SwiftUI migration keeps business logic untouched.
Why Compose Multiplatform for a 0→1 MVP?
- Single‑language stack (Kotlin): Onboards any modern Android engineer in days, not months (87 % report ramp‑up < 2 weeks).
- End‑to‑end declarative UI: Compose for Android & iOS hit stable in 2025, enabling ~85 % UI reuse without sacrificing platform feel.
- Native escape‑hatch: When it’s time to polish the iOS experience, drop in SwiftUI views while leaving the shared Kotlin core intact.
- Lighter binaries: CMP builds weigh 15‑30 % less than comparable Flutter apps on Play Store averages — important for conversion.
Where the Budget Goes
Phase Allocation
Industry audits show the split below for green‑field CMP MVPs.
| Phase | Share (%) | Key Activities |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery & UX | 15 | Personas, problem framing, low‑fi flows |
| UI/UX Design | 20 | Wire‑frames, interactive prototypes |
| Development | 42 | Kotlin shared logic, Compose UI |
| QA & Testing | 13 | Discover and fix critical issues |
| Launch & Post‑release | 10 | App Store reviews, analytics, first‑week fixes |
Typical 2025 Rates
Kotlin‑first talent commands a premium in North America but remains cost‑efficient in CEE and APAC.
NA / W‑Europe
- Senior CMP Dev: €105–150/hr
- Mid: €75–105/hr
- Designer: €70–90/hr
Central & Eastern EU
- Senior: €55–85/hr
- Mid: €40–60/hr
- Designer: €35–50/hr
Asia‑Pacific
- Senior: €40–70/hr
- Mid: €30–45/hr
- Designer: €25–40/hr
CMP vs Flutter / React Native / Native
| Framework | Fresh MVP Budget (€) | Avg. Timeline | Path to Full Native iOS | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | Mid | Complex | |||
| CMP | 50k–75k | 75k–135k | 135k+ | 12‑18 w | Keep shared logic, replace Compose with SwiftUI |
| Flutter | 45k–70k | 70k–125k | 125k+ | 10‑16 w | Full rewrite required |
| React Native | 50k–80k | 80k–145k | 145k+ | 12‑20 w | Full rewrite required |
| Native (Swift + Kotlin) | 80k–120k | 120k–220k | 220k+ | 16‑30 w | N/A (already native) |
Flutter & React Native ranges compiled from recent agency quotes.
AI‑Powered Prototyping & Design Tools (2025)
Leverage these tools to slash early discovery and design costs before any Kotlin code is written:
- Figma AI “First Draft”: Generates multi‑screen flows from prompts and is integrated directly into mainstream design pipelines.
- Uizard Autodesigner: Turn hand sketches or text into clickable prototypes in minutes — great for stakeholder validation.
- Galileo AI: Text‑to‑UI generator trained on thousands of mobile patterns, ideal for ideation.
- 99designs Marketplace: Crowd‑source polished UX/UI concepts if in‑house design bandwidth is thin; fixed‑price contests start around €600.
Risk, ROI & Long‑Term Economics
- Plan ~18 % of first‑year budget for maintenance; CMP’s shared core trims that by ~5 % vs two native apps.
- Quarterly Compose releases are mostly binary‑compatible; allocate 2–3 days/quarter for dependency bumps.
- Because Kotlin is also used for backend (Ktor, Spring), teams often reuse engineers across stack, improving utilisation.
Early‑Stage Successes
The Respawn App
Launched Android & iOS MVP in 14 weeks with 92 % shared Kotlin & Compose. Future roadmap includes swapping iOS lobby screen to SwiftUI without touching core logic.
Budget: €120 k (mid‑complexity)
Physics Wallah Lite
Education start‑up shipped MVP to 2 M users; later native‑ised iOS exam module with SwiftUI while keeping shared engine.
Budget: €180 k (feature‑rich)
Key Takeaways
For green‑field mobile products in 2025, Compose Multiplatform offers the fastest Kotlin‑centric route to market and an unblocked path to a 100 % native SwiftUI experience later. MVP budgets start around €50 k, peak around €160 k, and routinely land 30 % below two‑native quotes while preserving strategic flexibility that Flutter and React Native simply cannot match.
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