The short answer
Building an AI iPhone app costs about what any app of the same size costs: our projects typically range from $10,000 to $100,000+, with a fixed price after discovery. On top of that comes a running cost per request, which depends almost entirely on where the model runs: a hosted API, your own server, the device itself, or Apple’s Private Cloud Compute.
What an AI app adds to the build
The model call is usually a small part of the work. These are the parts that take time:
- The wait. A generation takes seconds. Progress, retries when a request fails, and results that are still there when someone comes back to the app all need designing and building.
- Moderation. Guideline 1.2 treats AI content creation apps like user-generated content: filtering, a way to report content, a way to block abusive users, and published contact details.
- Consent. Guideline 5.1.2(i) requires a clear disclosure and explicit permission before personal data, such as a photo, goes to a third-party AI service.
- Payments. Credits or a subscription, sold through in-app purchase, with restore and receipts handled properly.
- Quality checks. Prompts and outputs change as models change. iOS 27 adds an Evaluations framework for testing AI features beyond unit tests.
Running costs: where the model runs
| Where the model runs | Cost per request | Trade-offs |
|---|---|---|
| A hosted API (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and others) | Billed by the provider, per request or per token | The strongest models and the fastest start. Costs grow with use, and personal data leaves the device, so 5.1.2(i) applies. |
| Your own server | Hosting, whether it is used or not | Full control over the model and the data, plus the work of running it. |
| On the device (Foundation Models, Core AI, Core ML) | None | Private and works offline. Limited by model size and by the device; Apple’s model needs Apple Intelligence to be available. |
| Apple’s Private Cloud Compute | No cloud API cost for eligible apps | Apple’s next-generation models, for Small Business Program members with fewer than 2 million first-time downloads. |
The last two rows changed the arithmetic in 2026. According to Apple, apps in the App Store Small Business Program with fewer than 2 million total first-time downloads can use the next generation of Apple Foundation Models on Private Cloud Compute at no cloud API cost. And the Foundation Models framework can now also call third-party models such as Claude and Gemini through the same Swift API (iOS 27). More in our guide to on-device AI.
Pricing so every request pays for itself
Our own AI apps earn in two ways: credits spent per generation, and a Pro subscription. Credits suit apps where each request has a clear cost, such as image generation. A subscription suits apps people use often and where the cost per use is small or predictable.
- Apple’s share comes first. On digital sales through in-app purchase, Apple keeps 15% for members of the Small Business Program and for subscriptions after their first year, and 30% otherwise (subscriptions).
- Then the request. What you keep from one credit has to cover what one generation costs you, including the ones that fail and are retried.
- Credits cannot expire. Credits bought through in-app purchase may not expire under guideline 3.1.1, so a pack priced today has to make sense for as long as people hold it.
- Free tiers get abused. A free allowance needs limits per account and per device, or it becomes your largest cost.
Costs people forget
- Failed generations. Timeouts and retries cost money and earn nothing.
- Model changes. A provider updating or retiring a model can change your results, and your prompts need checking again.
- Moderation at scale. Reports have to be read and acted on, by people or by tools.
- Yearly iOS updates, the same as any app. See what it costs to maintain an iOS app.
Ways to spend less
- Validate with a hosted model, then move. Start with an API to learn what people use, then move the frequent, simple requests on to the device.
- Use Apple’s models where they are good enough. Summaries, extraction, tagging and short text often are, at no cost per request.
- Check Private Cloud Compute eligibility before you budget for a cloud API.
- Cache what repeats. The same prompt with the same input should not be paid for twice.
Related: AI app development · On-device AI on iPhone · How much an iOS app costs