--- title: "Shopify App Development Agency from $10,000 | Skai Digital" canonical_url: "https://www.skaidigital.com/services/shopify-app-development" markdown_url: "https://www.skaidigital.com/services/shopify-app-development.md" date_modified: "2026-11-01" last_updated: "2026-11-01" --- # Shopify app development agency We build custom Shopify apps for work that doesn’t fit anything in the App Store, such as Verandah’s B2B trade application app. Most stores don’t need one, so we start by checking whether an existing app or a native Shopify feature already does the job. **Custom apps from $10,000** [Book a call](https://www.skaidigital.com/book) ## Results - **$45 million** $45 million ecommerce company Replatform, already on Shopify: [read the case study](https://www.skaidigital.com/case-studies/tilecloud). - **5** Verandah Brands runs five storefronts on one shared Shopify + Sanity platform: TileCloud, Yabby, Trade, Dawn and Verandah Store. Replatform, already on Shopify: [read the case study](https://www.skaidigital.com/case-studies/tilecloud). ## One app, and two jobs that didn’t need one. ### [Verandah’s B2B trade application app.](https://www.skaidigital.com/case-studies/tilecloud) Custom Shopify app, for Verandah Trade. Trade customers apply for an account, staff review each application inside Shopify admin, and approval creates or connects the Shopify company and customer. It’s part of our work for Verandah Brands, a $45 million ecommerce company. ### [KHOLA’s shoe configurator.](https://www.skaidigital.com/case-studies/khola) Shopify build with a custom configurator. Custom code in the storefront rather than an app: customers take a picture of their shoe and choose colors, materials and details for every part of the design. ### [Goldsource’s coin-selling workflow.](https://www.skaidigital.com/case-studies/goldsource) Migration to Shopify. Built in Sanity rather than as a Shopify app: customers register a coin they want to sell on the storefront, and staff handle the inquiry, offer and fulfillment from there. > Skai Digital has been extremely skilled, service-oriented, and professionally competent in their process with us... I am extremely satisfied with the collaboration and would recommend anyone who needs similar services to speak with Skai before ordering services elsewhere. Simon Alert Kristensen — Head of Marketing at Epivity ## When to build a custom app, and when not to A custom app is software you then own. It needs hosting, monitoring and updates as Shopify retires API versions, so the first question is whether you need one at all. ### Don’t build it: an existing app does most of the job If an app in the [Shopify App Store](https://apps.shopify.com) does most of what you need, use it and adjust the last part of your process. A monthly fee usually costs less than owning software, and the app’s developer handles Shopify’s changes. ### Don’t build it: Shopify already does it Check the native features first. [Shopify B2B](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/b2b) is available from the Basic plan up, with features that depend on your plan, and [Shopify Flow](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/shopify-flow) automates store tasks from Basic up too. ### Don’t build it: you only need data moving If nobody needs a screen and the job is keeping two systems in step, you need an integration rather than an app people log into. See [Shopify ERP integration](/services/shopify-erp-integration). ### Don’t build it yet: it runs in checkout and you aren’t on Plus [Custom apps containing Shopify Functions](https://shopify.dev/docs/apps/build/functions) run only on Plus, and [checkout UI extensions](https://shopify.dev/docs/api/checkout-extensions) on the information, shipping and payment steps are Plus only too. On other plans, a public app from the App Store is often the way to get that logic. ### Build it: your process doesn’t match anything on sale Verandah reviews trade customers before they get a trade account, and the logic behind that is the job. The app handles someone who already has an account, colleagues applying for the same business and a rejected application coming back, and refuses to approve a customer who belongs to a different company. ### Build it: your staff work inside Shopify admin When a job happens all day on orders, customers or products, it belongs on those pages. [Admin UI extensions](https://shopify.dev/docs/apps/build/admin) add actions and blocks where staff already work, and an embedded app gets its own pages in admin, so nobody has to switch tools. ### Where a custom app can reach | Part of Shopify | What an app does there | | ------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Pages in Shopify admin | Staff tools embedded in admin, such as a queue of applications to review. | | Order, customer and product pages | Admin UI extensions add actions and blocks where staff already work. | | Storefront | Theme app extensions add blocks you place in the theme editor, without editing theme code. | | Checkout | Checkout UI extensions. The information, shipping and payment steps are Plus only. Thank you and Order status pages are on most plans. | | Discount, delivery and payment logic | Shopify Functions. A custom app containing them needs Plus. A public app containing them works on other plans. | | Automation | Flow triggers and actions connect the app to the workflows your team already runs. | | Other systems | Webhooks and the Admin API let the app react to orders and customers and write the results back. | ## How an app project runs The first step can end the project, and we’d rather it did than build something you don’t need. 1. **Check you need one** We go through the App Store, Shopify’s native features and whether a small process change would do. If something existing fits, we’ll tell you. 2. **Choose how it’s distributed** Custom distribution for your store, or for several stores in one Plus organization. Public distribution if you want other merchants to install it, which means Shopify’s review. You can’t change this later, so we decide it first. 3. **Map the job and its awkward cases** We write down who does what, which records the app creates or changes, and what happens when the data doesn’t fit. The scope and price come from this. 4. **Build and test** We build with Shopify’s own admin components so the app feels part of admin, and test it on a development store before it touches your live data. 5. **Install and watch** You install it from a link we send. Your staff use it on real work while we watch closely and fix what they run into. 6. **Keep it current** Shopify releases a new API version every quarter and supports each for at least 12 months. We keep the app on a supported version if you want us to, or hand it to your developers. You own the code. ## What a custom app costs **Custom apps from $10,000** We check on a discovery call whether you need an app at all, then agree the scope and price with you before any work starts. ### Included from $10,000 - A check of existing apps and Shopify’s native features first - One custom app for one store - Screens for your staff inside Shopify admin - Webhooks, error handling and logging - Testing on a development store, then the install on yours - Close monitoring after launch ### What pushes it up - Public distribution and Shopify’s App Store review - Checkout extensions and Shopify Functions - Storefront blocks through a theme app extension - Connections to your ERP or other systems - Installing across several stores in a Plus organization - Long approval flows or reporting Prices are in US dollars. Hosting, your Shopify subscription and ongoing development are separate. If what you need is data moving between systems, see [Shopify ERP integration](/services/shopify-erp-integration). For everything else we build, see [Shopify development services](/services/shopify-development). ## Frequently asked questions ### How much does a custom Shopify app cost? Custom apps start from $10,000 for one app on one store. Public distribution, checkout extensions, Shopify Functions and connections to other systems push it up. Hosting and ongoing development are separate. We agree the scope and price with you before work starts. ### Do we need a custom app, or will an existing one do? Most stores should start with an existing app. Build when your process is what sets you apart and nothing on sale fits it, or when you’re working around several apps to do one job. We go through this on the first call and we’ll tell you if you don’t need us. ### What’s the difference between a custom app and a public app? A custom app is installed through a link on one store, or on several stores in the same Plus organization. A public app can be installed by any merchant, goes through Shopify’s review and can be listed in the App Store. [You can’t change the method](https://shopify.dev/docs/apps/launch/distribution) after you’ve selected it. ### Do we need Shopify Plus for a custom app? Not for most apps. Admin screens, webhooks and the Admin API aren’t limited to Plus. Custom apps containing Shopify Functions are, and so are checkout UI extensions on the information, shipping and payment steps. ### What does a custom app cost to keep running? Hosting, monitoring and updates. Shopify [releases a new API version every quarter](https://shopify.dev/docs/api/usage/versioning) and supports each for at least 12 months, so an app needs regular attention even when nothing about your store changes. Count that before you decide to build. ### Can you build an app for the Shopify App Store? That’s a different project from a custom app. A public app has to pass Shopify’s review, respond to [mandatory compliance webhooks](https://shopify.dev/docs/apps/build/compliance/privacy-law-compliance) and go through a review for protected customer data. We’d scope it separately. ### Can one app work across several of our stores? Yes, if they belong to the same Plus organization: a custom app can be installed on each of them. Stores outside that organization need public distribution or a separate custom app. ### What did you build for Verandah? A B2B trade application app. Trade customers apply, staff review each application in an embedded Shopify admin screen, and approval creates or connects the Shopify company and customer. Read more about our work for Verandah Brands in the [case study](/case-studies/tilecloud). ### Who owns the app? You own the code we build for you. You can keep working with us, hire your own developers or choose another partner. Apps and software from other companies have their own terms. ## What would you like to improve? Tell us what’s getting in the way or what you’d like to build. We’ll talk through the options and whether we’re the right team to help. [Book a call](https://www.skaidigital.com/book) [Site index](https://www.skaidigital.com/sitemap.md)