An app, live on the App Store
BRACED Strength Coach
A strength coach for iPhone that reads your sleep, sets the session and calls every set. We designed it, built it and took it through App Store review. The Android version is in testing.
Apps · iPhone, Android and web
Turn your idea into an app.
Graphite Digital Studio is an Australian digital studio that turns an idea into a working app, for people and businesses. We design it, build it, get it approved for the App Store and Google Play, where people download apps, then keep it online and running. Apps start from $9,900, plus $249 a month for care and hosting, in Australian dollars, ex GST. The first 30 minutes are on us: a call with the person who would build your app, then a fixed quote in writing. This page shows what $9,900 covers and what adds to it.
- iPhone and Android apps
- Web apps and subscription platforms
- Apps from $9,900
- First 30-minute call on us
- Home base Victoria, Australia
What we build
What kind of app do you need?
Most people say "an app" and mean one of three things. You don't need to know which one before you call.
- iPhone and Android apps. The kind you download and open from your home screen. iPhones get them from Apple's App Store. Android phones get them from Google Play. Our own BRACED Strength Coach is one.
- Web apps. An app you open in a browser, like internet banking. Nothing to download. Tillday, a household budgeting app, and ScoreSpike, which runs club scoring, draws and ladders, are our own web products.
- Subscription platforms. An app people pay to use every month. It needs sign-up, log-in and billing, which is the part that charges each member and ends their access when they cancel.
- Designed. We work out every screen with you: what it shows, and what happens when you tap.
- Built. By the person who scoped it on the call.
- Approved. We get it through the App Store and Google Play checks.
- Hosted and kept running. Hosting is the computer on the internet that an app runs from and keeps its information on. Every app carries its own monthly fee for hosting, running costs, fixes and a check-in.
Proof
We built these, and we run them.
These are ours. We designed them, built them and keep them running. Each one is live, so you can click through and check the work for yourself.
Workflow automation, built as a product
Maintenance Loop
For property managers. A tenant texts one number. The Loop sorts urgent from routine, offers the job to the right tradie, gets the owner's OK and closes the job when the invoice matches.
An online store, built end to end
EYES ONLY
Our own streetwear label. We built its store from the first page to the checkout. It is a custom store, not a Shopify template.
In a club's own words · ScoreSpike
We're a country volleyball club run by volunteers, and it used to take someone hours just to put the draw together. Every week someone would take the paper scoresheets home, type the results into Excel and print the ladder. These days we run the whole club off an iPad. Once we sign off a game, the ladder updates straight away and anyone can look it up on our club page. When it's the same few people doing the work week in, week out, that makes a hell of a difference. For the time it saves us, I reckon we'd pay ten times what it costs. We're sticking with it, and I'd recommend it to anyone running a volleyball comp.
ScoreSpike is ours too. It runs club scoring, draws and ladders. scorespike.com.au
What it costs
How much does it cost to build an app?
From $9,900 to build, plus $249 a month to keep it running. "It depends" is a useless answer, so here is the number and what it buys. A bigger app costs more, and the fixed quote says exactly how much before you commit. Australian dollars, ex GST.
App build
from $9,900
One platform, login, one core job, up to 8 screens and store approval.
Care and hosting
$249/ month
Hosting, running costs, fixes and a check-in, every month the app is live.
The first call
On us
30 minutes with the person who would build your app. You leave knowing what it is and what it would cost.
- What from $9,900 covers. A real, finished app that does one job well.
- One platform. iPhone, Android or a web app. One of the three, not all of them.
- Login. People can sign up and sign in.
- One core job. The single thing the app exists to do.
- Up to 8 screens. Each one designed, built and tested.
- Store approval. We get it through Apple's or Google's review.
- Fixes for 30 days after launch. Anything that turns out broken in the first 30 days is fixed as part of the build.
- What adds to the quote. Each of these is priced in writing before you commit.
- A second platform. iPhone and Android together means two store listings, two rounds of testing and two approvals.
- Payments or subscriptions. Taking money, once or every month, means receipts, refunds and failed cards all have to be handled.
- Links to other systems. An app that swaps information with your accounting software, your booking system or your website is a bigger job than one that stands alone.
- More than 8 screens. Every extra screen is designed, built and tested.
- Store account fees. Apple and Google each charge for a developer account. The accounts are opened in your name, so the app stays yours.
Store approval
What does App Store and Google Play approval involve?
You can't upload an app and have it appear. Apple and Google each check an app before the public can download it. We do this part for you, and we have done it for ourselves: BRACED Strength Coach is live on the App Store for iPhone, and the Android version is in testing.
- A store listing. The name, icon, description and screenshots people see before they download.
- Privacy answers. Both stores ask what information the app collects about people, and why. The answers are shown on the listing, so they have to be true.
- The review. Apple and Google check the app against their rules. If they find a problem, they send it back with the reason. We fix it and send it in again.
- Every update. A new version goes through the check again, so approval is never a one-off job.
How it works
From the idea to the home screen.
A 30-minute call, on us
Who will use the app, what they need to do in it, and what it has to connect to. You talk to the person who would build it. You don't need drawings.
A fixed quote
One price for the build and $249 a month for care, in writing. 50% deposit to start, the balance at go-live, the day the app is live.
Design and build
The person who scopes your app is the one who builds it.
Store approval
We prepare the listings, answer the privacy questions and deal with Apple and Google.
Live, then looked after
Anything broken in the first 30 days is fixed as part of the build. Care at $249 a month covers hosting, running costs, fixes and a check-in for as long as the app is live.
Not sure it's an app?
Sometimes the answer is not an app.
If you only need people to find you and get in touch, that is a website. If you want to sell products, that is an online store. If the problem is the same job typed into three systems, that is workflow automation. We'll tell you on the call which one fits, even when it is the smaller job.
FAQ
Straight answers.
How much does it cost to build an app?
An app from Graphite Digital Studio starts from $9,900, plus $249 a month for care and hosting, in Australian dollars, ex GST. That covers one platform (iPhone, Android or web), login, one core job, up to 8 screens and store approval. A second platform, payments or links to other systems add to it. You get a fixed quote in writing after a 30-minute call, which is on us.
What does the first call cost?
Nothing. The first 30 minutes with Graphite Digital Studio are on us. You talk to the person who would build your app, not a salesperson. You leave knowing what kind of app it is, what from $9,900 would cover for you, and what would add to it. The fixed quote follows in writing.
What do I get for $9,900?
From $9,900, Graphite Digital Studio builds an app on one platform (iPhone, Android or web) with login, one core job and up to 8 screens, takes it through Apple's or Google's review, and fixes anything broken in the first 30 days after launch. Store account fees are separate, and the accounts are opened in your name, so the app stays yours.
I have an idea for an app. Where do I start?
Start with a 30-minute call with Graphite Digital Studio. You don't need drawings or a business plan. Tell us who will use the app and what they should be able to do in it. After the call you get a fixed quote in writing, and the person who scoped the app is the one who builds it.
Can you build an app for both iPhone and Android?
Graphite Digital Studio builds apps for iPhone, for Android, or for both. Building for both means two store listings, two rounds of testing and two approvals, so it changes the quote. The studio's own app, BRACED Strength Coach, is live on the App Store for iPhone, and its Android version is in testing.
What is a web app?
A web app is an app you open in a browser, like internet banking, without downloading anything from a store. Graphite Digital Studio builds web apps for people and businesses, and runs its own web products: Tillday, a household budgeting app, and ScoreSpike, which runs club scoring, draws and ladders. A web app does not need App Store or Google Play approval.
How does an app get approved for the App Store and Google Play?
Graphite Digital Studio handles App Store and Google Play approval as part of building an app. Apple and Google each check an app before the public can download it. They need a store listing with screenshots, and true answers about what information the app collects. If they send the app back with a problem, we fix it and submit it again.
Is there a monthly fee after the app is built?
Yes. Every app Graphite Digital Studio builds carries a monthly fee of $249 for care and hosting, ex GST. The build price pays for the build. The monthly fee pays for keeping the app running: hosting, running costs, fixes and a check-in. Both numbers are in the written quote before you commit.
How do I pay for an app build?
Graphite Digital Studio takes a 50% deposit to start an app build and the balance at go-live, which is the day the app is live for people to use. The quote is fixed and in writing, so both payments are known up front. Everything is done online, so the price is the same wherever you are.
Got an idea for an app?
Bring us a problem.
Tell us what the app should do and who it is for. On the call we'll tell you what kind of app it is, and what would make it cost more or less.