Best Mobile App Development Companies in Eastern Europe

by Daniel Raymond · August 9, 2024

By 2027, the total revenue of the mobile app development market in Eastern Europe is anticipated to rise at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.46%, translating into a predicted market volume of US$3,617.00 million. Eastern Europe has emerged as a leading region for mobile app development outsourcing, attracting IT entrepreneurs from the US and Western Europe. The latter can work with the best mobile developers in Eastern Europe who charge moderate prices and deliver high-quality services. For example, the average salary of a senior iOS developer in the area is $51,000 a year.

Table of Contents

In this article, we’ll delve into the pros and cons of app development in this vibrant region, the aspects of choosing the best outsourcing vendor, and consider the top 5 app dev companies. You’ll also discover a more reliable option for cooperating with developers in Eastern Europe.

Mobile Application Development: Industry Overview and Insights

The popular operating systems for mobile applications are Android and iOS, which cover a large part of the market. Based on the most recent statistics, Android has a 70.69% market share worldwide, while iPhone (iOS) has a 28.58% share.

When it comes to types of mobile apps, there are:

Native apps that are developed for a specific operating system.
Hybrid apps that can run on multiple platforms.
Web applications that run in the browser of a mobile device.
Mobile games are among the most popular applications.

The high demand for mobile applications drives its market growth. In 2023, the global mobile application market size was valued at $228.98 billion and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 14.3% between 2024 and 2030. Meanwhile, the number of smartphone users is expected to increase to almost 4.9 billion by the end of 2024, with a 2.2% annual increase. The key drivers of such an upward trend are the increase in Internet usage, as well as the proliferation of popular technologies like AI & ML, AR & VR, cloud computing, and IoT, etc.

3 Pros of Mobile App Development in Eastern Europe

1. Large Talent Pool

Eastern Europe offers a large talent pool, with 1.5 million software developers, particularly concentrated in countries such as Poland, Romania, and Ukraine. This talent pool is supported by approximately 80,000 STEM professionals graduating from local educational institutions each year.

2. Strong Tech Expertise

Software developers from Eastern Europe demonstrate unparalleled technical expertise. They consistently demonstrate excellence in various programming languages, such as JavaScript, Python, C++, and others, making them valuable partners for outsourcing projects.

3. Moderate Developer Rates

Getting the services of mobile developers in Eastern Europe is a viable choice. It offers significant cost savings compared to regions such as the US, where annual programmer salaries are typically 2-3 times lower. The average annual salary of iOS developers (Swift and Objective-C) in Eastern Europe ranges between $40,000 and $50,000. The React Native expert will cost your company almost the same: $42,000-$60,000 yearly. This makes Eastern Europe attractive for businesses looking to optimize costs without compromising quality.

4 Cons of Mobile App Development in Eastern Europe

1. Cloudy pricing

It’s not a rare occasion for outsourcing providers to include additional costs in invoices, such as substituting one developer with another, enlarging the team, engaging in training, or buying extra hardware and equipment. As a result, predicting the final cost can be challenging.

2. Questionable quality

Uncertainty about the quality of the final product is another challenge, as differences in cultural and business traditions, communication barriers, and team indifference can affect the development process and result in end products that do not meet expected standards.

3. IP rights breaching

Outsourcing software development in Eastern Europe may risk your intellectual property (IP) rights. The issue is that this cooperation presupposes sharing sensitive data with a third party, which may result in your information being used for other projects. This is because developers often work on multiple projects simultaneously, increasing the possibility of your data being utilized elsewhere without your consent.

4. Loss of development control

Assigning your project to an external team in Eastern Europe may result in losing direct oversight and control over the development process. Communication problems, cultural differences, and distance may prevent effective collaboration, resulting in deviations from your original requirements, timelines, or quality standards.

What to Consider When Choosing a Mobile Development Company

Choosing the right service provider for mobile development services is a critical point that determines the success of your project. Considering the aspects below to find the right partner to realize your idea:

Niche experience. Opt for a company dedicated to a particular type of software development, namely specialized in mobile development services, rather than one with a broad array of services. This increases the likelihood of receiving high-quality services.
Track record. A solid proof of your vendor’s experience is the availability of relevant case studies. These showcase the products they have previously developed and the problems they solved and demonstrate their trustworthiness.
Testimonials. Familiarize yourself with the client reviews and testimonials. Most platforms, like Clutch and GoodFirms, have a review section highlighting the highest-rated vendors in the selected country and industry.
Guarantees. Pay attention to the guarantees and terms of cooperation provided by the vendor. If a vendor can vouch for its mobile development services, it validates its reliability.
Recommendations. Networks have always been a proven source of finding suitable vendors. Recommendations from your colleagues and business partners increase your chances of finding a decent app developer.

5 Best App Development Companies in Eastern Europe

Let’s take a look at the top mobile developers in Eastern Europe, according to Clutch:

Dashbouquet Development, with offices in Estonia and Poland, has been on the market since 2014. According to GoodFirms, its team is a Clutch champion for 2023 and the Best Company to Work with.
SolveIt has 50+ in-house specialists in the United States, Sweden, and Poland. They are healthcare, logistics, media, travel, e-commerce, and more experts.
Droids On Roids from Poland are experts in Android and iOS native app development and Flutter multi-platform app development. Their team is ranked #22 in the top 1000 global service providers and #1 in the top Flutter developers by Clutch.
OTAKOYI was founded in Lviv, Ukraine, and currently has offices in the USA, Sweden, Poland, and UAE. Their stack includes Flutter, Swift, React Native, and Kotlin. They are in top Netlify development 2024 on Clutch.
FIFTH is a dynamic software development and design studio headquartered in Armenia. Its global clientele spans Silicon Valley, Europe, and Hong Kong. FIFTH specializes in custom web and mobile application development and Web3 application development.

Your Team of Mobile App Developers in Eastern Europe with Alcor

If you opt for a more reliable business model, you can reap the benefits of app development in Eastern Europe. The R&D center perfectly combines IT recruitment, Employer of Record services, and full operational support. This solution allows tech companies like yours to maintain all the decision-making, cut expenses, enjoy team loyalty, and protect sensitive data.

Alcor is a full-cycle service provider in Eastern Europe and Latin America that can build you an R&D office in 2 months with 10 app developers on board. The company covers tech recruitment, HR payroll, legal compliance, office lease, WFH, and hardware procurement — everything you need to have peace of mind when entering a new market.

With Alcor, you’ll enjoy:

100% transparency: no rate cards, only direct salaries, and a pay-as-you-go approach.
High-quality developers: it takes them 2-6 weeks to close one position, while the average tenure of their hires is 2.5 years.
Absence of buy-out fees: The software development team has been yours from day one.
No legal entity: hire top mobile app developers in Eastern Europe legally and compliantly.
Dedicated account manager: individual support and business navigation during the expansion journey.
Huge team: 40 internal headhunters, managing IT recruitment across eight LATAM and Eastern Europe locations.

Final Thoughts

To build a high-quality mobile application for a lower price, consider cooperating with mobile app developers from Eastern Europe. You can opt for outsourcing by selecting one of the multiple mobile app development companies or partner with a reliable R&D center provider to avoid common IT outsourcing risks.