What do app marketing, automation and development cost, and how do I judge payback?
There's no single price. These are the parts and how to judge them.
- What should we spend?
- Why do quotes vary?
- How do we judge payback?
Costs fall into ad spend on the App Store, Google and Meta; content and listing work; messaging and analytics tools; development such as features, extensions, performance and integrations; and support. Judge marketing on cost per paying merchant and net new MRR, and development on activation, retention and Built for Shopify status. Agree the measure first.
The parts
| Part | Judge it on |
|---|---|
| Ads | Cost per paying merchant |
| Content and listing | Installs and paid merchants |
| Tools | Activation and hours saved |
| Development | Retention, performance, badge |
| Support | Response times, reviews |
How we look at it at ShoutEx
We scope in writing, agree measures and start with the highest-return piece.
- Quotes without scope.
- Installs as the measure.
- Long contracts upfront.
- Provider-owned accounts.
- Written scope.
- Paid merchants and MRR.
- Small first project.
- Your accounts.
What developers and Shopify say
Here is what developers say.
Community summaries describe recurring themes in public threads, not individual posts. Vendor pages describe vendor claims, so test them on your own calls.
Read next
Go deeper in the ShoutEx guides, or check the sources behind this answer.
We'll scope the work and agree how to measure it.
Book a call →Follow-up questions
Should ad spend be separate?
Yes, paid directly by you.
Are prices in USD?
Shopify apps usually bill in USD.
Do you work on fixed scopes?
Yes, after scoping.