| Criterion | PWA | Flutter | Native |
|---|---|---|---|
| Installation | From the browser, via a link | From the App Store and Google Play | From the App Store and Google Play |
| On the stores | No | Yes, iOS and Android | Yes, one app per platform |
| Push notifications | Yes on Android; on iPhone since iOS 16.4, once added to the home screen | Yes, iOS and Android | Yes, iOS and Android |
| Phone access | Camera and foreground location; no Bluetooth or NFC on iPhone | Full: camera, GPS, Bluetooth, biometrics | Full |
| Offline | Technically possible, to be designed from day one | Yes: local storage and sync | Yes: local storage and sync |
| Codebases | One, web, which also serves desktop | One for iOS and Android | Two: Swift for iOS, Kotlin for Android |
| Cost | Internal tool €6,000 to €15,000 excl. VAT, MVP €6,000 to €30,000 excl. VAT | MVP €6,000 to €25,000 excl. VAT, complete app €25,000 to €60,000 excl. VAT | Roughly double Flutter |
| Timeline | 3 to 8 weeks, no review | 8 to 12 weeks to the stores for an MVP | Longer: two apps to build |
| Updates | Immediate, as soon as they ship | Through the stores, Apple review usually 1 to 2 days | Through the stores, two apps to publish |
| The right choice when | Internal tool, field teams, tight budget, no need for the stores | Consumer or business app that must live on the stores | A hardware need very specific to one platform |
PWA development.
Krafter designs and builds PWAs: web apps that install on the home screen of an iPhone or an Android phone, without going through the App Store or Google Play. One link is enough to equip a team, and every update ships without review.
No store. Still installed.
Definition
What is a PWA?
A PWA, or progressive web app, is a web application that installs on the home screen of a phone or computer and opens like an app. It doesn’t go through the App Store or Google Play: a link is enough. It can send notifications, use the camera and location, and work offline if it is designed to. One codebase serves iPhone, Android and desktop, and every update ships without review.
- Installation
- From the browser, on iPhone, Android and desktop.
- Stores
- No developer account: neither Apple’s $99 a year nor Google’s $25.
- Starting price
- From €6,000 excl. VAT for a well-defined need: a PWA is priced on our web grid.
- Internal tool
- €6,000 to €15,000 excl. VAT, 3 to 5 weeks.
- MVP
- €6,000 to €30,000 excl. VAT, 4 to 8 weeks.
- Updates
- Live as soon as they ship, with no review and no download.
Comparison
PWA, Flutter or native: the decision table.
A PWA costs less and rolls out faster. A Flutter or native app goes further on the phone and lives on the stores. The choice depends on your users, not on the technology.
Krafter builds all three, and runs both a PWA and a Flutter app in production. For an app published on the stores, see our Flutter agency and custom mobile app development.
On iPhone
On iPhone, a PWA works, with four limits to know.
A PWA installs and runs on iPhone, but Apple sets stricter rules there than Android does. Here is what holds true in 2026, checked against Apple and WebKit documentation.
Manual installation
On iPhone, installation goes through the Share button, then Add to Home Screen. Since iOS 16.4, third-party browsers can offer it too, and since iOS 26, any site added this way opens as a web app by default. The user still has to do it: guide them the first time.
Notifications, with a condition
Push notifications have been available to web apps since iOS 16.4, but only once the app is added to the home screen. A site opened in Safari doesn’t get them. Permission is requested after a user action, on a dedicated button. Badge counts on the icon are supported.
No App Store presence
A PWA isn’t listed on the App Store: nobody will find it by searching the store. Wrapping it in an app isn’t always enough either, since Apple’s rules reject apps that don’t go beyond a repackaged website.
Limited hardware access
The camera and foreground location work. However, WebKit, Safari’s engine, does not implement Bluetooth, NFC or background location for the web. An app that talks to a sensor or tracks a trip with the screen off needs Flutter or native.
None of these limits stops an internal tool or a field app from working well. They matter when the app must be found by the public, reach users through notifications or talk to hardware.
Choosing
A PWA is the right choice when nobody has to look for it in a store.
If your users get the app from their employer or from your team, the store adds nothing. If they must discover it on their own, the store becomes the first channel.
When a PWA is the answer
An internal tool
Your teams get a link, and the app is on their home screen the same day. No store account to open, no listing to write.
Field teams
Technicians, sales reps, drivers: enter data, take photos, check a job sheet from the phone, with the same app the office uses.
A tight budget or an idea to test
One codebase, no store fees, a V1 in 3 to 8 weeks. The right format to learn fast before investing more.
Frequent updates
Every fix is live as soon as it ships. Nobody is left on an old version because they didn’t update.
When it falls short
A consumer app that must be found
For a consumer app, acquisition runs through store search, the listing and the ratings. Without App Store presence, that channel disappears.
Deep hardware access
Bluetooth, NFC, background location: on iPhone, a PWA can’t reach them. Flutter can.
Critical notifications on iPhone
If your users don’t add the app to their home screen, they receive nothing. For a product that lives on reminders, that’s a risk.
Long, heavy offline use
A PWA can work without signal, but a Flutter app keeps control of the phone’s storage. For full days without network, it remains the safer bet.
Melimelo, our home organization app, shows the other case. A consumer app lives on its store listing: it is built in Flutter and published on the App Store and Google Play.
It is rated 4.7/5 from 421 App Store ratings and 4.6/5 from 306 Google Play reviews as of October 2026. Over 50 versions published, none rejected by Apple or Google. For this product, a PWA would have been the wrong call. Read the Melimelo case study.
For a broader internal tool, with business rules, roles and connections to your software, see custom business software development.
Proof
What Trottr, our PWA in production, taught the studio.
Trottr is the field service management software published by Krafter: maintenance, HVAC, elevator technicians, pool technicians, cleaning, telecoms. It is a PWA, installed on technicians’ phones without going through the stores, sold by subscription with per-user licenses, and used by companies including Engie.
Rollout in a few hours
Equipping a new team needs no store account, no download, no approval wait. A link, an Add to Home Screen, and the technician gets to work.
No installation through the stores
For B2B software sold by license, the store adds nothing: client companies equip their own technicians. No listing to maintain, no review to wait for, no developer account to renew.
Immediate updates
A fix shipped to production reaches every phone at the next launch. No fleet of versions to manage, no technician stuck on an old build while another has the new one.
Melimelo in Flutter, Trottr as a PWA: same studio, two opposite choices, each one driven by its users.
Budget
How much does a PWA cost?
A PWA is a web application: it is priced on our web grid, with no store fees. Count €6,000 to €15,000 excl. VAT for a simple internal tool, €6,000 to €30,000 excl. VAT for an MVP. The €6,000 entry price applies when you know exactly what you want: processes, business rules and screens already defined. It goes up if we need to shape the thinking with you, or add payments or offline mode. This floor comes from our open source foundation and two senior partners who work with AI and review every line, with no sales layer between you and the code.
- Internal tool
- €6,000 to €15,000 excl. VAT, 3 to 5 weeks.
- MVP
- €6,000 to €30,000 excl. VAT, 4 to 8 weeks.
- Complete business app
- €20,000 to €60,000 excl. VAT, 8 to 14 weeks.
- Scoping
- €3,000 to €6,000 excl. VAT extra, if the need has to be formalized.
- Payments
- €2,000 to €5,000 excl. VAT one-off, €4,000 to €10,000 excl. VAT for subscriptions.
- Integration
- €2,000 to €15,000 excl. VAT per connection to an existing tool.
- Maintenance
- 8 to 12% of the build cost per year, then changes at €700 to €1,100 excl. VAT per day or with time credits.
Method
Building a PWA, step by step.
Before coding, one question: PWA or an app published on the stores? The answer comes from your users, and it is settled during scoping.
01 / 05
Scoping
1 to 2 weeksWho uses the app, on which phone, with what network, to do what. PWA or Flutter is decided here.
If your processes, business rules and screens are already defined, scoping is short and the project starts at the entry price.
Journeys and mockups
Screen by screen, designed for the thumb as well as the desktop.
A PWA often serves both: the technician on the phone, the manager at the desk. Every flow is validated before the first line of code.
Development
a version every 1 to 2 weeksEvery version installs on your phones from a link. You test in real conditions.
AI writes a large share of the code; every line is reviewed and tested by a senior partner. Tests on iPhone and Android: installation, notifications, denied permissions.
Release and installation
Production release, then an installation guide for your users, on iPhone and Android.
Help screen, link or QR code: adding to the home screen takes a few taps when it is well explained. Hosting with a French provider or on your own infrastructure.
Maintenance and changes
over timeFixes and new features, live without review.
Upkeep at 8 to 12% of the build cost per year, changes billed on time spent or with time credits. Git repository, cloud accounts and access are in your name.
FAQ
Internal tool, field app, PWA or Flutter: the first conversation is about deciding with you, without jargon and without commitment.
Tell us about your projectBefore launching your PWA.
A PWA, or progressive web app, is a web application that installs on the home screen of a phone or computer and opens like an app. It doesn’t go through the App Store or Google Play: a link is enough. One codebase serves iPhone, Android and desktop, and every update is live as soon as it ships to production.
A PWA is priced on our web grid: from €6,000 excl. VAT for a well-defined need. Count €6,000 to €15,000 excl. VAT for a simple internal tool, in 3 to 5 weeks, and €6,000 to €30,000 excl. VAT for an MVP, in 4 to 8 weeks. The price goes up if the need must be scoped with you or payments added.
Yes. On iPhone, a PWA installs from the Share button, then Add to Home Screen. Since iOS 26, any site added this way opens as a web app by default. Four limits: manual installation, notifications only once the PWA is on the home screen, no App Store presence, and restricted hardware access, with no Bluetooth or NFC.
Yes, since iOS 16.4, on one condition: the PWA must be added to the home screen. A site opened in Safari doesn’t get push. Permission must be requested in response to a user action, such as tapping an “Enable notifications” button. A badge count can also appear on the icon, as with a store app.
A website can become an installable PWA: a manifest, icons, a service worker for caching, and screens redesigned for the phone. For a brochure site, the benefit is small. For a customer portal or a daily tool, a PWA makes sense. An audit of the existing code, 1 to 3 days or €700 to €3,300 excl. VAT, comes before the quote.
A PWA fits when the app doesn’t need the stores: internal tool, field teams, tight budget. Flutter is the answer for a consumer app that must be found on the App Store and Google Play, or that needs Bluetooth, NFC or background location. A Flutter MVP costs €6,000 to €25,000 excl. VAT, store publication included.
On Google Play, yes: a PWA can be wrapped in an Android app, a Trusted Web Activity, and published. On the App Store, it’s riskier: Apple’s guideline 4.2 rejects apps that don’t go beyond a repackaged website. If App Store presence matters for your acquisition, Flutter is the right choice.
Technically, yes: a service worker caches the screens and the data that matter, and entries are sent when the network comes back. But offline has to be designed from day one, screen by screen, and it raises the price. If your teams often work without signal, say so during scoping, before the first screen.
A simple internal tool takes 3 to 5 weeks, an MVP 4 to 8 weeks, a complete business application 8 to 14 weeks. No review delay is added: the PWA is usable as soon as it ships to production. During the project, a testable version installs on your phones every 1 to 2 weeks.
Yes, in the foreground: the camera to photograph a job, location to find an address. On iPhone, Safari’s engine gives the web no access to Bluetooth, NFC or background location. For those needs, a Flutter app is the way to go, from €6,000 excl. VAT for an MVP.
Yes. Trottr, our field service management software, is a PWA installed on technicians’ phones without going through the stores. It is sold by subscription with per-user licenses and used by companies including Engie. The studio also runs Melimelo, a Flutter app published on the stores: we know both choices in production.
Yes. At the end of the project, everything is put in your name: Git repository, cloud accounts and access. The code written for you is yours; only the open source stack stays under its own license. You can evolve the PWA in house or hand it to another provider, without depending on Krafter.
Let’s build a product people → actually use
A 30-minute call with a founder. Answer within 24/48h. Pitch deck optional.