Can I build a tracking app for my club or event?

Yes. A club app with activity logging, challenges and a member feed is a realistic MVP, and it can import activities from existing trackers instead of recording GPS itself, which lowers cost.

Do I need to record GPS myself?

Not necessarily. Importing workouts from watches and health platforms covers many users and avoids the hardest native work in the first version.

Is this what Strava spent to build its app?

No. It is Eltherion's estimate for building a comparable first version today. It says nothing about what Strava spent, and Eltherion is not affiliated with Strava. A product at that company's scale has years of work and teams behind it that no MVP includes.

How can I lower the cost?

Launch with fewer integrations, one market and one platform, and leave the full-platform features until users ask for them. The adjustable calculator shows how each choice moves the range.

Health, fitness and wellness apps

How much does it cost to build an app like Strava?

By Nick McCandless, founder of EltherionUpdated October 30, 2026

Short answer

Eltherion prices an MVP of an app like Strava, a GPS activity tracking app with a social feed, at $36k to $105k. A full platform with the features listed below runs $62k to $182k. These are Eltherion's own estimate ranges for building a comparable product, not what Strava spent; your fixed price comes after a free scoping call, and small, tightly scoped work starts as low as $1,000.

Adjust this estimate in the calculator Get a fixed quote

An app like Strava records runs and rides with GPS, shows routes and stats, and shares activities in a social feed with kudos and comments. Accurate tracking in the background and battery life are the technical core.

What an MVP of an app like Strava costs, feature by feature

The first version below is the smallest product people could actually use. Core features are covered by the base price for an iPhone and Android app; each outside service the app connects to, and each add-on, adds its own line.

Eltherion estimate for an app like Strava, MVP (updated October 30, 2026)
Line item	What it covers	Estimate
Core iPhone and Android app (MVP)	Activity recording, Activity pages, Social feed, Profiles	$30k to $90k
Maps	Route maps	$2k to $5k
Wearable and health data sync	Import activities from watches and health platforms	$2k to $5k
Push notifications	Kudos and comments	$2k to $5k
Total		$36k to $105k

Activity recording: GPS tracking with pace, distance and time.
Activity pages: Route map, splits and stats.
Social feed: Follow friends, kudos and comments.
Profiles: History and personal records.

What drives the cost of an app like Strava

Reliable background GPS tracking with sensible battery use takes careful native work.
Each wearable platform is its own integration.
Segments and leaderboards need extra data processing.

Full platform: $62k to $182k

The full-platform tier prices the same app at full-platform scope ($54k to $162k for the core) plus these additions:

Segments and leaderboards: Compare efforts on the same stretch (part of the full-platform core).
Clubs and challenges: Groups and goals (part of the full-platform core).
Subscriptions: Premium features through app store billing ($2k to $5k).

Most products should not build this tier up front. Ship the MVP, see what users actually do, and add the pieces that earn their place. Open the full-platform estimate in the calculator.

Running costs after launch

Maintenance and small improvements: $6k to $19k a year for the MVP (18% of the build, a planning assumption).
Hosting: about $4k a year (a planning estimate; heavy usage costs more).
Three-year total for the MVP, build included: $66k to $173k.
App store accounts: the Apple Developer Program is $99 a year and Google Play has a $25 one-time registration fee (checked October 30, 2026).
Card payments: Stripe's standard US rate is 2.9% + 30¢ per successful domestic card transaction (checked October 30, 2026); other providers price differently.

Each integration also has its provider's own usage fees (maps, messaging, video, AI models), which depend on how much the app is used.

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Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to build an app like Strava?: Eltherion prices an MVP of an app like Strava, a GPS activity tracking app with a social feed, at $36k to $105k, and a full platform at $62k to $182k. These are Eltherion's estimate ranges from its published pricing model; your fixed price comes after a free scoping call. Small, tightly scoped work starts as low as $1,000.
Can I build a tracking app for my club or event?: Yes. A club app with activity logging, challenges and a member feed is a realistic MVP, and it can import activities from existing trackers instead of recording GPS itself, which lowers cost.
Do I need to record GPS myself?: Not necessarily. Importing workouts from watches and health platforms covers many users and avoids the hardest native work in the first version.
Is this what Strava spent to build its app?: No. It is Eltherion's estimate for building a comparable first version today. It says nothing about what Strava spent, and Eltherion is not affiliated with Strava. A product at that company's scale has years of work and teams behind it that no MVP includes.
How can I lower the cost?: Launch with fewer integrations, one market and one platform, and leave the full-platform features until users ask for them. The adjustable calculator shows how each choice moves the range.

How we priced this

Every number on this page comes from Eltherion's software development cost calculator: a base range for the product type, multiplied by scope, plus a fixed range for each integration and add-on. The method is published on the cost methodology page. The feature list describes a typical comparable product; Eltherion is not affiliated with Strava.