labs@atheron:~/industries/media/apps$ build app --web --mobile

Subscriber apps

For publishers and broadcasters, around one account.

A subscriber stays when the app is easy and leaves when it is not. We build native apps and subscriber sites around one account, a paywall readers find fair, and reports that tell editors what subscribers read, connected to the CMS your newsroom already uses.

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// what matters here

What is different in this industry.

One account everywhere

A reader signs in once and stays signed in across the site and the apps, whether they subscribed on the web or through an app store.

Your CMS stays

The apps read from the content system your newsroom already uses, so editors publish once and every edition updates.

Alerts readers choose

Readers pick topics and regions, so an alert is wanted rather than switched off.

Know what keeps subscribers

Reading reports by section and story, for subscribers and visitors separately, without selling reader data to anyone.

// example projects

Priced examples for this service.

Each one is hypothetical, labelled as such, and priced live from our rate card. Open any of them in the estimator and make it yours.

Example projectWeb appMobile app

News subscriber app

Hypothetical. Not a client, not a result.

// The problem

A regional publisher's app is a wrapped website, sign-in fails between devices, and readers cancel without the newsroom knowing which stories kept them.

// What we would build

A native iOS and Android app and a rebuilt subscriber site with one account across both, a fair metered paywall, alerts readers choose, and reporting that shows the newsroom what subscribers actually read.

// What is in it

One account across web and apps, with sign-in that stays signed in
Subscriptions, gifts and student rates through the app stores and the web
Alerts by topic and region that readers choose themselves
Saved stories and offline reading for the commute
Reading reports by section and story for editors
English and French editions from the same system

// Stack

Next.js
React Native
PostgreSQL
Headless CMS interface
Stripe and app store billing
Google Cloud

// estimate

Build: ≈ US$139,000 to US$212,000, delivered within 30 weeksCAD 197,700 to 302,400
Hosting: ≈ US$537 a monthCAD 765 a month
Support: ≈ US$2,500 a monthCAD 3,565 a month

Prices in your currency are estimates from today's Bank of Canada rate. All invoicing is in CAD or USD.

Timeline by milestone

Discovery: 2.9 to 3.4 weeks
Design approved: 9.4 to 15.9 weeks
Core features: 1.9 to 2.9 weeks
Full build: 1.4 to 1.9 weeks
First build on devices: 3.4 to 5.9 weeks
Testing and fixes: 0.4 to 0.9 weeks
Store submission: 0.9 to 1.4 weeks
Launch: 0.9 to 1.4 weeks

Outside our hands, and added to the calendar

App store review: 1 week

How it is paid

Deposit 20%: CAD 39,540 to 60,480
Discovery 9.2%: CAD 18,188.40 to 27,820.80
Design approved 9.2%: CAD 18,188.40 to 27,820.80
Core features 7.6%: CAD 15,025.20 to 22,982.40
Full build 5%: CAD 9,885 to 15,120
First build on devices 20.1%: CAD 39,737.70 to 60,782.40
Testing and fixes 2.5%: CAD 4,942.50 to 7,560.00
Store submission 6.7%: CAD 13,245.90 to 20,260.80
Launch 9.7%: CAD 19,176.90 to 29,332.80
Holdback, 30 days after launch (10%): CAD 19,770 to 30,240

Start from this example

// questions

Questions we get about this.

Can a subscriber app work with our existing CMS?

Yes, if it can deliver content through an interface, as most modern and many older systems can. We check yours before we quote.

Do app store subscribers keep web access?

Yes. Subscriptions from the web and both app stores are tied to one account, so access follows the reader.

Can the app run French and English editions?

Yes. Each edition has its own sections and alerts, and readers can follow both.

Back to the industry: Media and entertainment About the service: Web and mobile apps

// next

Not quite your project?

Tell us what you have in mind. We will come back to you with a range and the questions that would narrow it. Or book a call and talk it through.

Start a project Book a call