Mobile products users keep
Hiring rounds often take weeks before anyone writes real code. What you usually need is one person who can own the architecture and the delivery from the first week.
You talk directly to the people writing the code, which keeps architecture decisions close to the implementation.
If that sounds like your situation, Arcode is set up for founders who need a mobile app developer. Cross-platform mobile development with clean UX and reliable backends.
What you get
- Cross-platform mobile apps
- API-connected experiences
- Offline-friendly patterns
- Launch and iteration support
- One studio accountable for the result
- Design and engineering on the same schedule
- Support available after launch
How engagement works
As your mobile app developer, we run a shared backlog, design reviews, and engineering sprints, and you keep one point of contact throughout.
- 01
Discover
Goals, constraints, data sources, and success metrics, all settled before we touch architecture or prompts. You see progress on the critical path every week.
- 02
Design
System design, AI/tool boundaries, interface direction, and interaction prototypes. Nothing here waits on a handover between separate teams.
- 03
Build
Modern stack, clean architecture, evaluated AI behavior, and iterative demos you can react to. On mobile app development projects we favour practical architecture over trendy defaults.
- 04
Launch
Ship, monitor, harden, and keep improving models, tools, and product after go-live. The work for teams in Germany stays tied to the outcome you asked for.
How we build it, and why
The stack is chosen per project, not applied from a template. For mobile app developer work these are the defaults, and the reason each one is on the list.
- React Native
- one codebase for iOS and Android, which halves the surface area you maintain after launch
- Expo
- over-the-air updates and managed builds, so shipping a fix does not mean waiting on app store review
- Node.js
- one language across the stack, so context does not get lost at the boundary
- Firebase
- auth, push, and realtime sync without standing up your own infrastructure first
- Stripe
- payments, subscriptions, and the tax and invoicing edge cases you do not want to build
What the first weeks look like
- Days 1-3
Context and constraints
Codebase, deploy path, and what "done" means for the mobile app development. Short, because the useful version of this is specific.
- Week 1
First shipped slice
Something real goes out in the first week — cross-platform mobile apps rather than a setup ticket.
- Weeks 2-6
Build to the milestone
Pull requests, reviews, and weekly demos. You see the work as it happens rather than at a handover meeting.
- Handover
Documented and transferable
Runbooks, architecture notes, and a walkthrough, so the work does not depend on us still being here.
Weighing up your options
There are three realistic ways to get this built. Each is the right answer for someone.
A solo freelancer
Cheapest per hour and fine for a contained task. The risk on mobile app development is breadth — one person covering design, backend, infrastructure, and launch usually means one of them is weak, and there is no cover when they are unavailable.
A local agency in Germany
Same timezone and a face to meet, which genuinely matters for some teams. You are also paying German teams emphasizing quality, privacy, and maintainable systems. rates for the whole team including the layers that never touch your mobile app development, and a local shortlist is a small shortlist.
Arcode
A small senior team. The people who scope the mobile app development write the code, you get weekly demos instead of status decks, and the engagement ends when the thing is live and handed over.
Work we have shipped
Dare To Donate
Mobile · React Native
Cross-platform blood donation app connecting donors and recipients with Firebase auth and realtime data.
Expo React Native app for donation matching with secure auth and cloud storage.
- · iOS and Android via Expo
- · Firebase auth and realtime DB
- · Donor/recipient flows
- · Secure cloud storage
React Native · Expo · Redux Toolkit · Firebase
Conference App
Mobile · Flutter · Zoom
Cross-platform conference app with Firebase auth, realtime data, and Zoom video sessions.
Freelance Flutter product covering authentication, realtime storage, and Zoom API video conferencing for event attendees.
- · Cross-platform Flutter client
- · Firebase authentication
- · Realtime event data
- · Zoom video conferencing
Flutter · Firebase · Zoom API
Dumbiez
Frontend · NFT product
NFT comics platform for exploring and interacting with digital comic collectibles.
Independent Next.js product for browsing and engaging with NFT comics, styled with Tailwind and shipped on Vercel.
- · NFT comics browsing
- · Interactive collectible UX
- · Responsive Next.js UI
- · Vercel deployment
Next.js · React · Tailwind · Vercel
Working with teams in Germany
German teams emphasizing quality, privacy, and maintainable systems. Work is remote-first (CET/CEST), with written updates you can read in your own time. We usually collaborate in German/English.
How we work with Germany teams
Germany is three to four hours behind us, which means a full shared afternoon. German teams generally prefer a written scope agreed before work starts, and we work that way by default: spec in writing, then build against it.
What Germany clients usually need
German work skews towards maintainable systems rather than throwaway MVPs — B2B platforms, industrial and logistics tooling, and AI features that have to be explainable to a non-technical stakeholder before they ship.
Contracts, data, and compliance
GDPR is the starting point, not an afterthought. We default to EU-hosted data stores, keep a record of processing activities, and provide a DPA without being asked. Invoicing is in EUR, with reverse-charge VAT for registered businesses.
