We build apps where customers book and pay and providers get paid: profiles, search, booking, deposits, payouts through Stripe Connect, messages and reviews. A first version typically costs $5,000-15,000 and takes 2-4 weeks. We built Traza's booking app for tattoo artists and LEV's map and marketplace app for dog owners. Clients rate us 4.8 out of 5 on Clutch from 70 reviews.
A marketplace is two apps in one: one for the people who sell and one for the people who buy. Each side needs its own screens, and money has to move between them.
Customers search, book and pay. Providers set prices, accept requests and get paid. Traza started with the artist side, then began the client side on the same logic.
Free slots, requests, confirmations, changes and cancellations, each with its own status. In Traza's app every booking shows only the actions that fit its stage.
The customer pays a deposit when booking, and your no-show rule decides whether the provider keeps it. Traza artists take deposits and mark each session complete, no-show or cancelled.
The customer pays once. Your fee stays with the platform and the rest goes to the provider's Stripe account. Stripe checks each provider's identity before it pays them.
A chat inside each booking and push notifications for new requests, messages and changes, so providers can answer from their phone between jobs.
Ratings after each job, checked profiles and a way to report someone. On LEV, the community adds dog-friendly places to the map and verifies them.
Money is the hardest part of a marketplace. We settle these four questions before we write code.
A tattoo session happens in the real world, so Apple requires a payment method other than in-app purchase, such as a card or Apple Pay (guideline 3.1.3(e)). Digital extras sold inside the app follow other rules, so we check each one.
A card hold reserves the money without charging it, but an online card hold usually lasts only 7 days. For bookings further out, we charge the deposit and refund it by your rules.
If customers buy from your brand, the platform takes the payment and pays providers out (destination charges). If one order covers several providers, the platform splits it (separate charges and transfers).
In both setups, refunds and chargebacks come out of the platform's balance first, and you can take the provider's share back. Your cancellation rules need to say who pays for what.
A marketplace with no providers has nothing to sell, so the first version usually serves the side that brings the supply.
Traza's artists were already taking bookings on its website. The first app was for them, so they could run bookings from their phone.
If your website and API already work, the app builds on them instead of starting over. Traza's app runs on its live API and its own Figma designs.
Once providers are in, the customer app reuses the same logic for sign-up, messages and bookings.
LEV users collect rewards on dog walks and turn them into discounts at partner businesses, which get in front of local dog owners. It reached 2,600+ users and 15+ partner businesses.
You see a demo every week and can change priorities. When Traza's calendar grew bigger than planned, we cut it to a first version and moved push notifications and booking creation forward.
| Step | What we do | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | We agree which side comes first, how money moves, the booking rules and what waits for later. | A written scope and designs of the main screens |
| Payments | We set up Stripe Connect, provider sign-up for payouts, deposits, refunds and your fee. | Test payments that go from customer to provider |
| Build | We build search, booking, messages, reviews and the admin panel. Sign-up and the admin panel come from ready-made modules. | An app you can test on your phone |
| Store review and launch | We send the app to review early, because Apple review can take one to two weeks. | Your app on the App Store and Google Play |
| The other side | We build the second side of the marketplace on the same backend and logic. | Both sides live |
Each card links to the full case study with the numbers behind it.
Marketplace / Lifestyle · mobile app
Booking app for tattoo artists
Artists already took bookings on Traza's website. Our React Native team built the artist app on its live API, with bookings, deposits and messages. Live on both stores in early 2026.
PetTech · mobile app
Dog owner map and marketplace
After $200k spent with another team, we built a map, community and marketplace app. First MVP a month in, then 2,600+ users and 15+ partner businesses.
PropTech · web and mobile app
Coworking booking app
A mobile app synced with the client's WordPress site, listing 577 offers in 26 countries from 44 partners.
Marketplace · website
Business ads marketplace
One place in Angola to sell companies, land and equipment, with paid ad packages. 9 specialists built it in 5 months.
EventTech · mobile app
Event app with ticketing
Guest lists and PayPal ticketing for iOS and Android, shipped in 4 months with 500+ users at launch.
EventTech · web app
Online event platform
11 of our specialists joined the core team of a platform to create, sell and stream events. It handles 100,000+ users at once.
A first version costs $5,000-15,000. These six things decide where yours lands.
An app for one side, built on a website that already works, is the fastest start. Traza started this way. Both sides from scratch take longer.
A full payment to one provider is simple. Deposits, split payments, tips, refunds and payouts in several countries each add work.
Fixed slots are quick. Custom calendars, breaks between sessions and syncing with outside calendars take longer.
A list with filters is quick. A live map with hundreds of pins needs grouping and filters, as LEV's did.
Your team needs a back office, and providers often need one too. LEV has two: one for the platform and one for businesses.
We build both from one codebase in React Native or Flutter. Traza runs on React Native, and LEV on Flutter.
Our prices are public. A free estimate tells you which option fits your marketplace.
| Option | What you pay | Fits when |
|---|---|---|
| First version (MVP) | $5,000-15,000, typically 2-4 weeks. The minimum project is $5,000. | You want to test the marketplace with real providers and customers |
| Time and materials | $39-55 an hour | The marketplace is live and the plan changes as people use it |
| Dedicated team | $6,000-9,000 per developer a month. A team starts in 2-4 weeks. | You need developers on the platform every month |
What an MVP includes, what happens each week and the apps we launched.
Build a platform you own, or one we pay for and you subscribe to.
What moves the price up or down, and what other agencies charge for an MVP.
When to grow a marketplace: enough supply and repeat bookings first, traffic second.
Matching, safety, subscriptions and App Store rules for dating apps, and the ones we built.
Describe who sells, who buys and how money should move. You get a free estimate of the scope, budget and timeline.