CodeScience reports they've built 400+ AppExchange apps that represent roughly 70% of total AppExchange ARR. One PDO. 70% of the revenue on the marketplace. That's the shape of the agency market most ISVs walk into without knowing.

Pro Tip

TL;DR: AppExchange development companies build, package, and list native apps for ISVs. A first app typically costs $25,000 to $150,000+ over 6 to 12 months (Noltic). The market is concentrated around a few certified Product Development Outsourcers (PDOs). For ISVs that don't need a bespoke build, Appnigma AI generates an AppExchange-ready managed package from a description, no agency required.

The AppExchange now hosts 6,233 apps from 3,668 developers as of December 2025 (State of AppExchange, 2026). Most of those apps were built with this kind of help, because the work needs Apex, Lightning Web Components, and 2GP packaging skills most B2B SaaS teams don't have in house.

Standard scope:

1/ Managed package development (2GP), namespace setup, version management 2/ Apex and Lightning Web Component engineering 3/ API and data integration between the app and the customer's org 4/ Security review preparation 5/ ISV consulting on licensing and monetization 6/ Listing support and ongoing maintenance for each Salesforce seasonal release

They charge for time and specialist knowledge. The security-review experience is the part you're really paying for. Salesforce's review can fail on the first submission for the same boring reasons every time (CRUD/FLS, sharing, injection), and a $999 resubmission fee hits paid apps each cycle.

Most builds run through four phases. Knowing them helps you read a proposal.

→ Discovery and architecture: requirements, data model, packaging strategy. Often $5K to $20K. → Build: Apex, LWCs, flows, the managed package. The largest line. → Security review preparation and submission: scans, fix findings, the $999 submission. → Listing and handoff: listing assets, demo org, maintenance arrangement.

A first app commonly takes 6 to 12 months end to end. The timeline pushes startups toward faster paths when a competitor is already listed.

A Product Development Outsourcer is a Salesforce-certified partner that specializes in building and listing AppExchange apps for ISVs. PDO status signals proven packaging and security-review experience. That's the part that derails first-time builders.

The market is concentrated. CodeScience's 400+ apps and 70% ARR figure (CodeScience) is a vendor self-report, so treat it as a claim. But the signal is real. A small set of specialists dominate, and their rates reflect it. The long tail of smaller ISVs gets quoted six figures because the market never really served that tail.

For a first app, agency or PDO engagements run $25,000 to $150,000+ over six to twelve months (Noltic). Complex enterprise apps go past $300K. Most agency pages hide pricing entirely, so treat any quote as the start of a 3-year cost rather than the end.

Recurring costs an agency proposal usually omits:

→ 15% AppExchange revenue share (ISVforce) → Seasonal-release maintenance, three times a year → $999 per failed security-review resubmission

The build is the beginning of the spend. The total cost of ownership is the line item that matters.

Most "best AppExchange company" lists are self-promotional. Use a scored rubric instead.

If a partner can't give you a first-pass security-review rate or a maintenance cost in writing, that's a signal.

A few patterns reliably predict a painful engagement.

→ No named security-review metrics. "We always pass" without a first-pass rate usually means rework on your dime. → Pricing only after a long sales process. Transparency up front predicts transparency during the build. → Vague IP terms. You should own the managed package and its source outright. → No maintenance plan. An app without a seasonal-release plan breaks within a year.

1/ What's your first-pass security-review rate, as a number? 2/ Do we own the managed package and its source outright? 3/ What does post-launch maintenance cost per year, and what does it cover? 4/ How many AppExchange apps have you listed in the last 12 months? 5/ Who handles resubmissions if the review fails, and at whose cost? 6/ What's the all-in 3-year cost, including maintenance and revenue share?

Vague answers, or proof points that are adjectives, weigh a no-code path that gives you the package without the engagement risk.

You don't always need one. For B2B SaaS products whose job is to sync data into Salesforce natively (meeting notes, quotes, tickets, intent signals), a no-code generation platform reaches a listed managed package without a six-figure build.

Choose an agency when the app is deeply bespoke or you want one accountable vendor for a complex multi-quarter build. Choose an in-house developer when you have a long Salesforce roadmap to justify the salary. Choose no-code when speed and cost matter and your product's core job is native Salesforce data flow.

Not every app is a fit, and being honest about that builds trust. No-code generation is strongest when the app's core job is moving your product's data into and out of Salesforce natively. Look at Warmly, Hyperbound, Pylon, Avoma. Different products, same shape: each writes meaningful data into Salesforce records and reads from them. That shape is most of the B2B SaaS extension market.

It's a weaker fit when the app needs unusually complex Apex callouts across many external systems, heavy custom computation, or bespoke UI far outside standard Salesforce patterns. There, an agency or in-house developer earns their fee.

The practical move: generate the managed package for the 80% that's standard, reserve specialist help for the genuine edges, rather than paying six figures for the whole build.

Salesforce began framing parts of the marketplace as "AgentExchange" at TDX 2026, folding in Slack apps and AI agents (Salesforce Ben, April 2026). For ISVs choosing a development path in 2026, the fundamentals are unchanged. You still build a managed package, still pass the security review, still pay the same fees. The rebrand widens what you can list. It doesn't change who can build.

A first app typically costs $25,000 to $150,000+ over 6 to 12 months (Noltic), before maintenance and the 15% AppExchange revenue share. Complex enterprise apps can exceed $300,000.

Custom development builds inside a single customer's org. AppExchange development produces a distributable managed package listed for many customers, and it must pass Salesforce's security review. The packaging and review work is what makes AppExchange builds more expensive.

Yes. No-code generation platforms like Appnigma produce the managed package, packaging, and security-review-ready code without an agency, which suits ISVs that lack in-house Salesforce developers.

A Product Development Outsourcer is a Salesforce-certified partner specializing in building and listing AppExchange apps for ISVs. PDO status indicates proven packaging and security-review experience.

A first app commonly takes 6 to 12 months across discovery, build, security review, and listing. The security review itself adds roughly 4 to 5 weeks (Salesforce Trailhead), plus more if the first submission fails.

About the author. Sunny Chauhan is the founder and CEO of Appnigma AI, a no-code platform that generates Salesforce AppExchange-ready managed packages. He has worked through the agency, PDO, and no-code paths with B2B SaaS teams.

AppExchange development companies build, package, and list native apps for ISVs at $25,000 to $150,000+ over 6 to 12 months. The market is concentrated among a few certified PDOs. For ISVs that don't need a bespoke build, Appnigma AI generates an AppExchange-ready managed package from natural-language prompts, no agency required.

• Salesforce app development cost

• How to build a managed package without a Salesforce developer

• How to get your app on the Salesforce AppExchange

• Salesforce integration partner

1/ Noltic, AppExchange app cost breakdown 2/ CodeScience (Bridgenext), AppExchange app development (vendor claim) 3/ State of AppExchange Salesforce Apps Market 2026 4/ Salesforce Trailhead, ISV Security Review module 5/ Salesforce ISVforce Guide

What did your last agency proposal actually leave out?