Running a multi-vendor marketplace is a different kind of challenge. It's not just a store. You're managing vendors, commissions, payouts, per-vendor shipping rules, product approvals, and a buyer experience that has to work across dozens or hundreds of sellers.
You've built this on WordPress and WooCommerce, customized the theme, added plugins for everything from SEO to email marketing to advanced shipping, and spent months getting the marketplace to work the way you need it to.
Now you want a native mobile app.
Maybe you've tried Dokan's own mobile app and found it doesn't quite capture everything your marketplace offers. Maybe you want something that feels more like your website and less like a generic shopping app. Maybe you haven't tried anything yet and you're weighing your options.
Wherever you are, there's a path to a fully native app that delivers your complete marketplace experience, not a simplified version of it (and doesn’t cost six figures to launch).
Can You Build a Mobile App with Dokan?
Sort of. Dokan does offer its own mobile app product, but it comes with tradeoffs. Here's the current landscape:
Dokan's own mobile app
Dokan offers a mobile app for both iOS and Android. It covers the basics: product browsing, multi-vendor cart management, wishlist, vendor profiles, order tracking, push notifications, and social login. Pricing starts at $59/month for both platforms with a $109 setup fee.
It's a real product, and for some marketplaces it may be sufficient.
But there's a gap between what the Dokan app delivers and what your actual marketplace looks like.
The app works with Dokan's core features, but your marketplace is more than Dokan. It's WordPress, WooCommerce, your theme, and all the plugins you've layered on top. Your custom vendor pages built with Elementor or your page builder of choice. Your blog content that drives traffic. Your custom landing pages for seasonal campaigns. Your WooCommerce extensions for subscriptions, bookings, memberships, or advanced product options.
The Dokan app doesn't capture all of that. It delivers a version of your marketplace, but not the full experience your website provides.
WooCommerce app builders
Since Dokan runs on WooCommerce, you could look at third-party WooCommerce app builders.
These pull product data through WooCommerce's REST API and generate a mobile storefront. But they face the same limitation: they work with standard WooCommerce data, not with the full complexity of a multi-vendor marketplace.
Vendor dashboards, commission structures, per-vendor shipping, vendor-specific storefronts, and your custom plugin stack generally don't transfer.
Custom development
You could hire a development team to build a native app from scratch using WooCommerce and Dokan APIs.
But Dokan's API support is limited, and the complexity of a multi-vendor marketplace (separate vendor flows, multi-seller carts, per-vendor order management) makes custom mobile development significantly more expensive and time-consuming than building an app for a standard single-vendor store.
Your Options for Launching a Mobile App
For Dokan marketplace operators, there are three realistic paths.
Use Dokan's mobile app
It's affordable and purpose-built for Dokan. If your marketplace is relatively standard (you haven't heavily customized the theme, you're not relying on many additional plugins, and your buyers primarily care about browsing products and placing orders), it can do the job.
If your marketplace has significant customization, custom vendor pages, a content strategy built into the site, or a user experience that goes beyond basic product browsing, you'll likely find the app falls short of what your website delivers.
Custom app development
Building a marketplace app from scratch is expensive. The multi-vendor architecture adds layers of complexity that a standard ecommerce app doesn't have: vendor onboarding, per-vendor product management, multi-seller cart and checkout, split payments, vendor-specific shipping, and separate order management flows.
For a mid-complexity Dokan marketplace, custom development runs $50,000 to $150,000 for the initial build, with $15,000 to $35,000 per year in maintenance. And every time you add a new WordPress plugin, update your theme, or change your marketplace workflows, the app needs a corresponding update.
Most marketplace operators don't have the resources for that. The app gradually falls behind the website and stops reflecting what your marketplace actually looks like.
Website-to-app with MobiLoud
There's a simpler approach: take your existing Dokan marketplace website and extend it into a native mobile app, with MobiLoud.
MobiLoud takes the marketplace you've already built on the web and delivers it as a native iOS and Android app. The full experience: your custom theme, your vendor pages, your blog, your WooCommerce checkout, your plugins, every page and feature your buyers and sellers can access on the web. It all carries over automatically.
On top of that, MobiLoud adds native capabilities: push notifications, native navigation, deep linking, app icon, splash screen, and full App Store and Google Play presence.
The cost is a fraction of custom development. The launch timeline is weeks, not months. And because the app renders your live website, every change you make is immediately reflected in the app. No duplicate work.
Why MobiLoud is the Best Way for Dokan Marketplaces to Launch an App
MobiLoud converts your existing Dokan marketplace into native iOS and Android apps.
It delivers what Dokan's own app and custom development can't: your complete marketplace experience, exactly as you built it, in a native app.
Here's why this approach fits marketplace operators:
Your full marketplace becomes the app, not a stripped-down version
This is the key difference. Your Dokan marketplace isn't just a product catalog.
It's vendor storefronts with custom branding. It's the browsing experience you've designed with your theme. It's your blog posts that drive organic traffic. It's your landing pages for promotions. It's the specific WooCommerce plugins you've added for subscriptions, bookings, advanced product options, or whatever your marketplace requires.
MobiLoud delivers all of it. Not a simplified mobile shopping experience. The actual marketplace.
Every WordPress plugin works in the app
This matters more for marketplace operators than almost anyone else. Your site probably runs 30+ active plugins. Dokan itself, plus WooCommerce extensions, page builders, SEO tools, email marketing integrations, analytics, caching, security. These plugins shape the experience your users get.
With MobiLoud, every plugin that works on your website works in the app automatically. No compatibility questions. No features disappearing because the app doesn't support a particular plugin. Your full WordPress stack carries over.
Both buyer and seller experiences carry over
Your marketplace has two audiences: buyers and vendors. Buyers browse, search, add to cart, check out, track orders. Vendors manage their storefronts, list products, handle orders, check earnings, and communicate with buyers.
MobiLoud delivers both experiences in the app, because it delivers your website. The vendor dashboard works. The buyer browsing experience works. The multi-vendor cart works. Everything your users can do on the web, they can do in the app.
Push notifications to drive marketplace engagement
For marketplaces, engagement is everything. You need buyers coming back regularly to discover new vendors and products. You need vendors staying active and listing new items.
Native push notifications let you reach both audiences directly. New vendor joined? Push to buyers. Flash sale from a popular seller? Push. Order shipped? Push. Vendor payout processed? Push.
Native push has significantly higher opt-in rates than browser-based notifications. For a marketplace where repeat visits are the business model, that difference matters.
App Store and Google Play presence
Having your marketplace listed in the App Store and Google Play adds credibility and discoverability. Buyers can search for your brand, download the app, and have your marketplace on their home screen. For marketplaces competing with established platforms, a native app signals that you're a serious operation.
No duplicate work
When you add a new vendor, update your marketplace design, publish a blog post, create a promotional landing page, or install a new plugin, the app reflects it immediately. You're managing one website, not a website and a separate app.
Launch in weeks, not months
A custom marketplace app takes 4-8+ months to build. MobiLoud apps typically launch in about 4 weeks. And you already know what you're going to get, because the app is a direct reflection of what already works on your website.
Fully managed service
MobiLoud handles everything: the build, app store submission (Apple and Google), ongoing maintenance, and support. You stay focused on growing your marketplace. We handle everything to do with your app.
How It Works
The process is simple, and it doesn't require any development work on your end.
- Get a free consultation. We'll put together an interactive preview so you can see exactly what your Dokan marketplace looks like as a native app before committing to anything.
- App build. Once you give the go-ahead, we put your apps together. Native layer with push notifications, native navigation, app icon, splash screen, deep linking, and any extras needed for your marketplace.
- Testing and QA. We run comprehensive tests across iOS and Android devices. You test on your own devices and provide feedback.
- App store submission. MobiLoud handles Apple App Store and Google Play submission, including all compliance requirements and metadata.
- Launch and ongoing support. Your app goes live. MobiLoud handles OS updates, app store policy changes, maintenance, and support on an ongoing basis. You keep running your marketplace.
Your WordPress setup doesn't change. Your Dokan configuration, your WooCommerce settings, your plugins, your theme: everything keeps running exactly as it does today. You just gain a new, native channel for your buyers and vendors.
Next Steps
If you're running a Dokan marketplace and you want a native app that delivers the full experience you've built, MobiLoud is the most practical way to make it happen.
Your marketplace already works. Your vendors are active. Your buyers are shopping. Your customizations are live.
Why settle for an app that only shows part of what you've built, or spend months and tens of thousands on a custom build?
Ready to see what your marketplace looks like as a native app? Book a free consultation to learn more, and see if this is the right fit for your business.
