Let it be food ordering, or taxi booking or any other on-demand service you need mobile application plays an important role. With the advancement in technology, mobile apps have become a day to day essential in everybody’s life. Usage of mobile apps for various purposes has now become a significant part of every sector. A simple app can change the way you run the business. Mobile applications are infinite in the count with varied usage that comes with you through all walks of life. These apps range from food delivery to easy lifestyle and living. Currently, the utilization of mobile apps are seen across areas like messaging, learning, culinary, social media, shopping, commercial, wedding, and investment. Every day, people look for efficient versions of these apps. As a result, mobile app developers and app development teams put their full efforts to fulfil these requirements. Due to which the mobile sector has witnessed significant growth.
This posts an important question in everybody’s mind: so what will be the mobile app development costs? Just a single estimate or an answer will not be sufficient to arrive at the mobile apps cost. There are numerous factors to consider before you develop an app.
Still confused? So first, let us know the elements that influence the mobile app development cost.
The cost involved in mobile app development varies extensively as per the user requirements. To develop a mobile app, it needs efforts, a healthy base, well-planned implementation, an exceptional system, and resources. The development cost may go up and down depending on the market. There are a few major factors that have to be considered while computing the app development:
Market Study
The main purpose of a market study is to know the requirements and necessities of the end-users. Accurate research before implementing your plans is critical for the success of your app. This enhances the class of the final product.
Platform or the technology used
The platform you are choosing to run your app decides the major part of the cost involved. Three major which are dominating the market are Android, iOS, and Windows OS. The deciding cost differs for each of the platforms. It depends on the user if they want to select between iOS or Android or Windows.
- The average cost involved to build an iOS app – around $30K
- The approximate cost involved in developing an Android app – Around $25K
- The cost involved to build a Windows app – Around $20K
Type of application
To select between native apps and hybrid apps is totally based on the user’s preference.
Native apps are intended for a distinct platform and can be installed from an app store. Alternatively, hybrid apps are built to run across multiple platforms. A native app is reasonably faster and is expensive to develop. Native apps are more complex to build but definitely offer a good user experience. If you building an android or iOS based application, you must develop them individually and cannot be combined if they are natively built.
Hybrid applications are a comparatively easy app to develop. They can run on a single coding language across multiple platforms. They perform well, requires fewer efforts to develop and are easy to maintain as well. The selection of app type must be done carefully by considering all the positives and negatives of every technology that is available.
Design Requirements
Next is the look and feel of your app. This involves designing of various UI/UX screens, visual designs, Icons, Logos, copywriting etc.
| Simple Design | No intricate features like API integrations, add-ons, no back-ends with just basic features like email subscription, calendar, etc. |
| Moderate Design | Conventional UI features, payment options, API incorporation, multi-screen version, databases. |
| Complex Design | Multi-lingual support, third-party integrations, custom graphics, logo, complex back-end, expert design, real-time aspects. |
The complexity of the app
Here comes the toughest part. When you want to develop some complicated aspects or incorporate it with other platforms, the build and QA process can consume the major portion of your budget. Some intricacies involved are:
• The functionality of the app – Simple app, Database, API apps, Enterprise apps, Social media integration
• Payments
• In-app purchases
• Other features – There are some add-on features that could also add up to the overall cost. Apart from basic functionalities, other features like sign-up, email login, rating and review system, Location-tracking etc. may consume charges for development.
Understanding the cost involved in the technical processes
The development costs
The cost involved in developing a mobile app might depend on various factors. They include how are you planning to develop, who will develop, where is it being developed? Developing a mobile application primarily involves human resources. So the number of resources working on the project and the type of platform decides the cost.
Not including the costs of the infrastructure, you may have to purchase a domain for your app. The developer fee may differ from country to country and the type of developer you are hiring. Hourly rates are in general around $250 – $850 per hour, subject to the expertise level of the developer/consultant. If they are freelance developers they charge around $50 – $75 an hour for a new freelancer and $100 to $300 for expert developers. Offshore development charges are usually around $25 – $50 an hour. Nearshore development teams are paid around $40 – $75 an hour.
| Type of Developers | Average Hourly Rate | Average Project Size |
| Enterprise Firms | $350 – $850 | $200,000 – $100,000,000+ |
| Big Companies | $200 – $300 | $125,000 – $1,000,000+ |
| Mid-Sized firms | $100 – $200 | $50,000 – $750,000 |
| Small or Start-ups | $75 – $125 | $10,000 – $500,000 |
| Freelance Programmers/ Developers | $25 – $300 | $1,000 – $100,000 |
| Offshore Developers | $25 – $50 | $10,000 – $1,000,000+ |
| Nearshore Developers | $40 – $75 | $10,000 – $1,000,000+ |
In India, the approximate cost of building a simple app can cost from $5,000 to $8,000.
• When you go for larger companies they might cost you approximately $500,000 to $1,000,000.
• Apps built by mid-sized companies might range around $150,000 to $500,000.
• When you go for any freelancing firms or startups to build your app it might cost around $50,000 to $100,000.
Testing Cost
After the app has been developed it is important to test it before publishing it. Testing process involves a series of testing methodologies and consumes less cost than development. Cost of app testing and deployment may cost you around $5000 to $10K. IT again depends on the type of testers and the number of testers being hired.
App Maintenance cost
Similar to any other software applications, mobile apps also involve maintenance component. The market average recognized the cost of maintaining software is approximately around 20% of the actual development cost. The maintenance process involves a cost for hosting, monitoring, implementation, updates, modernization and licenses.
Marketing and Branding
It is not just enough to build an app but you have to find a way to market it. So investing in sales and marketing is equally important. No matter how good your app is, if not branded well it won’t perform well in the market. To increase your user-base you should be ready to spend both money and time. The sales, marketing and branding efforts may cost an average of $30, 000.
Different types of apps involve various development costs. The variance arises from the intricacy of an app. When app development companies evaluate the cost of developing their app, they must first consider the app design, location of the development team and the complication level of the app. They have a big influence on the total development cost. First, to identify the cost and rationalize the development process, perform detailed research. Finalize your goals, objectives and plan. Owing to the acceptance ratio of iOS and Android platforms, it is a smart approach for companies to suggest for hybrid app development process which costs less. You can even do an initial rough cost estimation using the cost calculators available online. Since infrastructure eats the major share of the budget, it makes sense to save on storage and enhancements, as well as third-party API integration.
If you still have queries on estimating the cost involved do contact us.