If you have already searched for information about app development, the key question you probably want an answer to is “how much does it cost to make an app?”
To mention upfront, the cost to create an app is very hard to estimate and the sum can vary from $15,000 to $240,000+ for one platform. Note, that a minimum budget to build an app is around $10,000 for a very basic project. In most cases, this price will increase on average up to $50,000 for the first, simple app version.
Such a big discrepancy in app development price is due to the factors like app type, number and complexity of features, design uniqueness, location and rates of IT vendor you choose, expenses on marketing, QA, and so on.
Studies of Clutch and Outsystems confirm this wide range of potential project cost from $5,000 to $500,000+ and a timeline of 1 to 9+ months. Goodfirm’s research indicates that the cost to make an app of a complex functionality is around $70,000 - $100,000 and the app with minimum feature-set - $40,000 to $60,000.
This guide is intended to give you a detailed explanation of everything that makes up the cost of creating an app and a few up-to-date app price options you can choose among.
Let’s not waste any more time and get right into the subject.
Factors That Determine App Development Cost
As mentioned, there is no precise answer to the question “how much does it cost to develop an app?” because the price depends on factors, namely:
- Project type (social, on-demand delivery, e-commerce, healthcare, etc.)
- Type of vendor you choose (freelancers, IT agency)
- Vendor’s location (country)
- Vendor’s rate
- Number and complexity of features
- Number of platforms (iOS, Android, web)
- Design complexity (basic, custom, use of animations)
This list requires some explanations, doesn’t it? Further on, you will find details on each point.
Freelancers vs. App Development Agency
The two main types of vendors that can create an app for you are freelancers and agencies.
If you decide to work with freelancers to build an app, you will receive the following advantages:
- Cheap app development
- Constant communication with the developer only
At the same time, weigh the risks:
- The need to find freelancers for all required services
- Lower quality of services
- Limited accountability and transparency
- Team management on your side
- Additional paperwork
On the contrast, professional app development requires teamwork and people who are used to work on the same project.
If your choice is to work with an app development company, you will enjoy the following benefits:
- Trustworthy relations
- Quality of deliverables
- All or the majority of needed services in one place
- Schedule and discipline
- Project management
- Accountability
Disadvantages of working with companies that make apps:
- Higher rates
- More bureaucracy
In spite of having to spend more money and deal with more paperwork, app development companies usually give a sense of security and confidence that is worth the cost.
The overall experience of cooperation with freelancers and agencies can be summarized in the table below:
App Developers' Location
Location is the next major factor that can influence the cost of developing an app significantly.
The most popular app development destinations worldwide are North America (mainly the USA), Latin America, Eastern Europe (Ukraine), and Asia (India).
So, how much does it cost to create an app in these regions? Let’s review the latest data about how much app developers charge per hour to figure it out.
| Employee Title | INDIA | Western Europe | Eastern Europe | North America |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business Analyst | $30-$40 | $55-$80 | $35-$45 | $60-$75 |
| Architect | $35-$65 | $90-$120 | $40-$70 | $90-$130 |
| Project Manager | $30-$40 | $55-$65 | $35-$45 | $90-$110 |
| Jr. Developer | $20-$30 | $40-$50 | $25-$35 | $50-$70 |
| Mid-level Developer | $25-$35 | $45-$65 | $30-$40 | $60-$80 |
| Sr. Developer | $35-$45 | $65-$80 | $40-$50 | $75-$105 |
| Lead Developer | $35-$50 | $70-$90 | $40-$55 | $90-$115 |
| Junior QA | $15-$25 | $35-$45 | $20-$30 | $45-$60 |
| Mid-level QA | $25-$35 | $45-$55 | $30-$40 | $60-$75 |
| Senior QA | $30-$40 | $50-$65 | $35-$45 | $75-$90 |
App development cost in India, Usually North India, and other Asian countries is usually less than $25/hour. In South America, which is considered to be another popular outsourcing destination, the rates are between the ranges of Western and Eastern European rates.
The highest development costs will be required if you choose vendors from the US with $70 to $100 rate. Eastern Europe, Ukraine in particular, will offer you a more average cost for app development of $40. This region is very reasonable to work; you get good quality, for a moderate app development price and do not overpay for a company’s brand.
Simple Features vs. Complex Feature Set
An app’s complexity defines how much time you will need to build each feature and thus, how much it will cost.
The following table shows you an approximate app development timeline by complexity:
| Basic version | Medium app | Large app | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notes | core feature-set (e.g. simple login, email subscription standard, simple design elements 1 platform | more features (e.g. payments, integrations, analytics) more complex design 1-2 platforms | complex app development (e.g. video-streaming, data encryption, offline mode, etc.) custom app design, animations app support 2 platforms |
| Time | ~3-5 months | ~6-9 months | 9+ months (ongoing) |
Сomplexity matters when it comes to the cost of making an app. If your budget is limited, think about prioritizing features to fit within that price range.
As well, keep in mind that native apps (those developed specifically to run on iOS or Android) are much better than those that are cross-platform. They are also more expensive, but the overall result and their performance make the cost worthwhile.
The core features that are widely used in many digital projects are as follows:
- User login/ registration - via email, Facebook, phone number with verification. The most user-friendly sign-up option is via social network. Basic implementation of the login feature takes around 20 - 25 hours.
- Chat - P2P chat can be developed in ~50 - 65 hours. This timeline also depends on functions like chat history, auto-delete, offline mode, emojis, file transfer, and other elements. Group-chat is more complex to develop and may take around 80+ hours.
- Search - users may search for goods, information, or services inside the app per one or more categories. A basic search function can be completed in ~12 -15+ hours. More complex search requests need more of an investment.
- Push notifications - a key method through which many apps communicate with users. Alerts, SMS notifications, and warnings provide users with relevant and up-to-date information (e.g. messaging apps). The simplest text form of this feature can be developed in ~12 - 15 hours.
- Payments - in-app payments can be made with credit cards, services like PayPal, Payoneer, Apple or Google wallets, or even with cash. Technologies like Stripe and Braintree are mostly used to implement payment functionality and a minimum of 50 - 65 hours is necessary.
- In-app purchases - another variant to monetize your app with options like purchase of goods and services, pay for subscriptions, add features, remove ads, and so on. The average time to develop this functionality is around 20 - 30 hours.
- Analytics - collects data from user activity and app performance with the help of integrated services like Flurry, Google Analytics, etc. The most basic form can be implemented in ~ 2 - 5 hours.
More complex implementation features are as follows:
- Geolocation- a core feature for apps like Uber, dating apps, businesses, travel products, etc. The ability to locate the user device and use of GPS can be implemented in approximately 32 - 48 hours.
- Integrations (Google Maps) - can be integrated in iOS and Android apps to supplement geolocation features for navigation and routing; takes around 32- 40 hours.
- Ads - integration of promotional and marketing material inside an app depends on the type (e.g text, banner, full-screen pop-up), the chosen library, service, and APIs. Approximately 8- 16 hours are typically spent on simple banner placement.
- Offline mode - the availability of app data without an internet connection. The amount of data and its storage (e.g. cookies, local storage, database) influences the amount of time needed for development, which can be up to 80 hours.
- Data encryption - this feature can be used to secure messaging with end-to-end encryption, where only the receiver has the necessary decoding protocol. To eliminate unauthorized access, a minimum of 16- 24 hours are needed and the process depends on the data being encrypted (text, image, video, etc.).
- Video/audio streaming - this is rather hard to implement, but can be done in 56 - 72+ hours. This timeline is influenced by data transmission, processing, software logic, file formats, streaming protocols, server setup, and other settings.
- Connectivity with a device - the app’s use of a device’s hardware, like NFC, Bluetooth, barometers, gyroscopes, accelerometers, etc. Around 16 - 24 hours are required to build this feature. There is no need to develop any back-end.
Platform: iOS or Android
How much does it cost to make an app for iOS or Android?
Your choice of a platform also influences the cost of app development. The main factor that determines whether you need to make an app for iOS or Android is the audience you would like to reach.
There are fewer devices that run on iOS than on Android. A good market analysis will help you choose the best options.
If you need to make an app for one platform only, there will be no difference in app cost, be it iOS or Android. However, if you decide to build a mobile app for both platforms, be ready to spend more money.
Design Complexity
App design influences the whole process of creating an app. The more complex the design, the more expensive your application becomes.
Simple app design mainly consists of standard, platform-specific elements that are quite easy to implement and will not take much time. Adding custom elements and animations increase design complexity and thus the app design cost.
These PRIME costs of developing an app are basically divided into the following categories:
- Cost of App Publishing: This is the cost that you need to pay when distributing your application on any app marketplace – Google Play Store, Apple App Store, or Amazon App Store.
- Costs of Functional Services: This cost includes the expenses you will have to pay to execute the functionalities and features of your app. (For example, Twilio for push notifications)
- Cost of App Designing: The expense to design the UI and UX of your application falls under this category. Are you going to work on Hybrid Ionic 5 development OR you will prefer native app development. And, It will totally rely upon the quality you need for your application.
- Cost of Infrastructure Services: These services incorporate infrastructural expenses, for example, app hosting cost, data storage cost, and data exchange cost.
- Cost of Administrative Services: The development of an admin panel and custom APIs / Mulesoft API's / Heroku Wrapper API's from which you can manage your app’s operations, content, and user profiles.
- Cost of App Testing: App’s functionality check on various operating systems, devices, and screen resolutions require app testing. And, it will cost you a handsome amount of money.
- Cost of App Maintenance: Maintenance is needed to solve bugs and crashes that show up over time or the ones that weren’t found before the app release.
- Cost of App Marketing: Think about how you will tell people about your application before launching it. It doesn’t make a difference what way you select – it will surely cost you more.
While the total cost of developing an app will depend on a number of factors like the category of your app, features it has and where your app’s development center is located – let us give you a ballpark figure on how much it will cost you to develop a full-fledged app including all the above mentioned hidden costs and the usual cost of development:
| Indian Breakdown of Cost For Developing a Mobile App | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| For Small App | For Medium App | For Large App | |||||||
| Discovery and Wireframing | $1,500 | $2,500 | $2,500 | ||||||
| App Screen Designs | $2,000 | $3,000 | $3,500 | ||||||
| iOS native development | $9,000 | $11,000 | $20,000 | ||||||
| Android native development | $9,000 | $11,000 | $20,000 | ||||||
| Infrastructure Services (App Hosting and Data Storage) | $1,200 per year | $1,500 per year | $2,000 per year | ||||||
| Functional Services (For Example, Push Notifications, Google Maps and APIs) | $7,000 per year | $10,500 per year | $12,000 per year | ||||||
| App Publishing |
|
|
| ||||||
| Administrative Services or Back-End Development (CMS, Admin Panel and APIs) | $6,000 | $8,500 | $10,000 | ||||||
| App Testing | $2,000 | $3,000 | $5,000 | ||||||
| App Maintenance | $2,000 per month | $3,000 per month | $4,000 per month | ||||||
| App Marketing | $4,000 per month | $4,000 per month | $4,000 per month | ||||||
| Total (Android and iPhone) | $41,824 | $58,124 | $83,124 | ||||||
Now that we have an idea of a complete cost breakdown for mobile app development – let us explore all these hidden costs in detail and find out the best possible solutions to manage them.
YOU CAN REACH ME AT MY MAIL TO ANY DEVELOPMENT OR TESTING WORK.
