MMobile App Development

Cost To Pay A Company To Develop An Mobile App

Cost To Pay A Company To Develop An Mobile App

Have you heard the expression - "There's an app for everything"?

The million-dollar claim has turned into an ebb now that developments in app development—web and mobile apps—are taking off like never before. Both the Play Store and the App Store recently celebrated their 12th anniversary, and the number of apps is not likely to slow anytime soon.

Between 35 and 36 billion apps have been installed from the Google Play Store and Apple Store, indicating a significant potential for further growth. Encourage companies to create stunning apps that can change how people interact with your business.

The cost of developing an app is between $20,000 and $200,000, but it can be upwards of $350,000+ for more complex apps.

There are a lot of generalized estimates that are right there. Our 24 years of mobile app and web development have shown us that there's no one-size-fits-all answer to app development. Apps do not have a cost. But we can assure you that the costs of development and the quality are directly related. The rest is based on many factors which you must carefully consider to ensure you succeed.

Therefore, unlike lengthy articles that consume a significant amount of your time and result in off-the-shelf answers, our blog will take more time to read and give you a good idea of the cost of developing mobile apps in the ballpark.

App Development Price Statistics

    • Data from reputable companies and platforms indicates that having a mobile application by 2023 can bring huge advantages. Here are a few numbers to prove this assertion:

    • The use of apps has increased to 36% between 2020 and 2022.

    • Customers bought $21.2 billion in Apple's Apple stores in the last quarter alone in 2022.

    • The number of apps downloaded rose by 230 billion from 140 million in 2016 to 230 billion by 2021.

    • More than 100,000 apps are added to the Play Market each month, and the Apple Store welcomes over 30,000 new mobile applications.

    • Revenue from mobile apps is set to grow by $318 billion from 2020 to nearly $600 billion by 2025.

Now that we've made it evident that the market embraces mobile apps, you may wonder if they affect businesses. Here are some figures that show their value:

    • App-based startups have more than 800% more IPOs than those that are not app-based.

    • The use of business apps grew by 90% in 2020 alone.

Therefore, it's evident that the demand for mobile apps is on the rise, and having one can significantly impact your business. It's time to shift into the realm of money.

Mobile App Development Costs and Timeframes: Key Facts

Let us examine what we must prepare for and its estimated costs.

Cost of a Mobile App Developer:

An hourly rate for a mobile developer could vary from $9 an hour if you employ one from India (Boeing is likely to offer some of their experience) to up to $200 an hour when working for a top American firm.

Cost of the App Development:

Creating an application begins at $10,000, but experience has shown that these figures tend to be the minimum cost rather than the standard. According to specific sources, the more accurate figure is $25,000.

Timeframe of Mobile App Development:

In terms of the timeframe, the development of a custom mobile application can take around three months in the majority of cases. However, six months is more feasible if you need to develop a fully user-friendly app with many features.

Why Do You Need A Mobile App?

The Google Play Store is home to over 3.33 million apps, and the App Store houses more than 2.2 million apps. With app popularity rising across all geographies, every business executive, regardless of size, is seeking to create an app to give their business an online makeover. From your local hair salon to a café, various industries are tapping into the enormous market for mobile apps. There are a myriad of ways mobile apps can offer numerous lucrative opportunities and boost your company, for example:

Engagement

Through mobile apps, you can interact with clients genuinely and engagingly. Additionally, you can quickly address the customer's needs and concerns, improving customer satisfaction.

Conversions

Mobile applications allow you to contact your clients and keep them updated on your services and products. They are, therefore, an effective marketing tool for boosting brand awareness and increasing conversions.

Retention

Various options, such as the live chat feature, push notification, and gamification, can be integrated into mobile applications, providing an enjoyable and satisfying user experience. Additionally, you can create multichannel sales and offer more accessibility to customers, which will help keep them within your company.

After you've figured out why mobile apps can be a huge asset to your company, you must determine the costs of developing mobile apps. Estimating the total cost of the development process can help you choose the precise requirements and allow you to make educated decisions regarding development time and budget.

What's the Cost of Developing an App?

App development could cost anything between $5,000 and $500,000. It is possible to develop an app for nothing if you do it at home. If you're an enterprise in the tech sector and a major tech company, you could invest millions in the development of an app if it's the main focus of the business.

If you're not one of these groups, this is the price range you could expect your app's costs to be within. If you'd like to know more, the approximate range for a custom-designed or developed app to create an MVP is between $100,000 and $300,000.

Also Read: Factors Affecting the Cost of Hiring a Mobile App Developer

In our experience, the majority of app MVPs are in this range, but they may be lower or higher depending on various factors. We'll go over these aspects in a second.

The main factor determining the price of app development is the complexity of your app. Simple applications will be significantly lower on the expense scale, while an app with more complexity will cost more. Because complexity requires longer to develop, more person-hours are needed, leading to higher overall prices.

The typical cost to design and create an app

Simple Application: $75,000 - $150,000

Approximate Complexity: $150,000 - - $250,000

Complex app: $350,000+

What is Your App Type?

Although your app's concept is fantastic, making your customers love it is entirely different. There are a variety of apps to choose from, and deciding the one that best suits your business goals can significantly impact the cost of development.

Essential Apps: Simple or basic applications cost $20 to $60K since they do not require extensive front-end or back-end development. The cost of these apps can differ based on the operating system (iOS, Android, or both) and developer costs. The most basic apps typically include games, watches, and calculator applications.

Data-Driven Apps: Building apps that are driven by data could cost between $25,000 and $80,000 since they are heavily dependent on data processing and analysis. The apps can retrieve hundreds of data, analyze it, and then present the results to users. Data-driven applications include calendars, weather forecasting, maps, and many more. Their costs increase with the complex nature of data processing and integration.

The Cost of Social Network Apps: The development cost of apps for social networks could range from $30,000 to $1,000,000. These apps require profiles of users and social interactions, as well as messaging and perhaps sharing media—in which case the costs may vary depending on features such as live updates in real-time, push notifications, and scaling. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Pinterest are a few examples of social network applications.

On-Demand Service App: On-demand service apps allow users to connect with products or services in real-time and cost around $60,000-$1,20,000. Their price is heavily contingent on features such as location, payment integration, and service provider management.

ECommerce Apps: The Cost of developing eCommerce applications can cost anywhere from $80,000 to $150,000, but the costs can rise with features such as managing inventory and securing transactions. multi-platform support. Apps such as Alibaba, eBay, and Amazon are just a few of the most well-known eCommerce applications.

Gaming Apps: the price of gaming applications can range between $30,000 and $2,00,000 due to the requirements for design, ranging from simple games in 2D to complex 3D games with multiplayer features. Gaming apps have many graphics and are highly demanding on the backend. They require high-performance processing and a complex user interface, resulting in high development costs.

Enterprise Apps: Enterprise applications are intended for the company's internal needs, such as marketing and sales, HRM, CRM, and the list goes on. The cost of creating enterprise-level software can range from $50,000 to $3,00,000. It depends on the business process requirements and integration needs.

Healthcare Apps: Healthcare applications generally cost between $45,000 and $250,000. They can cost more because they must adhere to healthcare regulations, handle sensitive data, and integrate medical equipment.

eLearning Apps: The design and implementation of eLearning applications can be costly, ranging from $60,000 to $3,000,000. Online learning apps can provide online instruction and other educational resources, including virtual classrooms, course distribution, training, and more. Their costs could increase even more with features like multi-media content, progress tracking, and tools for user engagement.

Video Streaming Applications: It allows users to stream video content on the Internet in real time without downloading the video content. Depending on the bandwidth and server infrastructure requirements, the development of a video streaming application can cost anywhere from $50,000 to $350,000 or more.

Factors Affecting Mobile App Development Cost

Because the features, complexity, and scope can alter based on your individual business requirements,, hybrid mobile app development can cost more. This can be due to payments on servers, bug fixes, updates, and third-party integrations, such as SMS and push notifications, payment gateways, and more.

These are the factors that can add up to the cost of developing an application:

Quality Assurance

Quality assurance is vital to ensure the app functions perfectly under any circumstance. This is why you should choose a custom mobile app development service with a solid QA service.

Infrastructure Costs

App infrastructure focuses on data management and storage, as well as hosting services. Its cost includes data delivery, development tools, libraries, data storage, etc.

IT Support Costs

Support for technical issues is required to ensure the app's performance and resolve any problems users might encounter. The expenses included within IT support management include fixing bugs, maintaining APIs, reducing downtime for networks, applying security cloud services, and others.

App Publishing Costs

Google Play Store and App Store each charge different fees for creating apps. The Play Store charges a one-time fee of $225, and the App Store charges a one-time fee of $25. Hosting your mobile application on the App Store costs $99 annually.

App Security

A program may contain sensitive user data, including passwords, financial details, and personal information. So, making sure that your app is secure is a crucial part of app development and also improves customer loyalty.

Technical Factors That Could Affect the Price of an App

After we've examined the difficulty of creating an app and how much it will cost to create apps, we'll take a look at the different aspects of developing a custom app that may affect the cost. There are many things to consider in this article, each of which is crucial.

Android vs. iOS

The most important factor affecting the price of developing an app is the platform you'll be distributing it. At present, you have two options: Android and iOS devices. It will be determined by which platform is the most popular with the people you want to target (hint that it could be both! ).

There needs to be more disagreement over the most expensive platform to create. Some say they believe that Android is the simplest and better-supported system, making it cost-effective, whereas other people report the opposite. The truth is between the two. Both are not necessarily superior or more cost-effective than others. It's all about the developer you choose to work with every platform.

Also Read: Cost of Android App Development

If you're developing an app by a developer with a wealth of experience creating apps for Android, choosing this platform is cheaper and in reverse. Be aware of which platform your potential user utilizes.

Additionally, you don't need to pick one or the other. A framework can be used to develop apps for both iOS and Android platforms simultaneously, allowing you to create the app once and then build it on both platforms. This is referred to as native and cross-platform design.

Native Vs. Cross-Platform

Native app development is developing an application designed for a specific platform. For instance, you make a decision early that you'll create an app specifically for iOS, and then you adhere to this decision until the final stages of the development process. You can also choose Android and design your app for your chosen platform.

However, cross-platform development involves creating an app that works on both platforms simultaneously. You can achieve this by creating two nearly identical native apps that work on both platforms. However, most of the time, it is best to select a method that allows you to develop one app and then deploy it to different platforms.

React Native and Flutter are fantastic options for developing cross-platform apps. They allow you to build your application and later translate the code to be compatible with other operating systems.

Cross-platform development may be more economical and profitable if the app is successful across both platforms.

Features and Functionality

Features and functionality are among the most important aspects when determining the cost of developing an app. Consider each feature you'll implement in your app as an individual task your team of developers will take on. They'll have to determine how the feature will be integrated within the app, decide how to build the interface to it, connect it to the app's features, and so on.

This is why making your app as simple as possible will reduce the development cost (and could help increase the likelihood of early acceptance). The smaller the number of features you want, the less development cost your app will require at first, and most likely, it will develop faster.

If you're working with an unassailable budget, consider adding only the needed features. For instance, you'd like to add five new features; however, you only require three to function as planned. It is possible to start your app with just three features and add five in the future, with updates after the product has been tested.

However, it's not always an alternative. If you're developing a complex, feature-rich application and there's no way to avoid it, expect to put in more.

In addition, prices will rise if you incorporate the latest technology, such as

    • Messaging

    • Payments

    • IoT

    • Social network

    • Audio and video streaming

    • Bluetooth

These are excellent features to incorporate into an app; however, since they are brand new, exclusive, or require specialized development, they are more expensive to add to an app.

Visual Design Complexity

Alongside your app's functionality and features is the visual style. Hire mobile app developers to create wireframes of your app's design early in the process. Remember that design drives technology, so you'll develop the app first and then move into development.

Wireframing an application can be described as creating a picture that resembles the way your app could appear (sort of like a sketch). However, this image isn't functional. It's a way to begin understanding the language used by your application.

Like attributes, the more intricate your design's visual appearance, the more difficult and costly it will be to design. The good news is that minimalist designs are a hit and easily accessible to users. While it's okay to complicate your app's visuals, the best approach is to simplify things.

Collaboration with UX/UI designers to design the visual elements of your apps is an excellent method to reduce costs. It's best to provide a design framework to your developers, who will adapt it to the app's requirements.

Backend Infrastructure

The backend infrastructure is another element that affects the breakdown of costs for app development. The kind of app you're developing can affect the complexity of your backend more than the overall level of complexity of your app. However, an app with a lot of complexity will likely have a complex backend because the front end is just an image representation of the action happening in the backend.

Your app's backend is the in-depth code, libraries, SDKs, APIs, frameworks, and other technical components that allow your application to run. But if your app draws data from various sources, utilizing features other apps have developed, you'll likely have to invest more in the backend of your application.

Hidden Costs

Not least, there are hidden costs involved in developing apps. A company that develops apps will not always inform you of these expenses at the beginning, but you'll learn about them as the development process progresses.

One of the primary hidden costs to consider is the security of your app. You may not have thought of this prior to now, but your app must be secure, and security isn't cheap. Marketing is another commonly hidden cost. You want people to be aware of your app, so you'll need to spend money advertising it.

Hosting your app in app stores, buying third-party software licenses and backend mobile app development services such as AWS, and sustaining your app are additional expenses that may increase when you don't expect them. When deciding on a developer, inquire about these costs to get more precise answers to the question, "How much money does it cost to build an app?"

Cost of App Development by Type

Let's break down the application into categories to make it easier to estimate its development costs. The Costs of developing apps generally vary from category to category.

Basic/ Native App Development Cost

The most important apps include calculators and utility apps, which are minuscule games that don't require a network to function or operate any features. The development process typically takes 400 to 600 hours. These are among the most cost-effective categories of apps, with development costs between $5,000 and $12,000

Examples: Compass and Notes

Data-Driven App Development Cost

They receive a lot of data and share it via a network. These apps can include maps and weather forecasts. They are slowly losing market share as they are incorporated into extensive applications available in smart devices. The typical cost for developing apps is about $10,000 to $15,000.

Examples: Calendar and QR Scanner

Social Media App Development Cost

A few of the well-known applications of the current era are Social networking apps such as Facebook, Instagram, and others. These apps typically manage millions of conversations and tons of data simultaneously. They require a solid backend infrastructure, advanced functions such as media management, and real-time data sync.

Also Read: Social Media App Development Cost 

Alongside features like chat, in-app purchases, video calls, and so on, mobile applications require a significant investment, which ranges from $50,000 to $300,000 (and more depending on other features and the complexity).

Examples: LinkedIn and WhatsApp

eCommerce Marketplace App Development Cost

eCommerce or online shopping applications are fashionable and necessary in today's digital age. Apps like Amazon and MakeMyTrip offer a vast array of features that connect the retailer with the customer and provide a superior customer experience by catering to their immediate needs, such as searching for a product online or making reservations for a hotel comparison shopping online. Making an app like it costs anywhere from $62,000 to $400,000 and up.

Examples: eBay and Alibaba

On-Demand Development Cost

These kinds of apps cater to three people: the customer in need of services, the service provider, and the businessperson in the middle. The user interface and flow of these apps are distinct from those of other apps. Apps such as Uber respond to customers' needs to book cabs and travel from one location to another.

Also Read: Cost To Develop an On-Demand App

On-demand apps require significant funding and a variety of stakeholders to manage complex front-end and back-end services. The cost of developing an on-demand app is typically $80,000 to $200,000 or more.

Examples: Zomato and Airbnb

cost-of-app-development

Final Words

Two options exist: employing a professional Mobile app development company or developing your app yourself. Consider their experience, track record, and portfolio before signing the contract if you work with a professional app development firm. Also, inquire about the price of their services and receive the estimate to complete your work.

However, if you create the app yourself, you'll need to be acquainted with the technical aspects involved. Whatever choice you make, be sure to carefully plan your project prior to commencing development.

The cost of creating an app depends on various aspects, such as the size of your project's scope, required technology, and the platform you choose, as well as the kind of app development company and the number of developers you employ.