There’s not a fixed price for building a mobile application.
Think of a scenario of a product/service, a mobile phone, or a car service, the price of both depends and differ with respect to certain factors like features or facilities. Similarly when we talk about mobile app development cost, Depending on the depth of mobile application features and end-user flow, building cost varies. So how much does it cost to make an app?
According to our experience in building mobile apps, the cost to build a quality app ranges from $25,000 up to $50,000+ per platform. IT vendor influence the app price, where at $25 to $40/hour rate:
Basically, your app idea, along with business and functional necessities, influences the app development cost.
The factors which determine the final cost to build an app are:
Let’s discuss each factor a little more in detail :
1. Application development source (freelancer or development company)
Choosing the right developer is important whether you hire freelance developers or an app development company to build your app. What are the pros and cons of both options?
When Hired Freelancer :
When App Development Company :
The main advantages of working with a mobile app development agency include:
If we categorize mobile apps based on their complexity – simple, moderate, mid-level, and fully custom, then the cost of app development is approximate:
Complexity | Feature Inclusion | Estimated Time | Cost of Freelancer | Development Company Cost |
Simple | Standard UI elements with simple back-end | 3-4 Months | $15k – $25k | $40k – $60k |
Moderate | API Integration, custom design, standard design | 4-5 Months | $30k – $40k | $70k – $100k |
B2B focus | Limited external integration | B2B focus | B2B focus | B2B focus |
Mid-Level | Professional design, pro-features, high quality animation | 6-7 Months | $50k – $70k | $110k – $200k |
Fully Customized | Custom professional front-end design and integration | 8+ Months | $80k+ | $200k+ |
2. Location of the App Development Partner:
The location of an app development agency plays an important role in deciding the final cost of development. How much does it cost to build an app in these regions? Here are the average rates:
Region | iOS ($/hour) | Android ($/hour) |
North America | 150 | 168 |
Australia | 110 | 110 |
UK | 70 | 70 |
South America | 43 | 34 |
Eastern Europe | 35 | 35 |
India | 30 | 26 |
Indonesia | 11 | 12 |
3. The Size of Your Development Team to Build an App:
Scope of Your Project helps deciding the development team size,
A standard development team includes:
While an extended team consists of:
So how many resources does it take to build a high-quality app with a full-scale development team? Here is an illustration:
Person | Responsibilities |
UX/UI Designer | Design the app layout, look and feel of different screens, perform optimization tasks |
Developer | Write the code to create app functionalities, perform data integration, fix bugs |
Back-end Developer | Ensure smooth communication between the application, the server, and the database |
QA Engineer or Tester | Check every functionality of the app, check the quality of code, design quality, and ensure the app fulfills the main purpose |
Project Manager | Efficiently handle the project, ensure deadlines are followed by everyone, ensure there is discipline and proper communication within the team |
4. Native App Vs Hybrid App:
Native App | Hybrid App |
Chooses individual languages w.r.t to the selected platform iOS(used languages) Swift,Objective-C) , Android(used languages Java,Kotlin) | Chooses single code across the multiple platforms with the binding of native code |
Security is the most promising. | The main drawback of hybrid apps is to use in-device third-party features, requiring download of data as users navigate the feature, security is a concern here. |
Expensive across multiple platforms as code is individual. | Cost effective across multiple platforms as single code can be used for multiple platforms |
Best user experience | Faster speed to market when launch in short time |
Basic app development cost starts from $15k-$25k | Basic app development cost starts from $5000-$10k |
5. Cost to Build an App Based on the Key Features & Complexities:
Basic features like user sign-in, push notifications, and primary navigation are less time consuming.However, features like credit card payment, online streaming, offline mode consumes time.
Let’s see the cost of developing each feature in detail:
Registration and Login:
Navigation:
Push Notifications:
Media:
Maps:
In-app Purchases:
Security and Data Encryption:
App Development Cost for Each Phase:
An efficient app development process spans six key phases.
As an appreneur, it will help to know the costs at each phase, as it helps plan your budget.
1. Business Analysis:
Costs at Business Analysis Phase:
2. Prototyping and UI/UX Design:
- Adobe XD
- Marvel
- InVision
- Proto.io
Costs at Design and Prototyping Phase:
3. App Coding:
Costs at Coding Phase:
4. Project Management:
Another critical phase in the app development process is project management.
Costs at Project Management Phase:
5. App Testing and Deployment:
Testing is a crucial facet of your app development.
Costs at App Testing and Deployment Phase:
6. App /Maintenance:
Mobile app maintenance usually includes:
- Fixing bugs
- Updating your app to the latest OS versions
- Upgrading app to make it compatible with new technologies
- Code optimization
- Improving app stability
- Scale up the server infrastructure as the number of users grows
- Mobile app development is an ongoing process, and you should keep upgrading your app to reap the benefits of advanced technologies.
Costs at App Maintenance Phase:
Final Words:
Building a mobile app requires a lot of planning to get a final product the closest to your offline model. If you are planning to build a mobile app that boosts your business productivity, let our highly skilled developers help you.
If your dream plan is ready on paper, pass the sketch to us or write to us on info@varianceinfotech.com.
Do You Need more information ?
For any further information / query regarding Technology, please email us at info@varianceinfotech.com
OR call us on +1 630 534 0220, Alternately you can request for information by filling up Contact Us
OR call us on +1 630 534 0220, Alternately you can request for information by filling up Contact Us