How Much Does It Cost to Develop a Mobile Application?

How Much Does It Cost to Develop a Mobile Application?
Last Updated on : Mobile App Development Total Views :

Introduction

It’s clear that competition is increasing between businesses and different applications as there are approximately five million applications available on various operating systems. Organizations have clearly understood the urgency of creating mobile apps or digital presences for their brands.

The most important question you probably want an answer to if you are researching app development is “How much does it cost to make a Mobile Application or App?”.”

As mentioned earlier, the cost to create an app is extremely hard to estimate. For one platform alone, it can range between $10,000 and $250,000. You should keep in mind that a very basic app will cost you around $11,000 to build. A simple version of this app is usually priced at $70,000 or more, in most cases.

It is the result of factors such as the type of app, the number and complexity of features, the location and cost of IT vendors you choose, marketing expenses, quality assurance expenses, and so on.

Here you’ll find a detailed description of everything that goes into creating an app, as well as an overview of the current app price options available to you.

Without further ado, let’s get right to the point.

Factors that affect the cost of developing an app

The question of “what will it cost to develop an app?” doesn’t have a precise answer.”

It is not unusual to charge hourly or fixed fees for app development services. App development fees are usually determined by the time it takes to complete coding and testing, as well as the complexity level of the functions you incorporate.

App Cost = Development Time * Hourly Rate

There are several factors that affect the price, including:

  • Exactly what type of project you’re doing (e.g., e-commerce, social, on-demand, healthcare, etc.)
  • The type of vendor you choose (IT agency, freelancers)
  • Location of the vendor (country, region)
  • Rates for vendors
  • Scale of features
  • Platforms supported (Web, iOS, Android)
  • Level of design complexity support (basic, custom, use of animations)

Mobile Application Development Company vs. Freelancers

Independent contractors and Companies both offer their services for creating apps for you.

The following advantages can be obtained by working with freelancers for app development:

  • Low-cost app development
  • The developer is the only person in constant communication with

However, you should also consider the risks:

  • Finding freelancers to perform all required services
  • Services for mobile application development are of lower quality
  • Lack of accountability and transparency
  • Management of your team on your side
  • Documentation additional

Effective application development requires close cooperation and people who have experience working on the same project together.

The following benefits come from hiring an app development company:

  • Relationships built on trust
  • Deliverables are of good quality
  • A single location that provides the majority of services needed
  • Time management and discipline
  • Managerial and administrative tasks
  • Taking accountability

While app development companies usually require more money and paperwork, they generally provide a sense of security and confidence worth a lot of money.

Locations of app developers

A developer’s location is the next major factor that is likely to influence development costs significantly. Globally, North America (primarily the USA), Latin America, Eastern Europe (Ukraine), and Asia (India) are the most popular destinations for app development. Usually, Indian, Pakistani, and other Asian countries charge less than $25 per hour for app development. As another popular outsourcing location, South America also offers reasonable rates compared to Western and Eastern Europe.

What is the key factor affecting Complexity?

Each feature in an app is dependent on its complexity, which in turn determines how long and how much it will cost to build. App development costs are affected by complexity. You may have to prioritize features to fit your budget if you have a limited budget.

Remember that native applications (developed for Android or iOS) are most efficient than ones that are cross-platform. They are also more expensive, but the overall result and their performance make the cost worthwhile.

In most digital projects, the following core features are used:

  • User registration/ login (via e-mail, Facebook, or phone number)
  • A peer-to-peer chat client (history of chats, auto-delete, offline mode, emoji, file sharing)
  • Searches within the app (for goods, information, or services)
  • Basic alerts (SMS notifications, messaging app)
  • The payment method (credit cards, Payoneer, Apple PayPal, Google Wallets, or cash) depends on the app you are using.
  • The use of In-App purchases (paying for goods and services, using subscriptions, adding features)
  • Analysis (collecting data on user activity).

The following features require more complex implementation:

  • Location-based services (Uber, dating apps, travel products, businesses)
  • Google Maps integration (Google)
  • Advertising (text, banner, full-screen pop-up)
  • Storage and amount of offline data (cookies, local storage, databases)
  • Streaming audio/video
  • Hardware connectivity (barometers, Bluetooth)

How Should You Choose a Mobile App?

It’s true that mobile applications make our lives easier on one hand. Meanwhile, the market is flooded with a variety of different types of mobile applications, making businesses uncertain about which type to invest in? Finding out how much it costs to develop a mobile app or find out which is the best mobile app development company does not guarantee success in this rapidly declining market. The type of app you need to launch will help you keep your business one step ahead in the market.

In 2021, these will be the most common types of mobile apps:

  • Mobile applications on-demand: Taxi booking apps, fitness apps, dating apps, food delivery apps, and more.
  • Apps for social media: Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, and more.
  • Apps for the basics: Calculator, Weather Forecast, Reminder, etc.
  • Apps for gaming and entertainment: PubG, Angry Birds, Subway Surfer, and more.
  • AR-based apps: Ink Hunter, Mondly, and more.

By integrating the right type of technologies and methodologies, a mobile app developer can develop any type of application. It may be more expensive to work with an offshore firm than a local development team or freelancer, however, they always ensure that your product is of the highest quality and they bridge the gap between your objectives and success.

Platforms supported (iOS, Android)

App development costs are also influenced by the platform you choose also influence the cost of app development. Your target audience will determine whether you need an iOS app or an Android app. Apple’s iOS is less popular than Android’s. Choosing the best options starts with a thorough market analysis.

There is no difference in app cost if you need to create an app for just one platform, whether iOS or Android. Nevertheless, be prepared to spend more money if you plan to make an application for both platforms.

Level of design complexity support

The design of an application is an integral part of the development process. You will pay more for an application with a complex design.

Standard, platform-specific elements are the basic components of simple app designs. They are comparatively easy to implement and won’t take much time to develop. App design costs increase with the addition of custom elements and animations.

App Development Costs: Cost Breakdown

Those who are considering the development of an app need to understand that this process goes beyond simply designing the application and coding it.

Take a closer look:

  • The cost of Business Analysis (business analysis can range from $150 to $1000+ depending on the complexity of the app.)
  • App Design Cost (design costs are usually around $15 per hour with estimates between $1000 and $3500)
  • Mobile App Design (depending on the app you select, prices can range from $500 to $5,000)
  • Cost of Project Management (the average is about $5,000 and can reach up to $6,000.)
  • Cost of Quality Assurance (QA services may cost anywhere between $500 and $2500)
  • Fees for App Stores (Google Play only charges $25 once a year and Apple charges $99 annually)

How Much for Maintenance Cost for mobile apps?

Even when there are no new features on your plan, maintenance is essential, and you cannot ignore it.

Among the most common maintenance tasks for apps are:

  • Make sure your OS is up to date
  • The latest version of a third-party service can be updated through an app
  • Modernizing an application with new technologies
  • The process of fixing bugs
  • Enhancing and optimizing the code
  • Expanding our capabilities
  • Stabilizing an app
  • Performance management of servers
  • Applications scalability

How Orion Infosolutions Provides a Mobile App Development Cost Estimate?

How much does it cost to make an app at Orion InfoSolutions?

We begin the process by communicating with you via email or phone to review your specific requirements, create a creative mind map for the project, offer a proposal, and provide a detailed estimate of our discovery cost, along with a rough timeline and estimate for the development process.

The Discovery stage of our cooperation entails receiving a more precise response to the question “how much will your app cost?”.”The team, made up of Business Analysts, Software Architects, Designers, and Project Managers, develops the following:

  • Conceptual design for the project
  • Designing user experiences and user interfaces
  • Backlog of the product
  • Specification of functions
  • An architectural plan of the project
  • Competitive analysis (available upon request)
  • Timeline and cost breakdown for app development

The team will develop the application by implementing the necessary functionality, designing the UI, and launching the app.

By knowing as much about your app as possible before signing a contract, a team will be able to estimate their cost as accurately as possible.

Conclusion

Hopefully, this article has helped you to understand how much you need to spend when developing a mobile app and what factors affect the total cost of your app. You can lower your digital product development costs if you follow the above tips, and ensure your product is developed to the industry’s global standards.

Get in touch with us if you’re looking for a skilled mobile development team. Our Mobile Application Development Company has executed a number of projects for clients across a variety of industries.

In each phase of your project, we can help you minimize software development costs. To create a product that generates value as quickly as possible, we use the most up-to-date technologies available to ensure fast time-to-market and to maximize productivity.

Orion CEO
About Author

DC Kumawat

DC Kumawat is the CEO of Orion InfoSolutions, a leading provider of IT solutions to businesses of all sizes. He has over 14+ years of experience in the IT industry. He is a passionate advocate for the use of technology to improve business performance.