Estimating application development costs is not an easy process. To make your work easier, we have covered the detailed cost of creating a mobile application. This comprehensive blog will allow you to understand the intricacies and costing methods of application development fully. There are many application fee calculators that you can use to estimate the cost for making an application; for multi-purpose applications, prices range from $200,000 to $ 350,000. The cost of a small application with a minimum number of features varies from $ 10,000 to $ 50,000. If you were here for an amount, we have it right in the introduction for you, but let’s get into the details now!
Differences in development speed, project complexity, and the time required to build an application are important factors in the cost of developing an application.
It would be best if you consider the following factors when estimating application development costs:
- Type (Mobile Game, Social Networking, Business, Shopping, etc.)
- Design (Basic, Individual, Custom)
- Platform (iOS, Windows, Android)
- Features and infrastructures
- Number of pages
Considering these factors, any mobile application company will provide an estimate of application design and development costs.
Average application development cost depends on the type of application being developed. Below is a breakdown of the application development costs. Let’s consider each in more detail.
What to Include in an App Cost?
Are you planning to create an excellent mobile application? If you want to understand the challenges and costs to consider when developing mobile apps, you’ve come to the right place.
Before you can start setting prices, you need to set up an application specialization. The needs of society or users must be fully understood, and this study can provide answers to all kinds of difficulties. Building cross-platform applications can make a lot of money, and big money means significant risk. This problem can be solved by creating one application for one platform and then reinvesting the profits into creating another application for multiple platforms.
Online or Offline Application
Internet-using applications take longer to run than non-Internet applications. In addition, these internet-dependent apps were once the most expensive, but with backend technologies like Firebase, app design and development has become more simplified.
Number of Features
The attractiveness of the APP is affected by the activated features. The more activated elements, the more money will be invested. Instead, provide version updates and continuously improve your return on investment.
Number of Screens
The number of screens affects time and money because the more screens, the more cash is spent. Use fewer screens and provide more information to save time and money.
The complexity of Backend
The server side of any program is important because it stores data, manages credentials, etc. The UI looks simple and easy to use, but the Backend can be very complex and requires a significant investment from the application owner.
UI, Animation, & Special Effects
Because applications with the best animations, gestures, and special effects are the most profitable, creating game applications is the most expensive as it is full of action and said effects!
Who should you hire for app development?
Although the recruitment fee is not included in the application fee, it accounts for much of the total cost. For example, hiring a freelance writer from your home country is more expensive than outsourcing your project. If you do not conduct extensive research, outsourcing can become costly. Still, it is usually more beneficial to hire dedicated business developers and give you a few words based on your knowledge.
Cost of Mobile App Development according to its types
This includes the factor that many resource-intensive programs are designed to provide the best user experience, optimization and speed. They use multiple device APIs and manage various properties simultaneously.
Since native applications require more people to develop applications, the more platforms you support, the more expensive they become. The most popular types of applications are business, education, and entertainment applications.
Hybrid Apps
Cross-platform applications are currently best suited to reach a wider audience. Having a development team and a single code working on all platforms can reduce the cost of developing and maintaining the application.
Cross-platform applications, on the other hand, are less optimized; they cannot access the API and cannot provide the same user experience for their applications.
It is only suitable for small and medium communication applications such as home or gaming applications.
Database Driven Apps
These programs require a large amount of data to run and are stored on the machine’s memory or network server. The software may require other features, such as a camera, Internet connection, or access to the phone library to function correctly. Native programs, such as portable dictionaries and encyclopedias, use the device’s RAM to store databases.
Basic Functionality App
These applications were built in a few minutes and had almost no functionality. They are for personal use only and are not available in the App Store. They are usually designed to search a list of questions by topic, where you can click on the question to learn more or jump to a different list.
Firmware/Hardware Dependent Apps
These applications connect to mobile devices and try to expand their capabilities. Including alarm clock, flashlight, camera and other functions. For example, AlarmMon is a portable software that allows users to customize alarms.
Mobile/Gaming Apps
How much does it cost to make a game app? This is a problem that arises from time to time. For this, it is necessary to evaluate its quality. The games can be simple or complex, including 3D graphics and physics, global leaderboards, augmented reality support, and social media integration. In other words, the development cost of advanced game software can be very high. The most popular game application in the world also brings the most revenue.
App Development Cost Breakdown as per the complexity
Application program design and development planning require substantial investment in many areas. In addition, to design and coding resources, application owners must also allocate many other costs. Building applications is complex, and this section provides detailed information on many related categories.
A detailed business analysis
Business analysts play an essential role in deciding when to start application design and development. Facilitate the application development process. If you don’t plan to implement it, it doesn’t matter whether you have an idea. “A plan that is not implemented is an illusion” is an old saying which is accurate here.
Let’s take a look at some of the critical functions provided by business analysts in application development:
- Sorting out Problems
- Defining project value
- Noting down in detail the project scope
- Market Analysis
- Define and produce an effective business solution
- Conduct a workshop by gathering multiple advantages under one roof
Business analysts are the main contributors to project design and development, so having business analysts around can make the project more efficient and user-friendly.
Designing App Cost
How much does it cost to develop an app? For this, you need to rethink the design elements. Application design is as essential as other application designs and designs that require broad audience and niche analysis. This analysis determines the complexity of the invention, and complexity determines the pricing.
The Development Cost
How much does it cost to develop and maintain applications? This is an important issue, and we will outline the solution below:
The platform you choose and the team you hire to build your application will determine the complexity of your application. Application design and development are essential. When it is successful and profitable, the overall cost of the application becomes more reasonable and efficient.
Quality Assurance
Since there is no functional or error-free software on the market, every technical project must undergo testing. The following are some of the benefits of design quality assurance:
- Reduces the possibility of application freezing or frequent failures.
- Check whether the application program meets the requirements.
- Please provide the current information as required.
Cost of App Release
Downloading software from Google Play or Apple App Store will increase development costs. How much does it cost to build an application? The last step of registering a developer account on Google Play or Apple App Store answers this question.
Google Play Store does not charge for internal programs, but Apple Store charges $299 per year.
The above list includes free and paid products. Legal fees and data protection regulations require a lot of time and money, but they are not particularly expensive.Assign a qualified professional to create the application and entrust everything to him, let him/her guide you through the application development process and provide effective solutions.
Post Release Expense
Post-launch costs are not included in the app development budget but should also be considered. While there are no development fees for application design and development, some areas require a financial investment.
These are the areas that must be processed to process the request. While there are additional costs involved in maintaining an application, it is essential to invest in it.
These additional areas include payment gateway integration, third-party application integration, and other costs required to develop and build robust applications that can reach the broadest possible audience.
Adding third-party applications to your account can increase your spending by 4.4%. If you want to use Stripe as a payment gateway in your app, each CC / DC transaction will cost you 2.9% + 30 cents.
These factors are not included in application development costs, but they are essential because they increase the application budget.
What does app development cost in terms of: Freelancer vs Agency vs DIY
When it comes to application development, you have two options: a mobile application development agency and a freelance application developer.
Compared to hiring freelance developers, hiring an agency to build your application will cost more. However, relying on a development team is a safe idea as they can advise and point out the best way to develop your application. The designers, developers and project managers are knowledgeable and experienced, which adds to the overall strength of the development team.
But even considering the quality, the hourly rate of application development varies widely around the world. This is one of the questions you should ask when looking for a mobile app development company.
A solid concept and a straightforward application strategy can help you develop suitable applications at no extra cost, as a high price does not necessarily mean good quality.
Advantages of hiring an app agency
There is no need to hire individual programmers, designers or testers because big companies have talent. The wallets, project estimates and hourly rates are available to know exactly what you are getting for your money.
Companies ensure timely implementation of works and achievement of the expected results. On the other hand, freelancers can create fantastic business applications. You can do the same quality of work at a lower cost. Consequently, they can be viewed as “low budget” companies compared to software companies.
Significant disadvantages of hiring freelancers
- All designers, programmers, and testers must be separate.
- Project participants cannot communicate with each other.
- There will be no one to lead and organize the project activities.
Cost of Project Management in App Development Budget
Creating mobile applications is closely related to project management. Without good project management and skilled project managers responsible for the application development process will suffer.
The project manager oversees the entire application development process from start to finish. As a result, project and process managers are expected to receive approximately 1015% of the total budget required. Project management costs for developing the applications are estimated to range from $1,200 to $ 12,000, depending on the time and application requirements. If you are thinking of reducing project management costs from your application budget, you might be wrong!
When a project manager takes responsibility for his work and reacts appropriately to every event, he never reduces project management costs; on the other hand, spending a lot of money on a bad project manager is a wrong decision.
How much time does it take to develop an app?
Exceeding the cost of building an application while ignoring critical component time is the last thing we recommend and the last thing you should consider. Time is an essential factor in determining the cost or budget of creating an application.
Generally, the time required to build an application depends on the type of application, the tools and resources used, the number of third-party developers hired, and the application’s functionality. So in this particular area I won’t be able to give you the exact numbers but you can estimate a general amount depending on the method you are going for.
Alright, so looks like we have covered all the aspects of creating an application with regards to the costing part of it. Creating an app for your brand is a big decision as well as a long process so chalk it out with your alliances and see what kind of an application you want to build. And if you are an aspiring app developer reading this article and if you have reached this far, I have a bonus recommendation for you, you have to go for this e-degree by Eduonix which covers the A to Z of app development. All the very best!
