Ever happened that you asked different mobile app development companies to quote the price to turn your vision into a functional application and you received completely different values?
Being a part of a mobile app development company, I have come across various Entrepreneurs and marketers who have planned to dive into the mobile app industry and reap higher benefits but never proceeded further due to the confusion of how to calculate the cost to make a mobile application.
Sensing the importance of knowing the right app cost to prevent running out of cash during the app development process or get caught in the claws of frauds, I will share the mechanism to know the mobile app development cost in this article.
But before that, let me clear one thing – There is no single answer to how much does it cost to make an app.
The mobile app cost varies based on various factors and the time required to work upon those factors. So, the easiest and effective way to find your app’s price is to consider what factors/features you are considering while designing your application and how much time is required to introduce them in your application.
With this information with you, let’s not make any further ado and directly jump into what these decisive factors are and how much time/cost is associated with each:-
1. Platform
The decision of whether you wish to build a mobile app for Android or iOS or both is the first factor that reflects a change on the app cost. If you are developing a mobile application for Android, the cost will be higher than that recorded in the case of iOS app development.
Likewise, the cost of creating a mobile app for both Android and iOS platform via a cross-platform approach is comparatively lower than that designed using native processes. For example, the cost of React native app development is between $15,000 and $50,000, which is somewhere around 30% of the app development cost for both platforms via native approach.
2. Devices and OS Versions
Not every device and OS version has the same features and functionalities, especially when you talk about the Android platform. This makes it necessary for the mobile app developer to design the app screens for different devices and OS versions, eventually resulting in higher development efforts and cost.
3. App Size and Screens
Whether you are designing a mobile application with a single screen or multiple screens also bring an impact on the app cost. The more the screens you add to your mobile application, the more time, efforts and costs will be involved in the process.
4. Design
The cost to make an app also depends on the type of design you choose for your application. If you select a simple design, it will take hardly 150 hours to design the whole app. Whereas, the same app will require another 250 hours when you wish to customize the app design just like that in the case of Facebook and Instagram.
5. Features and Technologies
Another factor that enhances the app cost is the features and technologies you consider for developing your application. If you, let’s suppose, want to design an IoT-based application, the cost will be somewhere around $30,000 to $40,000. Whereas, an On-demand mobile application like Field will demand the cost of around $40,000 to $60,000.
6. Mobile App Development Team
Depending on whether you are hiring a developer or a small-scale agency or an established company, the cost to build a mobile application varies. For example, the cost to get the services of a freelancer is $2000 to $25,000 whereas the cost to design the same application via a company of 3000+ experts is $450,000 to $1,500,000.
7. Location of Team
The answer to how much does it cost to develop a mobile application also depends on the location of the team hired for the development process. This is because the cost value associated with the development process in developed nations like the USA is higher than the one asked by development teams in developing nations like India.
For example, the hourly price rate of a developer in the USA is $100-$150, whereas it is just $18-$40 in India.
8. Testing
The number of tools you employ for testing your mobile application, the time consumed for testing each app screen and dealing with the bugs, and the subscription fee related to each also add to the app cost.
So, make an estimated budget for performing quality assurance as well.
9. App Store Submission
When it comes to submitting your mobile application, Apple demands $99/yr as developer fee whereas Google asks for a one-time developer fee of $25. So, considering these values while calculating the app price is also necessary.
Bonus: App Maintenance and Update
Since mobile application development is not a one-time job, it is again necessary to keep a budget for app maintenance and update into consideration – which costs around 30% of the development cost.
While these factors and the values associated with each will give you a rough idea of how much investment you are required to make for entering the mobile market successfully, contact the best mobile app development company to know the exact value.
