How much does it cost to make an app? You have just read the number top-one question in our chart of the most frequently asked questions. So let”s be honest, everything has its price tag. When it comes to creating mobile apps, the time-proven saying “you get what you pay for” is fully justified. The response to this intriguing question is usually “It depends”, which raises more questions than answers.
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You probably have two questions mind: “How much money does it cost to make an app?” and “What does the price depend on?” and search for the answers on the internet. On the web you may come across a few different websites aimed at estimating mobile app development costs, but they are nothing more than a marketing move to attract your attention with brief questions about your requirements. The estimation you receive will not show you the real picture.
In a nutshell, prices of a product can vary from $20,000-$250,000. Quite a gap, isn”t it?
That”s because mobile app development costs depend on a bunch of factors. We’re going to focus on them in this article.
The recent research from GoodFirms shows that the average price of a simple app is between $38,000 to $91,000. The medium complexity app cost is between $55,550 and $131,000. A complex app may cost from $91,550 to $211,000.
So, giving a rough answer to how much it costs to create an app (we take the rate of $40 an hour as average): a basic application will cost around $90,000. Medium complexity apps will cost between ~$160,000. The cost of complex apps usually goes beyond $240,000.
|
Simple |
3-6 months |
$70,000-$100,000 |
|
Medium |
6-10 months |
$120,000-$170,000 |
|
Complex |
10+ months |
$200,000-$250,000+ |
Thousands of companies around the world claim to be the best app developers and guarantee they can deliver the best solution. Well-established or recently founded companies, experienced or ambitious, local or foreign, large or small, high-priced or cheap so many parameters to consider. No wonder that such an enormous selection may confuse not only startupers, but also experienced entrepreneurs.
The most common misunderstandings, such as “high price equals to good quality” or “young companies are not experienced enough to deliver high-quality product”, may lead to failure or unnecessary expenses. Keeping that in mind, let”s return to unbiased analysis of app”s building costs. Our first stop is looking at the cost of building an appfrom the standpoint of hourly fees.
It”s not a secret that the average cost of app developmentvaries depending on geographical location so let”s have a brief look at the table:
|
North America |
150 |
150 |
|
Australia |
92 |
92 |
|
UK |
71 |
71 |
|
South America |
43 |
37 |
|
Eastern Europe |
40 |
40 |
|
India |
25 |
26 |
|
Indonesia |
35 |
35 |
North America (US and Canada). This region is considered to be the most expensive one. Android / iOS development charge from $50 to $150 per hour.Australian hackers develop mobile apps at a rate of $35-150 per hour.South American regional app development service rates are from $22 to $55/h.UK developers tend to charge from $71 an hour.Eastern European developers” rates start from $25 up to $50 per hour.Developers in India are quite satisfied to get $25, while in Indonesia the highest cost of app development is $35 an hour.
How much does it cost to create an app around the globe
It is weird to realise that the highest-priced app developer in the US charges $150 an hour, while the best one in India is 6x cheaper.
How Much Does an App Cost to Create: Time and Money Issues
To answer this question we need to know that not all mobile apps are equal. And the inequality is not only in the platform that it is developed for. The lowdown of iOS application development as well as an Android one is counted with the time needed to implement certain app features. So let”s create a classification based on the moderate time needs.
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A basic app with simple functionality requires approximately 500-800 development hours. Timeline: 3-6 months.A medium complexity app takes from 800-1200 hours. Timeline 5-9 months.A complex time-consuming app in most cases exceeds 1200 hours. Timeline: 8+ months.
What Affects Mobile Application Costs?
When you set out to develop an app, you cannot expect your software development company to inform you about the development costs right off the bat. They need to analyze your initial requirements first. Surely before you will be sent a quote, the team of developers will estimate how many hours were required to implement your specifications.
The most significant factors that affect development costs are:
Project type (CRM, marketplace, LMS, EHR, etc.)Features and functionalityCustomization of visual design (template or custom)Platforms (iOS, Android)Backend infrastructure and app administrationLocation and structure of a development team / type of developersApp maintenance costs and additional services In-house or outsoursed development teamVendor”s hourly rates
Based on this information, any vendor can make a rough estimate of your project.
What affects mobile application costs
Now, let’s focus on some of these aspects.
Features and Functionality
To know the answer to the question: “What does it cost to create an app?”, you should find out how complex the application you are about to build is. Functionality, as well as number and the complexity of implemented features are the biggest cost drivers in app development. Screens, buttons, fields involved, the amount of logic required matter a lot.
It”s really an important thing to estimate the project precisely. Here is our way to do it.
Well then, it”s time to discover what features influence the complexity of the whole app. As we mentioned before, implementation of some features can be significantly lengthy, while others are relatively short and simple. Depending on the complexity of solutions, developers need to use third-party API or code from scratch. Simpler solutions, in turn, require standard instruments and engage native features.
Let’s take a look at the approximate development time and cost required for basic features and then move forward to more complex ones.
All the prices you’re going to see in this article are approximate and based on one platform. You can contact our managers to get a consultation and request more precise project cost estimation.
|
Login |
Login with emailLogin with social mediaForgot password optionLog out |
28 – 42 hours |
1,120-1,680 |
|
File uploading |
Upload photoUpload videoVideo playbackPhoto view |
20 – 30 hours |
800-1,200 |
|
Profile completion |
Set regionAdd infoAdd photo |
23 – 29 hours |
920-1,160 |
|
Profile editings |
Edit profileChange passwordChange emailAdd/remove credit card |
47 – 62 hours |
1,880-2,480 |
|
Search |
Basic search with suggestions |
13 – 18 hours |
520-729 |
|
Basic messaging |
Conversation detailsOnline/offline statusTyping statusRead/sent statusSend media files and documents |
160 – 170 hours |
6,400-6,800 |
|
Push notifications |
Users can receive push notifications |
25 – 32 hours |
1,000-1,280 |
|
Basic admin panel: User management |
See list of usersEdit userDelete/block userCreate user |
66 – 90 hours |
2,640-3,600 |
|
Basic admin panel: Payment management |
See paymentsRefund payments |
23 – 44 hours |
920-1,760 |
|
Basic admin panel: Push notifications |
Send custom push notifications |
8 – 14 hours |
320-560 |
User and social involvement
User engagement may take place in any aspect of an app performing authorisation, networking, notifications and many more. User authorisation, for instance, can be either simple or complex. Adding such functionality as password recovery, storing passwords, sophisticated visual design or login via social networks results in cost increase. Involvement tools, as emails, push notifications, social sharing are commonly used in consumer apps. An app integration with social networks: commenting, sharing, liking, etc. is obviously a bonus for modern apps. So is adding such functionality as social media ons, payment features or chats, demands integration with third-party frameworks or libraries.
In-App purchases support and location based services
PayPal, Google Wallet, credit cards are extremely widespread forms of payment within apps. Every payment processing method demands extra time for implementation into an app. If you would like to use location data, simple detecting and mapping is get-at-able, but implementing emerging technology, like iBeacon and geofencing, is rather time-consuming. Anyway, integrating any or all of these options drive up the cost of an app.
Using native device features
The development of the use of device facilities is becoming more and more obscure. A few years ago, app software that reached out to device hardware was confined to dialing, network running, low energy Bluetooth, accelerometer, camera and location information. Presently we deal with multiple NFC (near field communication) chips, payment systems and innovations are moving on. Normally, for creating apps with access to mobile device features we use platform-specific APIs. With the emergence of new features, there is a need of introducing new APIs, against which the developers haven”t yet developed. Thus, developing time increases, which affects the total cost.
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Are you thinking of creating an iOS app? Maybe your app is meant to work on Android OS as well? So, you should know the cost to create an Android and iPhone apps. Making a decision on which platform to start from, app owners try to take into consideration such factors as iOS and Android market share, device fragmentation and prevalence, but the most meaningful is that developing mobile applications for these platforms differs greatly. These platforms take over different programming languages, have different SDKs and utilize different development tools.
