This post right here will answer one of the most asked questions which are, “How much money does it cost to develop an app?” and “What are the factors on which costing depends?” Well, the most honest answer to the former would be- It depends; while for the latter it would be- On a lot of factors, which we will discuss later in this post. Everything in an app development comes with a price tag and the final product that you sow is exactly what you reaped.
Thousands of companies claim to be the best app developers and provide the best applications at the lowest prices. While there are a variety of web development companies from experienced to ambitious, local to global, well-established to recently formed, pocket-friendly to expensive, and a lot more to choose from; going by the thought that ‘expensive or experience delivers a better quality’ can sometimes turn out to be a bad decision and as even young companies can deliver high-quality products despite lacking experience.
Factors that affect the cost of App Development:
Features and Functionality
While answering “how much would it cost to develop an app” features and functionality play the most important role. The cost of developing any app mostly depends on how complex the application would be. Screens, buttons, fields involved, the amount of logic required, all these factors are important and matters. While the implementation of some features is comparatively longer than other features that are short and simple to implement. For complex and lengthy features, developers might need to use third-party API and a simple code from scratch would help in developing simpler apps.
Here is the approximate amount of time and money that is required for the development of basic features:
| FEATURES | DESCRIPTION | APPROX TIME | ESTIMATED AMOUNT (with back-end) |
| Sign-up and Log-in | Make a new account, Login with email/ social media/ mobile number, forget the password, logout | 30-40 hours | $900-$1200 |
| File upload | Upload a document, photo, video, video playback, photo view, etc. | 20-30 hours | $600-$900 |
| Profile completion | The set region, add info and photo | 23-25 hours | $690-$750 |
| Profile editing | Edit profile, change password, change email, add/ remove payment details | 45-60 hours | $1350-1800 |
| Search | Basic search with suggestions | 12-15 hours | $360-$450 |
| Push notifications | Sending push notifications to users | 25-30 hours | $750-$900 |
| Admin Panel: User Management | List of users, create user, add/block user, edit user list | 65-90 hours | $1950-$2700 |
| Admin Panel: Payment management | See the payment status of users, refund payments | 25-40 hours | $750-$1200 |
| Admin Panel: Push notifications | Sending custom push-notifications to users | 08-15 hours | $240-$450 |
Note: the approximate cost is provided on the basis of $30 per hour.
So the average cost of an app with the above-mentioned features would cost you around $7590 to $10350, approximately.
User authorization can be either simple or complex as per the user requirement. The addition of password recovery, storing passwords and login through various social networking sites requires additional charges. Wallet, PayPal, Google Pay, Paytm, net banking, payment through credit and debit card are various modes of payments used globally. Each of these payment processing methods requires time to implement them into the app and thereby adds to the overall costing of the app development.
Here is the approximate amount of time and money that is required for the development of complex features:
| FEATURES | DESCRIPTION | APPROX TIME | ESTIMATED AMOUNT (with back-end) |
| Map | Detecting user-location, search option, setting pick-up and drop location | 75-100 hours | $2250-$3000 |
| Payments | List of transactions, existing balance, add cards or other payment Options | 60-70 hours | $1800-$2100 |
| Calls | Audio calls- internet call/phone call, contact list, call log | 250-360 hours | $7500-$10800 |
Note: the approximate cost is provided on the basis of $30 per hour.
So, the average cost of an app with the above-mentioned complex features would cost you around $11550 to $15900, approximately. The features can be modified according to user requirements. You can also add more features but remember to add some amount to your budget as well. These features might add the expense to your pre-decided budget but will definitely give a boost to your application.
Visual Design Customization
Customization of visual design always adds to your budget but also lets the user decide the images and colors of the page background and customize the color palette of the interface. Since there are various screens where the app would be used, hence the quantity of screens also affects the overall cost of the app development.
Platform
While developing an app, the platform it would run on is also a very critical factor. Most of the users prefer an app which can be used on both Android as well as the iOS platform. Before deciding the platform of your app do consider the market share of both platforms, device fragmentation and preference of your target audience, etc. the development process of application for both the platforms differ a lot like both the platforms require different programming languages, have different SDKs and use different development tools as well.
Well if you are creating your app for a single platform, be it Android or iOS, the price would not differ much. But if you are planning to get an app that runs on both the platform then it will definitely increase your overall prize as both the platforms require separate teams for development. Though going for cross-platform or hybrid app development is an option that you can always go for.
Development Team
The difference between success and failure is the Team. Michael Jordan rightly said, “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships”. For the development of any app, the most important requirement is a proper team.
| Designation | Estimated Rate(per hour) |
| Business Analyst | $30-$45 |
| Project Manager | $35-$40 |
| Jr. Developer | $18-$25 |
| Mid-level Developer | $25-$35 |
| Sr. Developer | $30-$45 |
| Lead Developer | $30-$45 |
| Junior QA | $15-$25 |
| Mid-level QA | $20-$30 |
| Senior QA | $25-$35 |
| Graphic Designer | $25-$36 |
Now that you know the various factors that influence the cost of an app development let us talk about the stages of development as well.
Stages of App Development
Before the delivery of the final App reaches you, it goes through various stages of development, testing and fixing. Each of these stages is crucial in the development of an app and also requires a fair amount of money. The main stages of App Development process are:
- Planning
- UI/UX Design
- Development
- Testing
- Release
Hope this article will help you in fixing a budget for your dream app. If you are planning to create an app, Skydevelopers is one of the most trusted web development companies in India that can create the best applications in the least possible prices.
