As you might already know, some of the elite business entrepreneurs are taking a keen interest in making a Talabat-like app. And why wouldn’t they? Talabat is a story of a highly successful online food delivery business idea still thriving in these competitive times. If you are also interested in entering the online food ordering industry, the chances are you might get stuck on one question. How much does it cost to build an app like Talabat?
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Well, the cost to develop a food delivery application like Talabat depends on the features and functionality you eventually settle with. Also, there are numerous app development aspects that you should be aware of. This blog offers all the technical insight that leads to the final costing. It also sheds light on what you should have in an app like Talabat.
Before we dive into that, let’s take a look at why top industry entrepreneurs are betting heavily to get an app like Talabat in the first place.
It’s an obvious question and also an interesting one! Let’s understand that using some stats. Data from the Statista survey also states an annual revenue growth rate of 7.6%. At this rate, the global revenue projection that stands at $323.30 for 2022 is expected to swell up to $466.20 billion by 2027. And not just that, Statista also projects the number of users using similar services to grow to over 2.61 billion globally in five years from now.
Source: Statista
With more users signing up and relying on online food delivery services, it all makes sense. Hence, a worldwide influx of entrepreneurs making the most of this sitting opportunity. For a better insight into why ‘sitting opportunity,’ check out our blog on how starting a food delivery app can make you a millionaire.
Again, let’s talk about some numbers first. In 2020, during the pandemic, Talabat was the leading food delivery company in the Middle East with the highest share of the revenue – 55%. Additionally, as per the data from Statista, in 2022, the online food ordering industry is expected to reach $4.71 billion in Saudi Arabia only. This incredible record justifies the inclination of aspiring industry entrepreneurs toward having a Talabat business/revenue model and an app alike.
Here’s how Talabat prospered over the years since its inception.
Now, the above statistics wouldn’t have been possible if not for its quality services.
Getting a tasty snack delivered from an app is one thing, wanting to have one and run a business alike is another. Moreover, a lot of challenges are also faced by food delivery businesses, especially in the beginning. Here’s a detailed view of various attributes involved in costs and how they influence the final price.
As mentioned earlier, the cost to build an app like Talabat ranges dramatically – something that solely depends on your requirements for an app. Numerous factors come to play for such a huge variance. It could be varying application developer rates, the level of complexity involved, and the time taken to code, test, and debug the application. However, as per the basic rule of thumb, the more features you opt for, the more time it may take.
Speaking of the features, here’s a detailed analysis of the cost of developing a Talabat-like app.
A basic version only offers features like UI components, email subscription, and social login among features. Also, it doesn’t come with API integration or back-end support. That’s one reason why it’s comparatively cheaper than the other versions in the hierarchy and costs around $15000 to $20000. Also, it only takes roughly 300 hours. If your requirement for an app is minimal and looking for a quick app launch for your food delivery business, the basic version is what you may want to have.
If your requirement for the clone app is a bit nuanced, features like API integration, custom UI components, payment option, and a back-end server will serve you efficiently. It starts at $40000 and takes between 500 to 700 hours to complete.
Having some state-of-the-art app features that serve you on all fronts is great, but it certainly costs more – around $75000. Though it may take about 800 to 1000 hours, the features you’ll get is worth the wait. From custom animation and third-party integration to real-time APIs, multi-language support, and a professional design, you get all the essential features in a complex version.
Note: The price and the timeline mentioned above to complete and deliver the app is only a generic estimation. A lot depends upon the team of developers and how they approach a project. If they take less time with a great collective effort, costing can be reduced to some extent.
Your selected features make all the difference in terms of look & feel and usefulness & convenience for your customers. But it’s entirely a distinct aspect of how different tabs, functionality, and other essential attributes would look on multiple platforms. And this classification of platform-based costing helps you with the budget plan. Here’s a look at the expenses involved to build an online food ordering app like Talabat on different platforms.
It takes around 400-800 hours to build a similar app on the Android platform from scratch with an estimated cost of around $65000.
The timeline for developing an app on the iOS platform is roughly 600-1000 hours. Also, the price stands at approximately $70000.
Backend integration is comparatively less time-consuming and takes around 300 – 400 hours at most. However, its development cost is, more or less, the same as the Android – around $65000.
Note: The price and time range mentioned above is for building the ‘Complex’ version of the application. This simply means that if you happen to select a ‘Basic’ or ‘Intermediate’ version, the app development cost will gradually do down.
Now, it’s a lot of information to digest in one go. So, it’s understandable if you’re a bit confused about the overall cost to build an app like Talabat. No worries! Let’s take a brief detour. The starting price range mentioned at the start, $15000, is for the development of a ‘Basic’ version of the application. If you happen to go for more functionalities or a complete package, the prices will undoubtedly go up.
Interestingly, a demographic factor also accounts for the variance in the pricing. A difference in the economic status of a developing country to a developed country often results in varying service charges in their respective industries. So, the cost of developing an app in the Middle East region would differ from that of Asian countries, Europe, North America, and various other Western countries.
To sum it all up, even $15000 is the price of getting started for an online food delivery application, it may lead to $70000 for top-notch services.
It’s true when you shift your peripheral view from local to global in search of better options, you get incredible opportunities. However, narrowing it down to a few and eventually to a single option could be a stressful task.
Well, to save you from the hassle of picking one, Code Brew would love to help you plan, create, and launch a competitive app like Talabat. Our team of professional experts offers customizable solutions to your requirements with a turnaround time of under 3 weeks.
To this day, we have helped thousands of enterprises build their respective on-demand mobile applications. Check out our portfolio here and see it yourself!
It’s important to understand that a lot goes into the cost of building an app, whether it’s Talabat or any other app. Your overall expense must revolve around the business milestone with which you decided to enter the industry in the first place. Also, the only way to make good ROI in a combative market like an online food ordering business – offer better services than the top guns!
Now, if your overall budget doesn’t allow you to include all the lucrative features & functionalities, you can outsource your app development. Speaking of which, Code Brew houses a team of experts with a long history of developing mobile applications. The likes of which include Fiji Eats, Growbuzz, and more. We offer all the elite features and functionalities at a convenient price.
Get in touch with Code Brew today and we will discuss the successful beginning of your endeavor!
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