You landed here looking for an answer to How much does it cost to make an app for your business? Probably, you are all set to take your business to the next level. And for this reason, you must be planning to launch your branded mobile apps and website. Right?
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As per the stats, every month, over 100,000 & 30,000 new apps are released on Google Play and Apple App Store, respectively. Today there’s an app for everything. Users can order, book, pay, and do more with just a few clicks on their smartphones. Do you know, consumers are expected to spend over $156.5 billion on mobile apps in 2022? Moreover, the global mobile app revenue is expected to rise up to to $935.2 billion by 2023.
Simply, these stats are sufficient to state that the mobile app market is here to stay. Business owners and entrepreneurs across the world are escalating towards the idea to build their own apps. And when it comes to developing a mobile app, the first question asked is- How much does it cost to build an app?
Ending your search- this post is to give a clear (and wise) answer. Let’s check on the budget estimate you need to start with mobile app development company
To put it short, the cost to develop a mobile app can fall anywhere between $2,000 to $200,000. Yes, the cost to make an app varies to that extent. Wondering Why? The simplest reason for this could be the multitude of factors that affect app development. Right from wireframing to UI/UX designing and customization, there are a number of things involved. So how can you calculate the exact cost to develop an app? To find the answer to this question, you first need to understand the factor that affects the cost to make an app. Let’s check on them one by one.
Also, you can watch this video to have a detailed insight on the cost estimation for app development:
When evaluating the cost to make an app, there are three major factors- PDF.
When it comes to choosing the platform to build your app, there are two broad categorizations. These include cross-platform apps and native apps. Here’s how these two are different and how they affect the cost to develop the app.
Mobile application that runs only on a single platform, either Android or iOS, are referred to as native apps. As these are built and optimized for a specific platform, they offer a high level of performance. But it is worth noticing that native apps are a bit complex. In case, you want to develop an app for both Android and iOS, you will require two different development teams. And the cost will certainly be double. Hence, native app development turns out to be expensive.
As the name suggests, these apps are built using a combination of both native technologies. If you want to launch an app for a larger audience base, this makes the best choice. Moreover, the development and maintenance cost is low as compared to native apps.
Keynote: Before making a decision for the platform you choose to develop your app, take three things into considerations:
Here’s a direct comparison to help you finalize one thing:
Now coming to the next important factor which helps in determining how much does it cost to develop an app- the designing phase. Though it is an integral part of the development stage, yet it plays a crucial role in deciding the overall cost. For example, if you opt for a ready-to-use template, the cost estimate will be restrictive. However, if you look forward to more customizations- for a better user experience, it will lead to higher costs and time. Below are listed top three design-specific reasons that amount to an increase in cost to make an app.
The first thing comes first- this has to be exceptional if you want your app to succeed. Basically, UX is about how your mobile application works. The elements can range from working on the color psychology, placement of buttons, or even following the user’s eye pattern.
Your goal must be making the app as easy as possible to use for the end-user, right? Hence, creating such kind of experience needs a deep understanding of your market, audience, goals, objectives, and more. And to design such an app experience that impacts the engagement level fluctuate the cost to build an app.
Similar to experience, it is the interface design that will impact the cost to make your app. UI is defined as – how the application appears to the users. It involves the use of different visual elements. While the customization can level up to any extent, the basic elements remain constant:
Choice of elements depends majorly on your goals. What actually you are seeking from your business app? It may be in terms of sales, engagement, or information. Certainly, the more the complex design gets, the more will be cost to build your app.
This cannot be missed! What comes to your mind immediately when you think of:
Of course, their amazing logo designs hit you instantly. All these popular organizations have earned brand value. Despite heavy competition, these brands stand out from the crowd. How? Simple- they have invested in branding. So if you wish to outshine in your industry, investing some generous amount for branding purposes is advisable.
The cost to develop your app will be directly proportional to the complexity of its functionality. Clearly- smaller and simpler the app less will be the time and cost required for its development. So, how many features you require to launch your product? The increasing number of functions, screens, buttons, etc. will add to its complexity and cost to make your app. Let’s categorize it into 3 types:
Besides, there are also some hidden charges that will affect the cost to develop an app.
While PDF impacts the cost to make your app immensely, there are a few additional costs you must know. These are
You need to pay them for third-party integrations. Example- Cost for specific payment gateways, geolocation, or push notifications.
This is the amount you need to pay to keep your app updated, fix bugs, or even make future improvements. It is generally 20% of the original development cost (per year).
Some app development agencies might charge you for the content manager’s salary.
This is the payment for your server, CDN, etc.
Thinking- if there is anything else that could make a difference for the cost to develop your app?
Yes- the type of app development solutions- which can be divided into three major categories:
As stated above, there are three types. Let’s check on them in detail:
These are referred to as ready-to-use products. So, when you want your app to go live in a few weeks, this has got you back. And as these are ‘Ready Made’ solutions, they make the cost to develop an app pretty less.
In general, the cost of building an app with a SaaS-based solution starts from $2,000 to $3,000. However, there will be some rental fee which you need to pay the app development company. This fee can range from $100- $350 and has to be paid on monthly basis. This might sound inexpensive and exciting to you-right? But, wait! There’s a catch.
Is your business idea unique? Or do you want your app to be really outstanding? Want some specific features to be added? Then there might not be a good choice. WHY? Because SaaS-based solutions have some drawbacks that might not go well with your “UNIQUE” ideas. Find them below:
Most of the SaaS solutions are GENERIC, i.e. these are built to cater to the standard or basic need of any particular industry. For example, you plan to launch a food delivery app. Using a SaaS solution will limit you to a standard set of features- like instant ordering, schedule orders, and more. But if you want to add ‘Voice Instructions’ or ‘Table Booking’, this is not a possibility. Simply, these solutions fall short on flexibility to customize your app.
This is certainly a BIG drawback of SaaS-based solutions. You can add your own brand identity elements like Logos, color scheme, etc. with these. However, you need to understand that there will be several businesses that opted for similar solutions. Hence, the food delivery businesses that have invested in the same solution will have the same UI. It will be difficult for you to give users an exceptional experience. And you don’t stand unique in any way.
Without a doubt, the industry trends keep changing every now and then. In order, to keep pace with time, your app needs to be scalable. Or in other words, it should be able to incorporate the necessary changes, easily and quickly. It is here when SaaS solutions fail.
The next type is about the app solutions that are built from scratch. If your business idea is UNIQUE or you have some business-specific requirements, this is for you. Also, it is worth noticing that this will be a time taking process. In general, it might take up to 6 months or even a YEAR to develop a customized mobile app. So what will be the cost to develop your app in this case? The formula is here:
Now to understand how this calculation works, you first need to know the TEAM required for developing an app. To execute any app idea, a wholesome, skilled team is required. And this would generally include:
Now, the hourly rate of these professionals differs from region to region. Talking about the region-specific cost the hourly cost for the US and Canada varies from $100- $200. Whereas, Australian app development agencies charge anywhere between $70-$150. The European and UK-based app developers are charging between $50 – $100. Comparatively, Asian mobile app development agencies charge somewhere between $15 -$40 per hour.
Just like the cost to develop the app depends on the hourly rate of the development team, it will also vary as per the time taken. Now the total time will differ from industry to industry. Try to understand this with the examples given below:
To have an estimate for the cost to develop an app for your eCommerce business, let’s assume you hire a team from Asia. The standard cost of team will be $20 per hour.
It means that the bare minimum cost would be $11,600. In case, you want to have some advanced features, the cost to develop your app can even rise to $100 K. Don’t fret over this, the next part has a rescue.
SaaS-solution isn’t a fit for your business idea and custom-building sounds too expensive? Thankfully, there is a mid-way. You can consider them to be the ‘Ready-to-use Core Engines’ which come with a greater flexibility to customize. To be more precise, these types of solutions already have 70-80% of what you exactly need. The remaining rest 20-30% can be custom-built, according to your business specific requirements.
Before you ask for how much it costs to make an app with such a solution, spend a minute to read and understand why it is an OPTIMAL CHOICE.
As they have Ready-to-use base, they help you get you market ready just in few weeks. Hence, it will not take much time like custom app development that might takes months to go live.
Next, you get a unique, customizable solution without spending a fortune. Isn’t that what you want? White-label solutions come at a very cost-effective price. Yes, you won’t be paying $100K for your idea (like you have to do in case of custom-built solution.)
You enjoy freedom for customizing your app the way you want. Like SaaS solution you don’t have to deal with few, FIXED Features.
Not just customization, you also get better scalability for your future needs. Unlike SaaS solutions, these are highly robust and scalable.
Now how much does it cost to build your app with white-label solution? The cost for the base solution starts from $5,000. Moving further, the type of customization you require will be adding to the overall cost to make your app.
This mean, the cost to make app for your ecommerce delivery business would be between $5 K- $15 K range. Paying such a genuine amount you will get a cost-efficient, unique, and future-proof solution.
No more delaying your idea to build an app. You have an idea? Code Brew has got the right solution for you. Get in touch with our experts to get an exact quote right away.
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