What Is the Cost of Mobile App Development?

7 Factors that Influence the Cost of Mobile App Development

1. The Business Model of a Mobile App

An application is developed for users. So, the journey of application development begins after finding the right users for your application. After that you decide on a viable business model for the same which determines the overall process on which you will run your business – and it should be beneficial for both – you as well as the users.

Then comes the monetization strategy of an app – which is the actual factor on which your mobile application development cost depends. For instance, a free application is simpler to create when compared with a paid application that requires the integration of several in-app purchase features. An e-commerce application involves additional time and cost. And if we talk about the elephant in the room – on-demand apps – their development cost varies.

If you want to develop an app like Uber it can cost you somewhere around $30k or if you want to develop an app like UrbanClap, its cost will vary depending on the services you want to offer. Here is a categorization of app type and cost they will require to develop:

Depending on the above chart, you can have a rough estimation of Cost of Mobile App Development.

2. Type of Your Application

The essential function and kind of application will also affect your mobile app development cost.

For instance, standalone applications like a clock or calculator can work without being connected to a network. Since the complexity in building these type of apps is minimal, the cost will be low. However, an application that requires data utilization, for example, a stock market watch, calendar, or a weather app would need some more amount relatively.

No doubt, these are also standalone applications as far as complexity is concerned, they require extra features to bring results in real-time. Applications that require user verification like Dream 11 Fantasy Sports or Google Drive can cost considerably more. These are the more perplexing type of apps and requires the development of an algorithm to function.

If you want to take the UX one stride further and build up a social media app like Facebook, it will cost you a little more.

3. App Platform: Android or iOS

You can make your application accessible over several platforms like Android, iOS, Windows, Web or on altogether. The decision of this relies upon where the users of your application are.

While the current global platform market share of Android is larger, users of iOS are said to be more reliable. Here are a few factors you must consider while selecting the platform for your app:

While there are several other factors as well, the ones mentioned above are crucial to analyze for getting an estimate on mobile app development cost.

The selection of a platform is not an easy choice. It is suggested to go for both if your pocket permits or go with cross-platform app development. To just give you a general idea, iOS applications are faster to develop and for the most part, cost lesser than android applications.

4. Visual Design and UI/UX

Doesn’t matter if its a new job, first date or the virtual design of an application, the first impression always matters. Thus, you should make a decent one! The first look of your application can be a deal-breaker or an industry disruptor. The application market is aggressive and it sort of bodes well that all organizations are rapidly needing to enter the stores.

But, the design is an essential component of disruptive applications, which is all the time overlooked. Here is what an ideal UI/UX design process for an app should look like:

If you follow an ideal UI/UX design strategy for developing your app, the mobile app development cost can reach up to $35,000 for a basic app.

5. The Functionalities of Your Application

As mobile applications are getting more and more robust, there is essentially no limit to what an application can do. The expense to build an app, therefore, can begin at a couple of hundred dollars and go soaring to more than thousands. Consider the following sorts of App:

• List App – The application is a mobile-optimized form of the site and will for the most part list out in different categories. It is easy to create and won’t make a hole in your pocket.

• A Dynamic App – Mobile Apps like Facebook, for example, needs to be connected with a server to gather the information from the application. These applications work along with different platforms and applications through APIs. The complexity of such an application and its APIs can bring a lot of variations as far as cost is concerned.

• Games – These are the most complex type of applications to create and also are the most expensive ones. With complex games utilizing Artificial Intelligence getting heavy traction, the 3D environments and propelled material science can cost a sensation.

These three are classifications that will define your application extensively, applications nowadays are broader to such an extent that it may not be possible to have conclusive categories that join them all. Each one of a kind functionality will include an extra expense. While some apparently complex functionalities may not cost a lot, integrating a simple feature may create a hole in your pocket.

6. App Complexity

How complex is your app?

Your answer will affect the app development cost. Your app can be a simple, moderate or complex type of application and depending on this, the cost to develop your app will vary. Now, how will you identify your app falls in which category? Here are a few differences to help you:

So look at the features, functionality, and structure of your application. See in which category it falls. In case you’re simply searching for something very basic with simple features, you can create it at a low rate. However, if you have something very unique and complex to develop, the intricacy will be more expensive.

7. Hidden Cost

OK, so that’s all – right? No.

While you may have spent more than you initially anticipated while developing your application, you’re not exactly out of the forested areas yet. Remember expenses that individuals often neglect during this procedure. You will have to pay legal expenses. Like any great business, you will have to hire a legal advisor as well.

He will help secure your copyrights, intellectual property, trademarks and everything else that you need while ensuring you’re not encroaching on anyone’s business. Remember about membership expenses for external functions either. So don’t think of a budget that you can’t oversee.

Ensure you have a small room in your budget for these type of hidden costs or whatever else that may astound you or come up en route.

Wrapping Up

So, now you must be clear that predicting the exact cost of the mobile app development process isn’t possible –  until or unless you have clear requirements in your hand. However, to give you a rough idea – a simple mobile app development can cost you around $30K to $50k with basic features. However, if you go for the development of some advanced features, the cost can go up to $80K to $90k. If you need an exact estimate and have a killer idea in your mind, you can request a free quote here.