How Much Does It Cost to Develop a Parking App Like SpotHero?

Why Develop a Parking App Like SpotHero?

With ever-increasing traffic, people are facing several issues. Issues in finding a suitable parking spot without cringing stands on top. This is where parking apps like SpotHero play their role. SpotHero leverages GPS and searches the area to notify people about available parking spaces.

Undoubtedly these apps are further going to increase in number due to their high demand as more and more people are preferring personal vehicles instead of public transport. According to a recent survey, passenger cars market unit sales can reach a whopping 73,865.00K vehicles in 2027.

So this is directly going to affect both traffic and parking. Moreover, the car parking apps market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 17.6%  (2021-2031). This means if you are planning to develop a parking app like SpotHero, you are on the right track as it is going to be a win-win strategy.

Must-have Features of the Parking App Like SpotHero

When it comes to significant features of the parking app, the User/Driver Panel, Parking Inspector/Space Owner Panel, and Admin Panel demand equal importance. So let’s go through a list of features that are essential for a car parking app like SpotHero to work seamlessly.

User/Driver Panel

The main goal of the user panel is to help drivers locate the cheapest parking lot as soon as possible.

• Quick Registration: The registration process must be quick with multiple registration options like phone number, Gmail, social media, etc.
• Hassle-free Login: Once the user registered successfully, the app must offer immediate login with the required credentials. It must also contain an option for password recovery. 
• User Profile Management Interface: Users must be able to view and edit data related to personal information, payment details, etc.
• Global Positioning System (GPS): The parking app must allow users to pin the exact location of the vehicle and allow proper guidance to park and find the vehicle without any hassle.
• Search Interface: The search interface is essential to select the closest parking space from the offered list.
• Booking Interface: Your parking app must have an eye-catchy interface that allows users to book parking spots with specific arrival and departure time. This feature must also allow users to maintain records and ensure a smooth billing process.
• Pre-Schedule: The app must allow users to pre-schedule vehicle parking time along with 100% occupancy status on arrival at the parking spot.
• Early Departure: Users must be able to edit and update early departure timings if any. This feature will also help the parking inspector to allocate vacant parking spots on an immediate basis.
• History: This feature will allow users to view their parking as well as their payment history. 
• Push Notifications: The user must be kept updated through push notifications. 
• Review & Ratings: Users must be able to review and rate their parking experience.

Parking Inspector/Space Owner Panel

The parking inspector must be efficiently able to manage the parking area without putting the driver in a thinking or searching mode.

• Adding New Parking Slots: The space owner must be able to add new or available parking slots.
• Reach Customer: The app must allow the space owner to contact the customer either via in-app call or chat anytime as per the need of the hour.
• Payments & Managements: The space owner must be able to accept and manage payments without any hassle.
• Feedback Management: The app must allow the space owner to manage feedback in order to improve the services and performance of the app.
• Push Notifications: The space owner must be kept updated via push notifications.

Admin Panel

The admin must be able to keep an eagle eye on all app activities as well as manage various in-app processes.

• Powerful Dashboard: The admin must be provided with a powerful dashboard to manage and have access to various app functions as well as activities.
• Manage Parking Spots: The app must allow the admin to manage parking spots without any delay.
• Manage Users: Admin must be able to accept/reject or manage users present on the app. 
• Manage Bookings: The admin must be able to manage bookings anytime as per the need of the hour.
• Manage Payments: The payment management feature is essential and must work seamlessly without any errors or delay.
• Discounts and Offer Management: The admin must be able to manage the discounts and offers for its valuable or fresh customers. 
• Push Notifications: The admin must be able to manage the frequency as well as terms for sending push notifications.

Also Read: Develop An IoT Based Smart Parking System Mobile App

Advanced Features of the Car Parking App Like SpotHero

Apart from the basic features, there are also some advanced features of a vehicle parking app like SpotHero that help you stand apart from the market competitors by offering a rich user experience. Some of the high-end features are Reports and Extensive Dashboards, High Security & Credibility, Multiple Payment Gateways, Price Comparison, Heat Maps for live traffic information, Waiting List Tab, Multiple Cities, etc.

Tech Stack Required to Build a Vehicle Parking App Like SpotHero

Parking apps like SpotHero mainly use a tech stack composed of Applications & data, Utilities, DevOps, and Business tools. Let’s go through them one by one.

Also Read: All You Need To Know About Parking Mobile App Development

5 Factors That Affect the Development Cost of Parking Apps Like SpotHero

When it comes to parking app development, you will never find a stagnant cost due to various factors that influence the overall development cost. Let’s discuss what factors affect the total development cost of an app like SpotHero.

• Backend & Frontend Development: The tools and technologies used for frontend and backend development are different apart from the expertise that can utilize them effectively. Hence it directly affects the cost of building a car parking app like SpotHero.
• Complexity: There is no doubt that an app with more advanced features requires skilled developers as well as more developing hours. It will also consume more testing time. This factor will raise the cost too.
• Size of the Team: Building an app is not a one-man’s task, it demands many experts to work as a team for a single goal. So a larger team means more cost to develop a parking app like SpotHero. Apart from this, going with freelancers or with a dedicated parking app development company will also affect the overall cost.
• Location of the Company: The location of the company directly affects the total parking app development cost as the hourly rates vary from region to region. It will cost you double or triple to get your app developed from countries like the US as compared to the companies from Asia like India.
• App Distribution Platform: Android and iOS are the most popular platforms for distributing apps among users. So you decide whether you want to go with Android or iOS or both. Android apps will cost you more as compared to iOS due to their more developing hours as they must support multiple devices.

How Much Does It Cost to Develop a Parking App Like SpotHero?

Apps like SpotHero generally carry the same functionality but the factors discussed previously determines the final cost. If a user is looking for an advanced app with state-of-the-art customization it is going to raise the overall development cost. So considering the factors that affect the overall development cost, the price to develop a parking app like SpotHero will be anywhere around 30,000 USD to 40,000 USD.

Alert: HIdden Price: You may have to spend 15% – 20% of the total app development cost per year on maintenance and updation. This is essential to beat the market competition.