Mobile apps are ubiquitous in today’s world, with 6.6 billion smartphone users around the globe. They are so popular and bring in a lot of revenue that there is no reason not to use them.
It is important to first understand the cost of building an app. This is the most common question that clients ask when they approach us to discuss an app idea.
A mobile app can cost between $40,000 and $150,000, but in some cases, it may be more than $300,000.
Because many factors such as app type, complexity, vendor selection, and development approach can influence the keyword, it is not definitive.
What is the cost of creating an app? Take a cup of coffee and continue reading to find out the concrete cost of developing an app.
These are some numbers that can be used to approximate how much money is needed for app creation.
Minimum viable product – from $5,000 to $20,000
An easy app – from $20,000 to $60,000
A typical app costs between $60,000 and $150,000
Complex mobile app – starting at $150,000
These numbers are not exact and they don’t give you an accurate idea of how much money you should allocate to create high-quality apps that are fast and safe. Your budget should not only consider the average cost for an app. It should also take into account other factors such as the location of your team, the features you have in mind, and the expected deadlines. It sounds overwhelming, right?
These were just the estimated costs. However, it is important to mention the development factors that impact the total mobile app development cost.
Top 8 Factors that Impact the Cost of Mobile App Development
There are many factors that affect the cost of mobile app development. These cost-influencing factors will allow you to make the most efficient decisions and get the highest return on your development investment. It will help you to stay within your budget.
Let’s now look at the main factors that impact the overall cost of mobile app development.
Mobile App Complexity
A simple app can cost between $5,000 and $50,000 to develop. A simple app includes a few basic features, such as a login system and user profile facility. It also has a dashboard and limited administration.
A medium-complex app costs between $50,00 and $120,000. Medium-complex apps include a variety of features that allow for user engagement and app revenue generation. These apps offer basic features as well as social media integrations, payment gateways, user privacy, and audio/video streaming.
Features and Functions of Apps
How much it costs for an app to build will depend on what features and functions you include in your application. With the addition of new features, the base price of mobile app development for your app type will continue to rise.
It is best to focus on the core features of the first version of your app. This will allow you to provide a great user experience at a reasonable price. An MVP is the best choice. An MVP is the initial version of a product that includes a limited set of features. MVP saves time and money and helps users give valuable feedback.
App Category
It varies from one category to the next in terms of how much it costs for an app to be made. Many things change when we move between categories, such as the number of users and security criteria. This ultimately results in varying development costs.
Let’s have a quick look at the most popular categories in mobile app development.
E-commerce/M-Commerce apps – E-commerce applications such as Amazon and Wayfair are at the peak of their popularity because these applications are loaded with tons of features that enable the applications to perform effectively in real-time, handle millions of users at once, and have robust security.
App Design & Animation
App design is the next thing that will impact how much it costs to create an app. App design is essential to ensure that users spend their time with your app.
We generally have two choices when it comes to app design: Standard UI or Custom UI. The Standard UI is easier to design and implement, making it more costly.
Wireframe and animation are two other components of mobile app design.
Wireframing – Developers use Wireframing to create user experience maps and features. These tools include Photoshop, Balsamiq and MARVEL.
Animation – Animation is a popular way to make certain parts of an application more interesting and intuitive. Animations are used in a lot of social media and gaming applications.
App Platform
It is important to select a platform before you begin the process of developing mobile apps. You can build an iOS, Android or web application depending on who you are targeting. It’s best to choose one platform initially if you have a limited budget. Later, you can switch to other platforms.
These are the top app development platforms you can choose from.
Native app platform (Android and iOS) – Language-wise, iOS App Development happens on Swift, Objective C, and Android App Development on Java, and/or Kotlin.
Web App Platform – Apps such as Progressive Web Apps, and other forms of web apps are more cost-effective than native apps. Web app development costs can be anywhere from $15,000 to $50,000 in terms of cost.
Cross-Platform – It is now possible to have an app for iOS and Android at the same time. This makes it more cost-effective. This platform offers a number of advantages, including single code usage and reduced development effort. Currently, the cross-platform market is split between React Native and Flutter platforms.
Hybrid App Platform – Hybrid Apps combine native and web apps. It is installed as a native app but runs in a web-view component.
App Maintenance
Undoubtedly, costs do not end with the final stage of mobile app development. To keep up with changing market trends and the new OS versions, businesses will need to update their apps. This comes at a cost. How much will app development cost?
App bug fixes – A bug-free app is not possible. Most bugs are not highlighted until the app is published. These bugs can be fixed by you.
Design changes – Mobile app designs can become outdated and no longer entice users. If a brand wants to keep its users engaged, it is important that its app design does not become outdated.
The app maintenance cost is calculated annually at 20% of the total mobile app development costs.
Code Reuse
This is one of the key factors that reduce the cost of developing mobile apps. The cost of mobile app development is reduced when businesses reuse existing code and only change branding elements.
The Yellow Strawberry experts recommend that businesses reuse only common elements such as login and contact us. The rest should be developed from scratch as it is difficult to create a distinct brand identity.
App development costs when existing codes are used are 20-30% lower than those of an app developed from scratch.
The Size and Location of the Development Team
The cost of mobile app development greatly depends on the person you choose to do it. There are many options available – an experienced app development company, a local team, or a freelancer developer.
An experienced mobile app development company can help you create high-end applications that have top-notch functionalities and features.
The location of the app developers is also a key factor in determining the app development pricing.
How Can You Reduce Your Mobile App Development Costs?
Entrepreneurs and business owners can cut down on the cost of developing mobile apps by applying some industry best practices and using useful tricks.
This section will examine the various steps companies can take to lower their custom app development costs.
Prioritize features early
It is crucial that you prioritize the features of your app when building it. To maximize your business value, it’s smart to prioritise the functions of your app. The most important elements can be saved for later development stages. It is advisable to start with a minimum viable product (MVP).
Quality assurance should be implemented early.
You must address bugs and other errors as soon as you can. You can detect serious bugs and problems before development begins by involving QA professionals from the start.
You will be able to save a lot of money that could have been very expensive in the middle or end of your project.
Plan for the Future
In the future, an app that was built today may look entirely different. You might change features based on customer feedback if you are building an MVP. You might find your target market changing in a new direction. This could force you to modify your product.
It is important to consider both short-term and longer-term goals when creating an application. This will save you a lot of money over the long term.
Outsourcing or in-house
It is important to choose the right type of mobile app developer staffing structure for your project planning. The final decision will impact the budget, workflow structure, as well as product maintenance. The final decision is whether to outsource or do it in-house.
When you outsource, it means that you have already hired a team to work on the project. The company can access a wide range of talented talent in order to outsource app development. This allows you to reduce office costs and equipment costs, and streamline your internal workflow.
If you are still unsure about which option to take for app development, check out our detailed article on outsourcing vs. in-house.
Consider cross-platform development
When launching an app, entrepreneurs face a dilemma: whether to launch it for iOS or Android. It is expensive to create native apps for each platform. You could miss out on large portions of the user base on one platform if you only create an app.
Cross-platform apps that can be used on both platforms are the best option. Twitter is a great example of a cross-platform mobile app. Flutter, Unity 3D and React Native are some of the most popular technologies for creating cross-platform apps.
How The Yellow Strawberry Can Help You With Mobile App Development Cost Estimation?
How much does it cost for an app to be created? It’s not easy to predict the answer. All the factors that can influence your app idea will help you calculate the cost to make it a reality.
If you feel that the process of calculating the final cost for mobile app development is too difficult, you can contact a reliable app company such as The Yellow Strawberry to get top-notch mobile application development services.
These experts are skilled in developing and launching innovative apps that offer next-generation features and functionalities.
Contact our experts if you’re interested in creating innovative mobile apps for your business or want to know a rough estimate of the cost to create one.
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Complexity is low
In terms of the number of displays, types of users, and the use of sensors, small complexity apps are usually low. Mobile applications typically take between 100-300 hours to build with low complexity.
