Our clients often ask us how much does it cost to make an app? It is hard to name a particular price. But we hope this article helps you to figure out what exactly forms the price. You’ll learn the process of creating mobile apps and find out why the price may vary and what factors are not obvious at the first glance.
Before pricing any project we learn everything we can about the client, requirements, project’s goals, etc. This helps us to estimate time and set the price.
We recommend you call our manager to get the most precise cost of creating an app.
Types of Apps
How much does an app cost?The cost depends on many criteria, including the project’s complexity and the estimated time to create it.
Before starting the project we learn the app’s structure, understand if it is better to develop a cross-platform solution or a native one, discuss integrations, server availability, and learn how much data will be stored, etc.
At first, we set the scope and timing to design the app and then set the timing for development. Mobile apps development costs depend on the complexity: the simpler the solution is, the cheaper it gets. Based on the app’s complexity we can divide them into three groups:
Simple Applications
These have a very simple logic, 1-3 functions, and consist of 3-5 screens. You may know some of them: calculator, cookbook, etc. These have the goal of providing information or solving easy tasks.
Middle Applications
These apps have 3-5 main functions, a server part, and a personal account. So when the users want to use the app, they can use their social media for authorization. Middle-ranged applications also allow users to pay with their credit cards and have a review system.
Complex Applications
Complex apps are multifunctional and can carry a high load. One can usually find some third-party integrations, complex animations, lots of pages, and chats.
First of all, the cost varies depending on the type and number of functions of the finished application. Second, the following criteria are evaluated in determining the cost of app development.
Factors That Form the Price
So, as you know, depending on the complexity of the task we form the price. But let’s see exactly what forms the price.
Functionality
The market for software products is constantly expanding. Not all apps are successful. In order for a mobile application to justify the funds spent on its creation, the software must be technically high-quality and solve the problems of customers of a particular brand or company. And the functionality helps with that:
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Authorization (social media, phone number);
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Content (news feed, user profile, profile editing, search and filtering, catalogs and categories, video/audio download, calendar, maps);
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Social interaction (chats, forum, comments, push notifications, e-mail newsletter, social networks share, audio/video calls);
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Payments (pricing, shopping cart, in-app purchases, card payments, PayPal, Google Wallet);
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Additional functions (fingerprint scanner, QR code, VR/AR, cloud services synchronization).
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Administration and analytics (user administration, user activity analytics, content management, moderation, feedback processing)
Some of the listed functions are hard to develop while others are relatively simple. To implement certain functionality, developers use ready-made solutions.
Design
We can get pre-made templates or make a unique design developed specifically for your needs. Templates may include basic iOS or Android solutions like fonts, buttons, etc. Mobile app designers follow operating system guidelines. These are such guides for the design of the interface of applications on iOS or Android. Guidelines help not only designers but developers as well. When developers need to implement standard interface elements, they use these guidelines. The more complex solutions may include other tasks like branding. It works both for mobile app development costs and website development costs.
Supplementary Costs
Among all these pricing issues, there are others that can help you to form the answer for the “how much does it cost to build an app” question. The place where all the developers work, also known as the office, needs to be paid for. Thus the part of the rent is covered by the development price.
Locations
The location of the studio in some cases plays a decisive role in the choice of the executor. A mobile application developed by specialists from the United States will cost 2-3 times more than a similar product created by coders from Eastern Europe. The products of Indian developers are even cheaper, but the software is not always of high quality. This adds up to the costs of making an app.
Taxes
Every company should pay taxes as they provide customers with services. Also, there is a tax for each worker that is also included in the final price.
Other Expenses
Other costs include app testing and debugging, publishing the application in stores, maintaining, and developing it. If the customer needs to develop a service, these costs do not affect the final price. But most often clients choose further development, maintenance, and promotion.
Testing
While testing, specialists find bugs and errors in the application. In order for the application to work smoothly, it is better to fix all the shortcomings. This requires the involvement of QA engineers and developers.
Publishing
The finished application must be published in the App Store and Google Play. Sometimes the customer does it alone but more often asks professionals to do it.
Final Thoughts
How much does it cost to make an app? Studios have their own pricing for the same task. There’s no one price for all due to expertise, cases, and supplementary costs. There is no such thing as an average cost of app development. So, the smaller the studio, the less money they will ask for. And, usually, smaller and newer businesses hire such studios, while world-known ask for help from the most known ones.
The app’s cost is strongly influenced by the capabilities of the service and its functionality, individual design, publishing platforms, as well as server-side and administration capabilities. Making an application in a studio that rents a huge office in the center of the capital is more expensive than in a company with a distributed development team. A significant piece of the cost of post-delivery maintenance. It includes expenses such as customer support, development of updates and patches, server support, cloud hosting, marketing, advertising, legal and accounting support, etc.
The mobile application development cost is different in each studio. It is always better to call or write studios to check out the price. Call Owlab and we will calculate the price for you based on all things written in the article.
