Every businessman is interested in how much does it cost to make an app. Well, we want to start with why it is important to have an app. Note that 9 out of 10 people always have a smartphone with internet access in their pocket. The phone becomes your assistant, allowing you to influence potential buyers through mobile applications.
Why is it important to have an app?
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It's comfortable. The client can check promotions and news without being distracted from everyday activities.
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It increases loyalty. A client is more likely to become a regular if it is convenient to use the services even on the go.
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It improves reputation. The app clearly shows your commitment to high quality and raises your status.
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Commercial benefit. Many modern companies use apps as the first option for communication with the user. The best examples here are taxi apps like Uber.
The process is a bit more complicating than answering how much does it cost to develop an app question. Application development is a long and complex multi-level process that involves analysts, marketers, designers, programmers, testers, and other specialists.
What Determines the Price
The cost of creating an app is influenced by many factors that you might not know about. These factors include the expertise of the developers, the entrepreneur's knowledge, and the complexity of the project. This affects the mobile app development prices.
Stages of Mobile Application Development
Some stages form the cost to build an app. Here are the most common ones that form the whole process. Of course, there might be additional stages that you can add with the help of your project manager. Any extra stages should be discussed with the manager.
Some stages are organized around the cost to build an app. These are the most common ones that come out of the app development process.
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Developing a strategy for building a brand and attracting a targeted audience is very important. This process involves gathering all of the necessary information to create a compelling and effective marketing plan.
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The prototype is the first step in the development of the app. The designer takes into account all the details related to the product's characteristics and goals.
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Coding. Here we implement the functionality.
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Testing. Checking for bugs and errors to eliminated all the issues right away.
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Releasing and providing the post-release support.
You can read more about the development stages and what each stage includes in our article From Idea to End User: The Main Stages of Developing Any Mobile Application .
Pick the Type of the App
Based on your customer’s needs you have to pick the type of app. The type influence the app development price, so make sure to find out everything about your audience before solving this question. If the target audience uses only iPhones, then there is no need to create an application for other operating systems. If customers are more comfortable using a laptop or computer, as well as phones, then you should consider picking a PWA.
| Type of the app | Characteristics | Price |
|---|---|---|
| PWA | Suitable for both laptops and smartphones | More details |
| Native apps | Suitable for a specific OS | More details |
| Cross-platform apps | Suitable for all OS | More details |
Before creating your own mobile application, you need to analyze the target audience and business niche to choose a platform for the future app.
Based on the Development Stages
The estimated app creation cost of each phase of app development allows startups to properly distribute their venture capital throughout their mobile apps.
It revealed that companies spent on average 38% of their total app development budget on the Planning, Design, and Development stages.
Before the start of the pre-research stage, 48% of the companies representative stated that it costs over $5,000 to come up with an initial concept. Almost half of the developers went over the $15k average cost for app development.
| Stage | Price |
|---|---|
| Planning | More details |
| UI/UX | More details |
| Development | More details |
| Testing | More details |
| Resealse and further support | More details |
Based on the Functionality
Functionality is the most significant part of any application. But the cost of building an app depends on its complexity. You need to know what opportunities the app provides to clients, the need to connect third-party services to activate the device's capabilities, and what benefits it brings to the client.
Buttons, fields, screens, and other elements make the application unique, interesting, and convenient. But each additional element affects the overall project budget. Therefore, it is important to pre-develop a prototype and think over the functionality to the smallest detail to find out the costs of making an app.
| Function | Goal | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Registration and authorization | Helps user to log in in your app | More details |
| Media content | Provides with ability to use images, videos, and other media content | More details |
| Geolocation | This function is crucial for a taxi, restaurant, dating, and other applications where location plays an important role | More details |
| Maps integration | Displaying maps in the application | More details |
| Chat and messages | Allows to communicate in the application | More details |
| Online store | Allows to buy products or services in the app | More details |
| Multilingual capability | Allows to switch languages while using the app | More details |
| Database | Allows to store data on the device | More details |
| Use of the device sensors | Gives access to phone functions | More details |
| Search function | Provides insight into user queries | More details |
Thoughtful individual structure makes the application memorable and user-friendly. In any case, at the stage of planning and analytics, the functionality of the future application is analyzed and thought out in detail.
Based on the Complexity
Some mobile apps are equal while some are not equal when it comes to their complexity. This type of price formation is based on the app’s complexity and the amount of the consumed time for Android and iOS platforms.
| Complexity | Characteristics | Price |
|---|---|---|
| A basic app | Includes a few basic tools and a simple design. | More details |
| A medium complexity app | There are more functions, the design is more interesting, the work is more complicated, the specialists are more experienced. | More details |
| A complex time-consuming app | It is necessary to connect entire departments dealing only with development to implement all the functions. Sometimes the method of parallel programming is used, when the task is divided into parts and developed by different specialists. | More details |
Price Calculators
You can always use external apps to calculate the average cost to develop an app. These products use up-to-date information on world estimates to provide you with prices depending on your goals and wishes.
Here are the most popular services on the internet that can answer the how much money does it cost to create an app question:
You must pick the platform where you want to develop your app. This is very important, as the average cost of app development can vary depending on the platform you select.
Picking Between a Development Company and a Freelancer
Even though a mobile app can be developed by a team of experts, it can also be created by freelancers. Let’s check their advantages and disadvantages and see how this choice influences the cost to develop an app.
| Contractor | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Development company |
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| Freelancer |
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Hiring a freelancer is a way of cheap mobile app development but you pay with certain risks and limitations of development. In addition, specialists from the company can unite to solve complex problems, develop ideas and concepts, and discuss a project. Such an approach gives better results.
Final Thoughts
How much money does it take to make an app? Building a mobile app is a complex process with many variables that affect the final result. Inevitably, they also affect development costs.
Decisions about the functionality of an application and its overall complexity, as well as factors such as possible internal development or third-party integration, play a role in determining the total cost of mobile app development today.
The more information you have the better prepared you will be to evaluate the proposal.
FAQ
How Much Does It Cost to Develop a Mobile App?
It can take a developer anywhere from $50,000 to $150,000 to create an app that is good enough to be used and sold. The complexity and functions of the app will also determine the price.
Is It Hard to Create an App?
Yes and no. When developers have enough skills and practice it is a bit easier for them. But it can be hard when there is a need to implement particular functionality.
