Application development is an essential part of your business in today’s digital world, but many entrepreneurs are not aware of the cost of App development. Although it is tough to estimate the exact cost of the App, somehow, it will be around $3,000 to $3,00,000 for one platform, the minimum amount is for the basic version of App, and the upper limit is for a well-furnished App version.
As per the study of Clutch and Outsource an App project costs around $3,000 to $5,00,000 with a timeline of 1 to 9+ months.
The next question that arises in your mind must be, what are the factors which affect the price of an App and cause of such a big discrepancy in App development prices.
It is important to understand the factors which affect the cost of App because, without that, you cannot accumulate the exact cost of the App you required. There are 5 major factors to be considered before going for Application Development.
Following are the major factors that decides the cost of an App:
This list needs to explain for better understanding and show you a clear picture of these components.
- Type of vendor (IT agency, Freelancers)
- Numbers of complexity and features
- Design complexity (basic, custom, use of animation or video, etc.)
- Vendor’s location
- Number of platforms
Type of Vendor
There are two kinds of vendors available in the market IT agency and Freelancer. Both have their cons and pros, for example, if you go freelancing for developing an App, you will get the following advantages:
- App development with low cost, freelancer charge less as compared to agencies.
- You can directly communicate with the developer at any point in time.
At the same time, disadvantages are:
- Lower quality of App development services.
- Limited accountability and transparency.
- Team management on your side.
- Difficult to find an experienced freelancer for all your requirements.
- Additional paperwork required.
If you decided to work with the software development company, you would enjoy the following benefits:
– All or majorities of services you required under one roof.
– Service quality and skills
– Trustworthy relations
– Quality of deliverables
– Accountability
– Schedule and discipline
– Project management
Disadvantages of working with software companies:
- Higher rates for work as compare to Freelancers.
- More bureaucracy
The overall conclusion of the above point is, in spite of having to higher prices agencies usually give a sense of security and confidence that is worth the cost.
Location of the App developer
The next big factor that influences the cost of developing an App is the location of the developer.
The most popular app development destination worldwide is North America, Latin America, Eastern Europe (Ukraine), and Asia (India).
In the given below table we have given how much it will be cost to create the App in these locations. This table is as per the latest data, how much app developers’ charges per hour or hourly basis:
| Employee title | North America | Eastern Europe | Western Europe | Ukraine |
| Business Analyst | $60-$75 | $35-$45 | $55-$80 | $30-$50 |
| Architect | $90-$130 | $40-$70 | $90-$120 | $35-$65 |
| Project Manager | $90-$110 | $35-$45 | $55-$65 | $30-$40 |
| Jr. Developer | $50-$70 | $25-$35 | $40-$50 | $20-$40 |
| Mid-level Developer | $60-$80 | $30-$40 | $45-$65 | $25-$50 |
| Sr. Developer | $75-$105 | $40-$50 | $65-$80 | $35-$60 |
| Lead Developer | $90-$115 | $40-$55 | $70-$90 | $35-$65 |
| Junior QA | $45-$60 | $20-$30 | $35-$45 | $15-$25 |
| Mid-level QA | $60-$75 | $30-$40 | $45-$55 | $25-$35 |
| Senior QA | $75-$90 | $35-$45 | $50-$65 | $30-$45 |
App development cost in India, Pakistan, and other Asian countries is usually less than $25/hour. South America, which is another in-demand outsourcing destination for App development having rates in the range of western and Eastern Europe.
The USA is the most expensive App development destination with a price range of $70-$100 per/hour. Eastern Europe and Ukraine are most affordable, with the price range of $30-$60/hour for App development. In this region, you get good quality of work for moderate App development.
Number of complexity and features in the App
The complexity and features will define how much time and effort will be required in the App development. A basic version of App having a low cost, while a Large version is costlier.
Below table shows the approximate timeline by complexity:
| Basic Version | Medium App | Large App | |
| Notes | core feature-set (e.g., simple login, email subscription standard, simple design elements 1 platform | more features (e.g., payments, integrations, analytics) more complex design 1 platform | complex app development (e.g., video-streaming, data encryption, offline mode, etc.) custom app design, animations app support 2+ platforms |
| Time | ~1-2 months | ~2-3 months | 3+ months (ongoing) |
Complexity matters when it comes to the cost of making an app. Think according to your business requirement, extra features that not needed for your business will only increase the cost of App. and not that much worth for your business.
Prioritize your requirement first before going for App development, features fitted with your business and your price range should be included only.
Another thing to keep in mind is native apps (those developed specifically to run on iOS or Android) are much better than those that are cross-platform. They are also more expensive, but the overall result and their performance make the cost worthwhile.
Following are the core features that are included in many digital projects and make App development complex:
1. User login/registration– it is the most common feature in Apps. Login/registration via E-mail, Google, Facebook, or other networking sites help to gather information about your customers and potential customers. Login/registration feature costs around 20-25 hours.
2. Chats– P2P chat can be developed in 50 – 65 hours. This timeline also depends on functions like offline mode, chat history, emojis auto-delete, file transfer, and other elements. Group-chat is more complex to develop and may take around 80+ hours.
3. Search– you must have seen the search option in an App, mostly it is at the top of the interface (with magnifying glass icon), so you can find it easily. A basic search function can be completed in 12 -15+ hours. More complex search requests need more of an investment.
4. Push Notification– it is an App’s in-build tool that helps to communicate with the app users SMS notifications, Alerts, and warnings provide users with relevant and up-to-date information. The simplest text form of this feature can be developed in ~12 – 15 hours.
5. Payment– payment option gives users an option to make payment with debit/credit card, with services like Google Wallet, Amazon pay, PayPal, etc., or via cash. Technologies like Braintree and Stripe are mostly used for payment functionality and a minimum of 50 – 65 hours is necessary for implementation.
6. Analytics– collection of information from user’s activity and App performance with the help of technologies like Google Analytics, Flurry, etc. The most basic form can be implemented in ~ 2 – 5 hours.
7. Geolocation– it is one of the critical features of Apps like Uber, Zomato, dating apps, etc. The ability to locate the device of users and use GPS to communicate with them cost takes around 32-48 hours to apply.
8. Offline mode– this feature helps to make App data available even without an internet connection. Storage (e.g., local storage, cookies, database, etc.) influences the amount of time needed for development, which can be up to 75-80 hours.
9. Data encryption – this feature used to secure messaging with end-to-end encryption, where only the receiver has the necessary decoding protocol. To eliminate unauthorized access, the implementation of this feature depends upon the data being encrypted (video, text, images, link, document) a minimum of 16- 24 hours are needed.
10. Connectivity with a device – the App’s use of a device’s hardware, like Bluetooth, accelerometers, barometers, NFC, gyroscopes, etc. There is no need to develop any back-end, and around 16 – 24 hours are required to assemble this feature.
Number of platforms (iOS or Android)
The choice of platform is also influencing the cost of the App development. Basically, there are two major platforms available to develop an App, Android and iOS collectively acquired almost 99% of the market share. The main factor determining whether you need to make an app for iOS or Android is the audience you would like to reach. As per Google, there is approx. 72.2% of people use Android and 26.99% iOS. This shows the clear winner of Android in this segment, but an experienced and intelligent developer will recommend you to develop App for both Android and iOS format. Because although it will cost you more to develop an app in two formats, the market share of iOS is enough to bring back the cost and also gives you a hefty return.
Design complexity
App design influences the whole process of creating an app. The more complex the design, the more expensive your application becomes.
There are two kinds of designs used in the App, User Experience (UX design) and Visual design, which help to make the platform more attractive and valuable for users. A well-designed App help to save time and efforts of the users and increase the business.
Simple app design mainly consists of standard, platform-specific elements that are pretty easy to implement and will not take much time. Adding custom elements and animations increase design complexity and thus the app design cost.
We at Appernity Technologies have the best in class mobile app developers and have served more than 1000 clients, delivered 200+ apps in various niche. Feel free to share your specs with us at business@appernity.com