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    The Digital Technology
    Home»Web Design and Development»App Development»How to Calculate the Cost of an App
    Calculate the Cost of an App
    How to Calculate the Cost of an App
    App Development

    How to Calculate the Cost of an App

    The Digital TechnologyBy The Digital TechnologyFebruary 17, 2022Updated:February 17, 2022No Comments8 Mins Read
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    Table of Contents

    • How Much Does a Mobile App Cost?
    • What Other Factors Drive the Cost of a Mobile App?
      • 1. Features
      • 2. Application Platform
      • 3. Location & Structure of Your Development Team
      • 4. Project Management Triangle
      • 5. App Maintenance
      • 6. Complexity
    • Techniques for Calculating Mobile App Development Costs
      • Fixed Charge
      • Hourly Charges
    • Why do Mobile App Projects Go Over Budget?
    • How to Ensure It Doesn’t Happen with You?
      • Also See:
      • On Demand Tutoring App Development and It’s Cost
      • Top 10 Custom Mobile App Development Companies in 2022
      • Smart TV App Development: How to Create, Development Cost & Key Features

    Let’s face it: Just having a brilliant app idea is not enough. You also need money to execute it. Sooner or later, money would end up being a deciding factor for your app to calculate the cost of an app. Also, you wouldn’t want to go straight ahead with developing your app only to realize you have gone over budget. That’s why it’s essential to know the estimated cost of your app.

    Yet, how much it costs to build an app is another hot discussion. Calculating the accurate cost of an app is not easy as every app is different. Still, there is a way to calculate the estimated cost of an app. In this blog, we’ll guide you through the process to calculate the cost of an app. Let’s begin:

    How Much Does a Mobile App Cost?

    Depending on the type of app you want to create, the average cost of a mobile app falls anywhere between $20,000 – $300,000. Here’s a simple table for a better understanding:

    Type of App

    Cost

    Timeline

    Examples

    Basic App

    Around $20,000

    Less than 1 Month

    Calculators, Camera, Clock

    Data-driven app

    $25,000

    1-1.5 Months

    Weather, Stocks, Calendar

    Authentication App

    Around $60,000

    3-6 Months

    Loyalty Program Apps

    Social Networking app

    $65,000 – $300,000

    Up to 9 Months

    Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook

    Ecommerce App

    $65,000 – $300,000

    Up to 9 Months

    Amazon, eBay

    On-demand app

    $70,000 – $100,000+

    (basic, per platform)*

    5-7 Months

    Uber, Postmates

    Marketplace app (multilevel web platform)

    Around $300,000

    9+ Months

    TripAdvisor, Upwork

    IoT & Hardware App

    $60,000+

    3-6 Months

    Amazon Dash Buttons, Beacons

    What Other Factors Drive the Cost of a Mobile App?

    Type of the mobile app and the development time are not the only app development cost drivers. Here are a few other aspects that influence to calculate the cost of an app.

    1. Features

    Features are the most significant cost drivers in mobile app development. The relationship is simple. The higher the number of features, the more time it will take for development, and the higher the cost.

    Here’s a simple cost breakdown by an app’s basic features to calculate the cost of an app:

    Feature Name

    Development Time

    Estimated Cost (based on $40/hour)

    Login

    28 – 42 Hours

    $11,00 – $17,00

    File Upload

    20 – 30 Hours

    $800 – $1200

    Profile Completion

    23 – 29 Hours

    $900 – $1150

    Profile Editing

    47 – 62 Hours

    $1800 – $2450

    Search

    13 – 18 Hours

    $500 – $700

    Basic Messaging

    160 – 170 Hours

    $6400 – $6800

    Push Notifications

    25 – 32 Hours

    $1000 – $1300

    Basic Admin Panel: User Management

    66 – 90 Hours

    $2500 – $3500

    Basic Admin Panel: Payment Management

    23 – 44 Hours

    $900 – $1700

    Basic Admin Panel: Push Notifications

    8 – 14 Hours

    $300 – $600

    The costs will further go up if you’re going for advanced features. Have a look at the cost breakdown by advanced features.

    Feature Name

    Development Time

    Estimated Cost

    Map

    75 – 125 Hours

    $3000 – 4500

    Payments

    60 – 75 Hours

    $2500 – $3000

    Streaming

    100 – 150 Hours

    $3500 – $5500

    Calls

    250 – 350 Hours

    $10,250 – $1500

    There are also some other app features that your app may need depending on your requirements, such as, social media plugins and in-app purchases. The costs will further go up if you include them.

    Note: Your app may need a few other features that you may anticipate in the beginning. So, make sure you keep in mind these unexpected expenses while calculating the budget of your app.

    2. Application Platform

    The application platform will also play a critical role in deciding the overall cost of your app. The development cost for the basic version of a mobile app for both platforms is almost the same.

    However, prices differ as we dig deeper and the complexity increases and iOS apps tend to be slightly more expensive than Android ones.

    Besides, here are a few things we have noticed:

    • The average hourly rates for iOS developers are slightly higher than for Android developers.
    • When it comes to Android and iOS app design, Android app designs are somewhat costlier than iOS app design.
    • The average cost of iOS app development is lesser than Android development.

    Keeping these factors in mind, we can calculate how much it will cost to build an app on iOS or Android.

    However, if you don’t have enough budget to spare, Cross-platform app development is another brilliant option. By using a cross-platform development framework like Flutter – you can bring down costs by 30-40% as you don’t have to rewrite the code for each platform.

    3. Location & Structure of Your Development Team

    The development costs are also heavily influenced by the number of members in the app development team and the location they operate from. Here is an image showing how much app development teams charge based on location.

    Structure of development team

    Figure 1: How Much App Development Teams Charge

    4. Project Management Triangle

    Scope, cost, time

    Time, Scope, and Cost are three essential project management constraints. Here’s how they’re related:

    1. An increased scope often increases the time and cost.
    2. Tight time constraint often leads to more cost and reduced scope.
    3. Tight budget reduces size and increases time.

    You can also take into account finance, time, and human resources while deciding on the cost of your app. Here’s how they’re related:

    • To finish a job quickly, you need more people and have to spend more money.
    • To increase your project’s scope, you’ll have to spend more money.
    • If you cut on your budget, quality will be affected.

    Overall, as the famous proverb “Good, fast, cheap. Choose two” – you must sacrifice one thing for another.

    5. App Maintenance

    Just because we developed an app doesn’t mean the expenses will stop. Instead, they will begin after that. You need to spend some money from time to time to ensure your app keeps working efficiently. Here are a few such app maintenance costs:

    • Bug fixing and quality assurance
    • App maintenance to ensure high performance
    • Code Optimization
    • Adding new features in your app
    • Upgrade to the latest operating system
    • Offering support to latest versions of 3rd party services

    6. Complexity

    Complexity also drives the cost of a mobile app. Let’s have a look how the app development cost differs as the complexity of the app arises:

    Simple Apps

    Moderate Apps

    Complex Apps

    • No API integration
    • No back-end
    • Basic UI components
    • Simple features (email subscription, social login, calendar, etc.)
    • Custom UI/UX features
    • Build-in payment gateway
    • API integration
    • Back-end server
    • Multi-language support
    • 3rd-party integrations
    • Custom animations
    • Complicated back-end
    • Custom UI/UX design
    • Real-time features via database integration

    Cost: 400+ hours

    Cost: 500-800+ hours

    Cost: 800-1500+ hours

    Techniques for Calculating Mobile App Development Costs

    Here’s a formula to calculate how much it will cost to build an app yourself.

    Total Development Time * Hourly Rate = App Development Cost

    Some companies will even give you a rough estimate before starting working on your project.

    The mobile app development companies will charge you in two ways:

    Fixed Charge

    Companies use this approach when the scope of work and the timeline are clear. The upside of this approach is that you have clarity on how much you will have to spend right from the beginning.

    Hourly Charges

    Used for projects where deadlines are unclear, the project may stretch longer than expected.

    Why do Mobile App Projects Go Over Budget?

    • Your app development team overlooks the need for multi-platform support only to realize its importance later. As a result, the app needs re-development for other platforms, and your app development costs go up.
    • The app development team concludes that your app needs integration with third-party APIs, CRMs, and other services. It increases the app development costs.
    • Businesses often overlook marketing costs when setting up a budget for their mobile app. Only later, they realize its importance.

    How to Ensure It Doesn’t Happen with You?

    • Do thorough market research before building your app. Analyze other apps, define your target audience, and see what can cost you money.
    • Hire a development team that offers complete app development services. Specialists like mobile app architects think through the entire app and save you from unexpected costs.
    • While setting a budget for your mobile app, don’t forget to consider expenses like marketing and maintenance costs.

    So, hopefully, the blog gave you an overview of how you can calculate the cost of an app. Now, let’s put the learning to action. Please let us know in the comments if you face any issues.

    Also See:

    On Demand Tutoring App Development and It’s Cost

    Top 10 Custom Mobile App Development Companies in 2022

    Smart TV App Development: How to Create, Development Cost & Key Features

    Calculate the Cost of an App Cost of an app Cost to build an app Mobile app cost
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    I am an enthusiastic blogger with a keen eye for details. Being a blogger he is always try to share views on various topics which is important. He is a passionate blogger and love to write about topics related to technology and latest digital marketing articles. Moreover, he always take a particular interest in learning the newest blogging trends and love to write on topics with a technological edge.

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