Everyone nowadays has a smartphone in their palm. People use their iPhones for everything. Whatever service or product they require is only a click away. All of this is made possible by the creation of various applications. We commonly refer to them as applications.

Simply download the appropriate app for the work at hand if you want to buy, order, or render a service. You may now discover apps for practically any use you can imagine. For example, you wish to order meals, book a taxi or a taxi, buy clothes, rent a property, book a train or plane ticket, etc. All of this is possible with only one app download. 

App users downloaded over 28.2 billion applications from Google Play in the first quarter of 2021 and roughly 8.4 million apps from the App Store. Furthermore, app users will spend $34 billion or more on mobile apps via app shops in 2022.

So, you’ve come up with a brilliant concept. You’re confident that your concept will be the next great app disruptor or enabler. You’ve done your homework, studied the competition, and gathered all of the information you’ll need to build your dream app—except for two minor details: who and how much.

When describing their proposal, every prospective buyer asks these two questions:

1. What are my options for developing a mobile app?
2. How much will it cost to design a mobile app?
3. Is it lucrative to develop mobile apps?

These are legitimate, significant questions that determine whether or not my prospect will consider having their app developed. So, how much does developing a mobile app cost? Before answering this question, let’s look at some factors that affect this app development cost. 

Crucial Factors that Affect Development Cost

Custom software creation is more valuable than ever in today’s industry, encouraging unique solutions. It makes it easier to respond to user needs faster, acquire a competitive advantage, and improve internal operations.

Mobile app creation is a necessity these days if businesses want to establish an online presence and reach out to more clients. Users prefer to utilize a mobile app over a website for any service they require. Having a mobile app will not only make you available to your users at all times, but it will also improve your brand’s visibility and image.

Source: Statista

When it comes to how much mobile app development costs, it’s impossible to say because mobile app development’s total cost depends on many factors. Additionally, it does not only hinge on time and hourly rates. It depends on a number of crucial factors, including the team location and much more, 

• App development team
• Technical complexity
• Feature integration
• In-app purchase
• Backend development
• App design
• App platform
• Market share

According to Statista’s research, approximately 204 billion mobile apps will be downloaded in 2020. This is because people are increasingly turning to mobile applications to purchase and meet other requirements. Without their smartphones, especially the youth all around the world feel powerless. Therefore, the demand for mobile applications is increasing as time goes on.

Now, let’s understand each of them in detail. 

App Platform

There is an extensive range of eCommerce platforms to develop an app for your online store. Different programming languages are used to create iOS and Android apps. Building an app that supports both platforms will take more time and money than building for just one. To support Android and iOS, your app developer will need to construct the front end of the app twice (in Java and Swift/Objective C). Because both will most likely share the back end, it will only need to be written once.

Using a cross-platform framework like React Native is a cost-effective alternative to writing the front end twice. This allows your programmers to create the code once and export it as a native app to each platform. Cutting the cost of front-end software development in half.

App Features: Simple vs. Complex

The complexity of your app’s features adds to the total cost of your mobile app. Some apps are easy to create because they merely have basic and simple functions. Apps with extensive functionality, on the other hand, have higher costs. To create a strong customer base, most apps now provide additional functions. 

These features assist in increasing traffic and conversion rates. All apps have features like user logins, profile pages, search, chat & messaging, payments, etc. Examples are geolocation, advertisements, sensor usage, offline mode, and other complicated features. Naturally, these are more expensive and require longer to develop.

Type of an App

Apps can be classified into three categories based on technology.

• Web apps
• native apps
• Hybrid Applications

Hybrid or cross-platform app development tools incorporate functionality from both native and online apps while maintaining a native appearance. As a result, they can be easily constructed, loaded, and proven to be cost-effective. 

A simple app with limited features will be less expensive than a complex social media or e-commerce mobile app. Furthermore, incorporating futuristic technologies like IoT, AR-VR, and third-party integrations would increase your costs.

App Design 

There could be dozens of app screens to design depending on the platforms you choose to develop for. For example, consider smartphones, tablets, and phablets. Creating wireframes for each takes time, and depending on the complexity of each screen, a designer could spend days on one.

You could be paying for weeks of design work if the app is going to be available on numerous operating systems and devices. Furthermore, you will have to spend more if you want your software to progress beyond the Minimum Viable Product and become a professional app. Design work is not inexpensive, and it will play a significant part in the ultimate cost of an app.

Prefer to Build an MVP Version First

Do not hurry to construct a comprehensive, full-featured app if the cost of the primary pieces of your mobile app exceeds your targeted budget. Instead, create a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) to collect critical user feedback, validate your concept with real users, assess audience demand, and then approach financiers for funding to develop the full-featured program.

Establishing a minimum viable product is the most risk-averse technique for producing a terrific app. An MVP app should include all of the important features you require and a positive user experience and optimal performance across all devices. Then, you can continue growing the MVP once it has been validated.

The Geographical Location of Your Development Team

Your app development expenses will be considerably influenced by the location of your development supplier or team. Your final cost will be determined by the number of hours spent designing, creating, testing, and deploying your app. 

A developer in San Francisco could charge as much as $180 per hour, bringing the total cost of your software to $18,000. However, the identical program developed by an Indian developer who charges $70 per hour will set you back only $7000. This indicates that outsourcing your mobile app development to Asian countries will save you almost 2.5 times the cost while maintaining the same level of quality and reliability!

Final Thoughts on App Development Cost

The market for mobile applications shows no signs of slowing down, and more people are naturally interested in learning how much it costs to create an app. While we all use apps for communication, games, lifestyle, business, food, and sports creating our app is a business for some of us.

Many factors can influence the cost of producing an app. Without knowing the essential components of your mobile app, such as app business logic, features, development team location and composition, and so on, no mobile app development team can provide you with a precise mobile app development cost estimate.