How much does it cost to build a Mobile App?

There’s not a fixed price for building a mobile application.

Think of a scenario of a product/service, a mobile phone, or a car service, the price of both depends and differs with respect to certain factors like features or facilities. Similarly when we talk about mobile app development cost, Depending on the depth of mobile application features and end-user flow, building cost varies. So how much does it cost to make an app?

According to our experience in building mobile apps, the cost to build a quality app ranges from $25,000 up to $50,000+ per platform. IT vendor influence the app price, where at $25 to $40/hour rate:

• Basic app price — from $15,000 to $25,000 per platform
• Complex, custom (multi-feature) app cost — $300,000+

Basically, your app idea, along with business and functional necessities, influences the app development cost.

The factors which determine the final cost to build an app are:

1. Application development source (freelancer or development company)
2. Location of the development partner
3. Features & complexity
4. Design complexity
5. Platform (iOS, Android)
6. Native vs Hybrid

Let’s discuss each factor a little more in detail :

1. Application development source (freelancer or development company)

Choosing the right developer is important whether you hire freelance developers or an app development company to build your app. What are the pros and cons of both options?

When Hired Freelancer :

• Lower development cost i.e. low as $20/hour
• But other aspects such as Competitor analysis, UI design & UX, timeline management, look out for team discipline, in-budget project planning will go to the product owner’s account.

When App Development Company :

The main advantages of working with a mobile app development agency include:

• Quality assurance
• Efficient project management
• All-inclusive services
• Schedule and discipline
• Deep involvement
• Ease of communication
• Accountability

If we categorize mobile apps based on their complexity — simple, moderate, mid-level, and fully custom, then the cost of app development is approximate:

• Simple App with Standard UI elements with simple back-end (Development Period 3–4 Months):

1. Freelancer Cost : $15k — $25k
2. Development Company Cost : $40k — $60k

• Moderate App with API Integration,custom design, standard design (Development Period 4–5 Months):

1. Freelancer Cost : $30k — $40k
2. Development Company Cost : $70k — $100k

• Mid Level App with Professional design, pro-features, high quality animation(Development Period 6–7 Months):

1. Freelancer Cost : $50k — $70k
2. Development Company Cost : $110k — $200k

• Fully custom App with Custom professional front-end design and integration(Development Period 8+ Months):

1. Freelancer Cost : $80k+
2. Development Company Cost : $200k+

2. Location of the App Development Partner

3. The Size of Your Development Team to Build an App

Scope of Your Project helps deciding the development team size,

A standard development team includes:

• Programmer
• Project Manager
• QA Engineer
• UI/UX Designer

While an extended team consists of:

• Project Manager
• Two to four App Developers
• One Back-end Developer
• One to Two UI/UX Designers
• QA Engineer
• A System Administrator

4. Native App Vs Hybrid App

Native App

• Chooses individual languages w.r.t to the selected platform iOS(used languages) Swift,Objective-C) , Android(used languages Java,Kotlin)
• Security is the most promising.
• Expensive across multiple platforms as code is individual.
• Best user experience
• Basic app development cost starts from $15k-$25k

Hybrid App

• Chooses single code across the multiple platforms with the binding of native code
• The main drawback of hybrid apps is to use in-device third-party features, requiring download of data as users navigate the feature, security is a concern here.
• Cost effective across multiple platforms as single code can be used for multiple platforms
• Faster speed to market when launch in short time
• Basic app development cost starts from $5000-$10k

5. Cost to Build an App Based on the Key Features & Complexities

Basic features like user sign-in, push notifications, and primary navigation are less time consuming.However, features like credit card payment, online streaming, offline mode consumes time.

App Development Cost for Each Phase

An efficient app development process spans six key phases.

• Business Analysis — $1,200 to $11,000 with a timeline of 2–4 weeks
• UI/UX design — ranges from $2,500 to $10,000
• App development — ranges from $2,000 to $60,000
• Project management — ranges from $1,200 to $12,000
• App testing and deployment — costs less than $5,000
• Ongoing support and maintenance — is typically 10–20% of the development cost

Final Words :

Building a mobile app requires a lot of planning to get a final product the closest to your offline model. If you are planning to build a mobile app that boosts your business productivity, let our highly skilled developers help you.

If You Are Planing To Build A Mobile App, Estimate the Development Cost Today!