Understanding Mobile App Development Cost – 2023 Edition

Ever since app development companies started taking their dribble presence seriously, numerous questions come from potential clients of all shades. A predominant topic is the design and development cost for mobile apps.

Moreover, clients usually wonder how much it will cost to create an app (at least a ballpark figure). Relatively low prices and unparalleled quality are what everybody keeps their eye on when hiring an app development company, despite their geographical location. 

Needless to say, the cost of app development varies extensively. And, here I will gladly put out a number, if we had one laid out. But, the problem of app development costs lies in the complexity of the process along with a lot of variables that come into play once the project sky-rockets. 

Though there are a myriad of elements like typical cost of app development without a sufficient amount of detail, it’s next to impossible to estimate an app cost, just as easy it is to say  how much the car will cost without considering it’s features. Nevertheless, let’s try hands on to figure out how much you might expect to pay for your new iOS or Android app, and what that money actually pays for when partnering a company.

What Elements Influences The Cost Of App Development?

The app development cost not only hinges on development time and hourly rates. Indeed, it lay its foundation on numerous other factors, including the difficulty of finding the right resources, the complexity of the product, and post-release support expenses.

The App development Team 

Considering the project requirements, an offshore or local development team can be primary or extended. An app development team conventionally sheaths a business analyst, a solution architect, app developers, a UI/UX specialist, a project manager, a quality analyst.

So, if you are thinking of saving money on the user interface, you will still need a good user experience. Therefore, you will feel the need to hire a UI/UX designer, at least part-time.

Technical Complexity 

There is a behemoth of features that add technical complexity to project development. For example, to develop a platform for last-minute hotel bookings with sophisticated search filtering algorithms connected with real-time discounts. When it was built earlier, there was no available filter integration to be used, so developing the algorithm by itself was the only escape left for mobile app developers.

This eventually led to extra development time and, as a result, the outcome is a higher cost for the app. Some other examples of technical complexity include:

Backend Development 

You might probably be planning a big dynamic app for millions of users who will exchange a massive amount of information in real-time and will surely want their data to be synchronized across platforms and stored in the cloud.

In this case, you will need a backend that can quickly brace huge loads and work seamlessly under any conditions, which will entail more time spent on designing and building a complex app architecture. Besides, you will be in need to pay for a more diverse and dedicated team of professionals.

In-App Purchases 

To cater to the prerequisite of the entire audience, business owners tend to integrate as many payment options as possible. And, it’s also an excellent approach. The important thing is, you should be prepared for an extra amount of payment option if you implement: Paypal, Google Pay, In-app purchases, Apple Pay etc. 

Third-Party Integrations  

Several third-party integrations can accelerate your development speed, consisting of niche-specific ones. Although, third-party integrations sometimes offer inconsistent and complicated documentation.

Sometimes, this can also lead to added time spent puzzling out how to integrate them into your app. Also, you will likely have to pay a minimal fee to use these services.

Hardware Component 

Let’s say you are working on a shipment app that uses an electronic logging device to precisely track the driving hours of vehicles in your fleet. Or, you want to develop an intelligent home system that relies on Internet of Things devices. To do this, you will need to purchase or rent ELD or IoT devices for testing purposes, so you will have to account for the cost of this hardware as well.  

Supported Devices, Browsers, and Operating Systems 

While developing a web app, you should ensure it supports the latest versions of the top browsers like Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and safari. Else, there’s a risk that you will get fewer users for your web app.

Opting for iOS app development, you should keep in mind that it’s ideally compatible with the latest and the earlier versions of the iPhone and also support the latest and previous versions of iOS.

While, for Android apps, the number of devices is much greater. Besides, there are also three factors influencing the decision about which Android devices to support: 

• Devices popular on the market app
• The size of the market share for each Android device manufacturer. 
• According to the client’s preference. 

These considerations also imply Android OS versions. More devices mean more time spent adapting the app for different screen size, resolutions, and hardware specifications. It also means more time spent testing. However, if you prefer to support only most Android devices, the cost of developing for Android will be crucially the same. 

Given the Android market fragment, it takes longer on Android app development than an iOS app, so the cost may incline towards an expensive side.

Post-Launch Expenses

Often, the average app development cost isn’t solely composed of the cost for actual programming. You should be aware to take into account the money that goes into growing the product. Same like any other business, an app needs frequent updates, customer support, backend server maintenance, cloud hosting, and even legal support, not to mention app marketing and promotions, which have a significant impact on the app’s success.

That’s not all!

If you integrate any third-party tools in your app, you will have to pay them to use it. So, keep these costs in mind when evaluating your app support costs.

Contrary to app development teams and expensive app elements, post-release support is not included in the initial cost estimating but rather is provided as an additional service by leading app development companies in Dubai.  

Unlike an app development team and costly app components, post-release support isn’t included in the initial cost estimate but rather is provided as an additional service by most software companies. Now let’s see how pricing might vary for app developers worldwide.

Animations and Custom Design 

Customized user interfaces are complex to integrate, so the cost of a custom interface will drift towards an expensive side than the cost of an interface built from standard components or without a design.

Besides, when it comes to custom animations, you can ask your partnered app development company for ideas and open-source projects that can easily fit in different types of apps, meeting your unique project needs.

The Ballpark Figure For Cost Of Creating A Mobile App

Expectations from a professional firm to tell you the exact preciseness of your product is out of the blue. There is no such thing as a price list that can help you calculate the cost of mobile app development, and the price calculators you may come across on the internet are nothing but cheap marketing bait.

Companies usually charge per hour, but rates are always open for negotiation.

Initially, the cost of making a mobile app is often based on the number of hours the project may take, and the more complex the functionality, the longer it will take to create.  Therefore, let’s delve into three categories – simple, middling complexity, and higher complexity – and try to offer you a rough answer to the most frequently asked question – “How much it costs to develop an app”.  Here, the app cost I will calculate will be based on $25 per hour since it’s considered ideal.

Simple and Basic Apps

Simple apps consist of some basic functionality set that doesn’t need integration with any third-party APIs and many more to the backend infrastructure. Features of these apps may include standard UI elements, a feed list, simple filters, and map markers. Creating a simple app takes about 1 000 hours and starts at $ 25,000.

Middle Size Apps

Middle size apps complexity may include custom UI features, real-time chat, payment functionality, tablets and handset adaption, integration with APIs, and also a simple backend server. Also, it takes around 1, 8000 hours to create an app, and the price starts at $50,000.

Highly Complexed Apps

High complex apps consist of advanced functionality like audio/video processing, real-time synchronization, third-party integrations, custom animations, complex backends with different types of database relationships and much more.

The time frame for creating a complex app is approximately 2,200+ hours, and the price starts at $ 55,000. A complete social network app, a dating app, or a video streaming app may come under this category.

How To Estimate The Cost Of App Development?  

Before giving you a bill, the trusted app development company offers a Free Project Estimation. So, let’s make it a little more clearer. But, before telling you how many finances you need to develop your app, it’s important to use three-stage frameworks to deliver some actual value for your business. 

Here’s how it goes:

• First and foremost, get in touch with the expert. Then you should arrange a call with the engagement manager. During the call, the manager will confirm the details in the form and ask about your business objectives and goals, possible user roles and journeys, app scalability plans, and the list goes on.
• Secondly, the company processes the initial requirements; I have collected and performed fundamental business analysis, clutching your products’ specifics to offer a solution that meets your goals and expectations. 
• Next, the results of the business analysis go to the solution architect, who prepares detailed feedback with suggestions on the app structure, feasible use cases, and ideas on the technical integration for the app.
• Lastly, pre-planning meeting, your partner company presents a project offer, which usually includes hours of work, a technology stack, an app architecture approach, and a set of product features for the initial and subsequent launches.
• Finally, everything funnels to negotiations for the offer to find the best possible solution for your business.

Once you head for the rough estimation, you have to proceed with a detailed estimate, identifying the requirements for each scope of work planned, making wireframes to show you exactly your iOS, Android or Web requirements, and preparing project-related documentation.  
Iteration by iteration, the cycle replays until your product becomes genuinely successful. And to remember releasing an app is not completing the mission. It’s just the initial phase. So, be ready for a long-term collaboration with your partnered app development company.