How Much Does An App Cost?
Anywhere between £50,000 and £250,000 for an initial mobile app on Android and iOS, assuming you’ll be working with a medium-sized development team and need a few of the more complicated features or functionality.
Recently we were approached by a potential client who asked us to estimate the cost of an app development project.
By far the more common question we get asked, but also one of the most difficult to answer without a bit of background first:
- The size and cost of the development agency you work with
- The complexity of features & functionality
- The number of platforms you’re developing for
- The cost of post-launch updates and maintenance
The size of your development agency matters.
If you’re only in need of a relatively simple app then a freelance developer would reduce your cost dramatically, but more complicated development projects that include both Android and iOS apps will always require a larger team to work on them.
Smaller agencies will usually charge between £25 and £50 per hour, while medium-sized agencies come in at around £100 to £150 and the biggest of the bunch will be £200+.
Most development agencies use payment structures based on the time it takes to develop your app, which is why more complicated apps need more time and money spent on them.
Which app features cost the most?
The most complicated app features are usually determined by the functionality of the app and what it needs to do, for example having an app which requires a login feature is a lot simpler and cheaper than having one which hosts an online marketplace.
The time it takes to develop these features and functionality will be what adds to the cost of your app, so these things will always vary between projects and if you think your app idea is completely out of your budget, there will always be ways to reduce the cost.
Android, iOS or both?
The cost of developing an app for both platforms is one which carries a lot of weight when it comes to your final cost, often projects may not require both Android and iOS versions.
Both the Google Play and Apple App Store share similar revenue-sharing conditions, the Play Store charges a one-off payment of £25, while the App Store charge an annual fee of £99.
Another consideration should be React-Native, which can be used to reduce costs as both the Android and iOS versions of your app are developed in a single code-base.
“Typically Android apps tend to cost more to develop as there are so many more devices on the OS; this fragmentation adds significantly more time to the development stages of your project.”
Most popular apps are updated up to 4 times a month.
The post-launch costs of updating and maintaining your app will be significant, but also crucial in engaging your users, growing your reach and providing the best experience with your brand.
These will mainly include updates to fix unforeseen bugs, scale the platform for more users or make changes to adapt for the latest version of the OS.
Continuous improvement plans are also extremely important, ensuring there is a backlog of features that didn’t make it into the first version of your app, tested with your users and prioritised based on the value they add to the experience your users are having.
If you only take one thing away:
It’s that you make sure developers talk about payment milestones.
As Sophia explains in the video, using this method is crucial is managing the cost of your project, reducing the risk of it failing and building a stronger relationship with your app development team.
Find out the 9 most important questions to ask app development companies, before hiring them - https://3sidedcube.com/nine-questions-to-ask-app-development-companies/
Or check out the complete guide to estimating the cost of your app development project - 3sidedcube.com/how-much-does-an-app-cost/
