Are you looking to develop an innovative and reliable mobile app for your business? The first and most common concern of every business is how much mobile app development costs.
A simple answer to this query is the cost associated with developing mobile apps depends on multiple factors including the app’s complexity, size, and type. Some applications may cost a minimum of $5,000 for the entire development process while others may cost millions.
In addition, the mobile app development market is growing rapidly and no entrepreneurs or established businesses can neglect to make the most out of this opportunity. For example, a study by BusinessInsider showcases that the mobile app market value is expected to reach $366.34 billion by the year 2027. These numbers might be enough to encourage businesses to develop appealing and innovative applications that transform the way users communicate with businesses.
So, if you are seeking a complete mobile app development cost breakdown, this article is for you. We will mention here the factors influencing the app development cost and how considering these aspects can help you make informed decisions while saving money.
Top Factors Impacting the Mobile App Development Cost
The final cost to build an app depends on several factors and remember it’s not only about coding. Let us understand these vital key elements and help better understand the breakdown and factors to be considered for successful app development.
Features and Functionalities
The app complexity and features to be integrated into the app ultimately add to the mobile app development cost. Remember, there would be some simple functionalities that are easy to build and ensure cost efficiency. On the other hand, apps incorporated with complex capabilities would require a huge investment. However, all these features will contribute to attracting increased traffic and increasing conversions.
For example, there are features such as in-app messaging, search functionality, chatbots, geolocation, sensor usage, and more. All these functionalities are expensive and take more time than usual to build.
Simply put, the more the more features your application has, the higher the cost of development will be.
Type of Mobile App
The decision between native, cross-platform, and PWAs highly influences the cost, and also all these differ in features and performance. Let’s see below:
- Native App: Building a native app includes developing apps for one particular platform such as Android or iOS further leveraging platform-specific programming language. Usually, the native app development costs from hundreds to thousands of dollars based on feature complexity and hourly or fixed pricing to hire mobile app developers.
- Cross-Platform App: Developing a cross-platform app using advanced tools and frameworks such as React Native or Flutter. These frameworks help build apps that work efficiently on different platforms or devices, all with a single codebase. Such app development pricing ranges something from $15,000 to $1,50,000. It is quite cheaper in comparison to native mobile app development.
- Progressive Web App: Progressive web apps are equipped with the functionalities of web and mobile apps together. Thus, providing a native-like experience on both web and mobile browsers. However, these apps charge additionally than the actual cost considering the app-like features and advanced offline functionalities.
Choice of Platform
Building mobile apps for several platforms such as Android, iOS, or Windows would require significant investment. Also, each platform varies in development guidelines and requirements. Thus, leading to more efforts and increased time for development.
App Design Specifications
User experience and user interface, both are significant for the app’s performance and overall success. For example, high-quality and customized designs help prioritize the best user experience but require huge investment.
However, if you consider standard templates for mobile app designing, the expense may be reduced but will impact the app’s usability and performance. So, do consider the design specifications and your set budget.
Third-Party Integrations
You might consider incorporating third-party apps or services such as social media handles, payment gateways, and analytical tools. These would be highly beneficial in enhancing user experience. However, it will increase the development costs depending on the licensing fees and the time required for development.
App Maintenance and Updates
The application development expenses do not end with the deployment of the application. Upon deployment, maintenance and necessary upgrades add to the costs to ensure the optimal functioning of the solution. Planning for such expenses can help prevent running out of the budget.
- Design Changes: Mobile app design acts as a vital component that gets outdated with time and lacks appeal. So, ensure upgrading the app design according to market trends to continue enticing the users.
- Bugs and Error Fixing: No solution is bug or error-free and the same applies to the app development. Usually, most of the bugs get highlighted upon the app deployment. So, you need to keep a check on the same and resolve the problems immediately.
Testing and Quality Assurance
Testing and Quality Assurance is an additional factor that adds to the overall mobile application development cost. Performing extensive app testing is vital to ensure exceptional user experience. Thorough testing including usability, performance, and functional operability will require a higher budget. However, if you neglect this step to save money can lead to post-deployment concerns and leading to higher expenses in the long run.
App Marketing Strategy
The cost required for mobile app marketing and successful deployment must be on the list of overall expenses. It may involve app store optimization, running ads, materials for app promotions, and more, all of which will increase your expenses.
Project Timeline
Remember the longer timeline for development would lead to increased expenditures surpassing the set budget. A prolonged development timeline can be due to multiple factors including:
- Design modifications
- Technical complexities
- Feature upgrades during development
So, it becomes vital to understand all these aspects to manage your budget while getting the app developed within the set timeframe.
How to Minimize Your Mobile App Development Cost?
Large enterprises and small businesses both can minimize the cost of mobile app development by making informed decisions. Below we will dive into some steps that can be considered.
Prioritize Features and Functionalities
Choosing the accurate features to incorporate into the app is essential for the quick launch of your app in the market. It is also advisable to build an MVP, to begin with driving users and saving the complex features for later development stages.
Choose In-House Development Teams or Outsource Project
Picking the ideal staffing structure to build your mobile app is an essential step of your project planning. However many businesses face hurdles in choosing between the in-house team.
Hiring an in-house team can benefit in the long run but would require investment in their recruiting, training, and onboarding expenses. On the other hand, outsourcing the app development requirements means you hire an already well-established firm with skilled developers, designers, QAs, and project managers to choose from. It will help you reduce the infrastructural expenses and other resource-related costs.
Why Hire Orion eSolutions for Your Mobile App Development Needs?
Well, what we have discovered so far is that there are no accurate predictions of the cost associated with mobile app development. However, all these factors altogether can help reach a nearby cost to develop an app.
If still in doubt, you can consult our experts at Orion eSolutions. We provide highly reputable mobile app development services with over 12 years of experience in the industry. Our expert mobile app developers possess skills for building innovative and intuitive mobile apps equipped with top-notch features and functionalities.
Final Thoughts
To sum up, several factors impact the cost of mobile app development as discussed above. However, it becomes vital to keep a balance between quality and expenses. It will help yield the best return on investment while ensuring the app serves its purpose and delivers exceptional user experiences.
Simply put, focus on building a well-designed and fully functional app and hiring a reputable mobile app development company that helps you achieve business success.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: Can hiring a mobile app development company influence the overall cost?
Answer: Yes. It depends completely on how reliable and reputable the mobile app development company you hire is. In addition, their experience, team of developers, expertise, and costs for hire, everything impacts the expenditures significantly.
Q2: What is the average cost to develop an app?
Answer: The average cost to develop an app may vary between hundreds to thousands of dollars. Usually, it depends on project complexity, tech stack choice, and features and functionalities. In addition, developing custom apps with advanced functionalities may exceed the overall expenditures.
Q3: Why should I hire you for my mobile app development project?
Answer: Orion eSolutions holds a strong market reputation along with dedicated mobile app developers with hands-on experience in delivering top-notch solutions. Moreover, our development specialists help optimize costs while ensuring high-quality apps are delivered.
