How Much Does It Cost to Develop a Mobile App?

Today, creating a mobile app is the top priority for enterprises to develop a solid online presence and offer their users the best customer experience. 

Globally, the mobile market is showing significant growth. As per Statista, mobile app revenue will touch 935.2 billion USD by 2023. 

Source: Statista

Entrepreneurs are looking to unleash the power of mobility by investing in mobile app development projects. But how much does it cost to build a mobile app? 

Yes, this is the question that rattles around in business owners’ heads when developing a mobile application. But we cannot answer it at one go. There is no standard cost for mobile app development as it depends on numerous factors such as app features, functionalities, App testing, development region, and lots more.

Let’s talk about the cost-determining factors to understand how much you would need to invest in a mobile app development project.

Here we go.

1. Hiring Dedicated Developers VS App Development Firm

The choice of hiring an app development company or hiring freelance developers will impact your overall cost of mobile app development.

If your app development project size is small, go with freelance developers; it will cost you less, depending on the hiring models. But if you have a more significant project to execute, collaborate with the best app development company. It would be best to have a complete team to build your app from planning to launch to maintenance. Naturally, for a complex, more significant project, the cost will also be high.

2. Number of resources working on a project

For starting a mobile app development project, developers aren’t the sole resource needed to carry out the project; you need an entire team of developers, designers, testing engineers etc. Based on your project requirements, an app development team can be small or large. 

With different app development team sizes, the hourly rates will vary, which will impact the overall cost of mobile app development.

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3. Mobile App Platforms & Operating Systems

The cost to build a mobile app depends on what type of app platform and OS you choose to develop your mobile app.

♦ Native vs Cross-platform

A native app is a type of app built for a particular mobile OS, whether Android or iOS. However, a cross-platform app is a type of application that can run smoothly on multiple operating systems.

This concludes that native apps take more time to build than cross-platform apps. So, the cost of a native app is higher than a cross-platform mobile app.

♦ Android vs iOS 

Developing an Android app takes more time than an iOS app because an Android app has to be optimized for many devices & screen sizes.

That’s why the cost is sometimes higher for Android app development than iOS app development.

You Must Also Read:  How Much Does it Cost to Develop an iOS App? 

4. Features & Functionalities

Mobile app functionality & features are some of the critical factors that drive the cost of app development.

There are various types of mobile apps available in the market.

As the number of app features & complexity rise, app development hours and testing efforts increase. Hence, the cost also shoots up.

How much would it cost to develop a mobile app?

As per research conducted, a basic app would cost between $40,000 to $60,000, a medium complexity app between $61,000 and $120,000, and a feature-rich high-end app would be $120,000+.

Image Courtesy: BusinessofApps

5. Cost Based on App Developer’s Region

The app development cost varies according to the geolocation of the app developer as the hourly rates differ from country to country.

Let’s check out the average hourly rates:-

♦ USA and Canada-based developers (North American) would charge an average of $150/hour for iOS development & $168/hour for Android app development.

♦ In South America, the median charges for iOS app development and Android application development are $43/hour & $34/hour respectively.

♦ Australian developers would ask for $110/hour for both Android & iOS development.

♦ UK-based mobile app developers would charge $70/hour for both Android & iOS app development.

♦ Eastern European developers would ask for $35/hour for both Android & iOS development.

♦ Indian app developers would charge $30/hour for iOS development & $26/hour for Android app development.

♦ App developers in Singapore would ask for $63/hour for iOS development & $59/hour for Android app development.

♦ Indonesian app makers would charge $11/hour for iOS development & $12/hour for Android app development.

6. App Testing

Source: Clutch

App testing is one of the pivotal stages in an application development process, which contributes to figuring out the overall cost of app development. The app testing stage includes many testing steps such as manual testing, automation testing, performance testing, and more.

As per the project’s complexity and size, the cost of app testing varies. According to a survey conducted a few years back by Clutch, the app testing costs may range from $5,000 to $25,000.

7. Implementing Best Secure Coding Practices

In today’s data-driven world, data is the new oil. Therefore, building your app highly secure is imperative for your enterprise. So, to protect your app from hackers, mobile app developers need to figure out the security loopholes and fix the issues with the latest security tools and standard secure coding practices. 

So, configuring such high-end tools and implementing the best secure coding practices will further add to the overall cost of mobile app development.

8. App Hosting Server

It is an IT platform where you as an app owner serve your app content to app users in a hassle-free manner. 

Generally, an app hosting server can cost you somewhere between $70 to $320 per month. But cost varies with many factors such as the type of application to run, number of resources, workloads, etc.

Also, different hosting providers offer services with different pricing. The Server hosting charge further adds to the cost of creating a mobile app. 

9. App maintenance

Successfully developing your mobile app doesn’t complete the whole development process until you prepare a maintenance plan to keep your app fresh and bug-free on the app store for years. 

App maintenance includes integrating new features and functionalities, fixing deferred bugs, UI changes & server maintenance. Doing all these might cost you close to 20% of your actual cost of building a mobile app.

10. App Publishing on the App Store

When coming to publishing your mobile app, different App Stores charge different fees. Let’s talk about some prime app stores: 

❓ How much does it cost to launch an app on Google Play Store?

➥ For publishing your first Android app, you need to pay a one-time fee of $25. Thereafter, no charges for all other apps.

❓ How much does it cost to launch an app on Apple App Store?

➥ In order to publish your app on the Apple app store, you need to pay an amount of $99 yearly.

❓ How much does it cost to launch an app on Amazon App Store?

➥ You have to pay $0. Yes, it is free to launch your mobile app on the Amazon app store.

❓ How much does it cost to launch an app on Windows App Store?

➥ You have to pay $19 if you register as an individual. If you register as a company, you have to pay $99. Both payments are one-time charges.

Wrapping Up

We hope this cost breakdown for mobile app development will help you better understand how much to invest while planning to build a mobile app for your business. 

To get the best results, we suggest you discuss your app project in detail with a business consultant of a leading mobile app development company.