Check Out The Accurate Cost Of Developing An App For Your Business

There’s an app for everything these days. And more than anything else, consumers are demanding more accessibility and fewer clicks to purchase a product or service. Every business owner must understand the importance of having a mobile app in this mobile-first era.

The cost of app development has always been a subject of discussion and debate, and 2023 will be no different. With the increasing demand for mobile apps and the rise of new technologies, the cost of app development is likely to continue to evolve. In this blog post, we’ll discuss some of the factors that can influence the cost of app development in 2023 and provide some guidance on how to estimate the cost of your project.

Source: Statista

Factors that influence the cost of app development in 2023

1- Complexity

2-Platform

3-Team size and location

4-Features

5-Market conditions

This is enough to emphasize the rapidly growing significance of mobile apps.

But How much does it cost to make an app?
App development costs cannot be determined in one go, you have to define what type of app you need and consider what problems you want to solve with your mobile app.

Here’s a detailed app development cost estimation article created by our app development consultants.

Let’s dive in…

How Much Does it Cost to Make an App for your Business?

App Development Cost Estimation

The cost of building an app can range anywhere between $10,000 to $600,000 or maybe even more. The estimation depends on different factors like the type of app, features, complexities, etc. Let’s start with a basic cost estimation:

App Type	Cost	Timeline
Simple	$10,000 – $60,000	2-3 Months
Moderately Complex	$60,000 – $600,000	3-6 Months
Advanced	$600,000 +	6-12 Months

Simple Mobile App:

Made with minimal screens and basic features like user log in, signup, notifications, necessary UI elements, backend support, and no API integrations.

Moderately Complex App:

Consists of 5-15 screens with features like custom UI/UX elements, API integration, in-built payment gateways, and so on.

Advanced App:

Made with 15+ screens and advanced features like media streaming, multilingual support, high-security maintenance, advanced animations, database integration, real-time synchronization, etc.

To correctly answer the question “How much does it cost to make an app?” we need a deeper analysis of necessary and advanced mobile app features…

Deep-Dive Analysis of the Complexity of features and how it affects your app development cost:

The number of features to be incorporated in your app is crucial in estimating a more realistic app development cost because it will have the most significant impact on the development hours.

Also, more complicated features take longer to develop than basic functions, raising the overall app development cost. As a result, the effective formula will be as follows:

App development cost = Hourly rate X (Features X Development time)

BASIC FEATURES:

Login and Signup

Login & Signup impacts how an app is customized based on the user’s information. Users can be given login credentials via email or phone, but many people prefer to use social media accounts like Facebook or Twitter. This feature’s basic implementation will take 20+ hours. The hours and expense of integrating social login or custom-built login/registration will increase.
Furthermore, maintaining the data of logged-in users will necessitate a new set of maintenance and security capabilities.

Chat Features

In-app chat has become a standard feature in today’s apps. Depending on the features you want to include, developing a P2P conversation will take 50+ hours. File transfer, message saving or auto-deleting, history, offline mode, notifications, emojis, and more features are included.
Group chat may take an additional 80+ hours. Integrating off-the-shelf chat SDKs is more popular these days. While it can increase prices, consider how much it would cost to design a dedicated chat module.

UI Navigation

App navigation is defined by how the users interact with the user interface. Switching screens, swiping, scrolling, buttons, menus and icons are all part of the UI architecture. It takes 10+ hours to create, but adding customizations such as allowing users to change language, switch from list to file view, or go full width will take even more time. In addition, adding landscape mode will add 20 hours to the development time, raising the cost.

Push Notification

Push notifications are essential in today’s apps for engaging users and providing real-time updates. The most basic form can be created in 15 hours or less, but adding photos or action buttons to the notifications may take longer.

Furthermore, adding the logic for when to send notifications can add up to 200 hours of development time.

COMPLEX FEATURES:

Geolocation

Food delivery, transportation, travel, dating, business apps, and identifying user devices all require geolocation for navigation. It takes advantage of GPS and real-time permissions from users. Implementation can take anything from 32 to 50 hours. Additionally, integrating Google Maps can take up to 20 hours.

Payment Gateway Integration

If customers want to buy something in an app, payment capability is required. Many in-app payment methods, such as Paypal, Apple Pay, Google Wallet, and credit cards, are available and can be easily incorporated via payment gateway APIs. This operation can take 50 hours or more, depending on where the data is stored, the amount of PCI compliance, and other variables. Subscriptions or premium services can be purchased in-app and require roughly 30 hours to complete.

Analytics

Analyzing user behavior can reveal useful information about app performance or difficulties that can be used to improve the app. It takes 5+ hours to implement the simplest form of an analytical tool. It works with Google Analytics, Flurry, and other services. Furthermore, the price of these services can rise based on how many user behaviors you wish to monitor.

Media Streaming

This functionality is difficult to create and is common in on-demand programs like Netflix and Hulu. The file format, app logic, processing, server setup, and other factors will all influence the time and cost of development. It can take upwards of 90 hours to develop.

Data Encryption

Every app requires a high level of security to protect private data and prevent unauthorized access. The development of a data encryption feature takes at least 20 hours. Whether the encrypted data is video, image, text, or audio affects the time and cost.

Offline Mode

For data access and storage, the offline mode necessitates the use of a local database on the device. SQLite is commonly used by developers to store data on the device in a single file. This feature takes 30+ hours to develop, depending on the amount of storage and data.

Multilingual Support

If your software serves consumers from multiple nations, it should support multiple languages. Adding many languages to a project will slow down development and increase costs. However, it has the potential to expand user involvement. The fee is determined by how many language translations you wish to include in your application. It also depends on the extent of data and UI modifications.

Connectivity

Hardware features are frequently required by apps to enable interoperability with the device’s built-in functions. Video calls, Bluetooth, sensors, NFC, and other technologies may be required by an app. Adding these features will involve more development time, which will raise expenses.

Pro-tip to save money on your app development costs: If your budget is restricted, you can select features to meet your budget and then improve after launch based on user feedback. Additionally, certain unanticipated modifications in the project’s scope may occur throughout development. As a result, it’s best to start with the most important elements you wish to incorporate.

An app development team comprises

• Business Analyst
• UI/UX Designers
• iOS/Android Developers
• Quality Assurance Specialists
• DevOps
• Project Manager

Whether you decide to hire an in-house team, freelancers or a full-service app development agency, the app development costs will differ in each option.

But one thing is for sure, you need such a complete team to successfully plan and implement an app development process.

Hiring In-House Team provides more control over the project but requires a time-consuming screening process along with additional costs for regular salaries, healthcare, vacation days, etc.

Hiring Freelancers is a pocket-friendly option but you won’t get all the resources needed for developing an app.

Hiring from a full-service agency offers end-to-end solutions with a comprehensive mobile app team. Also, you get flexible payment options- hourly or project-based.

Last but not least, always allocate 15-20% of the total app development costs for ongoing maintenance and support. The cost of adding new features, versions, updates, and bug fixes is always a significant part of the total budget estimation.

How can Communication Crafts help with App Development?

With 18+ years of hands-on experience, we understand that developing an app is a highly complex project. Communication Crafts offers a complete package for developing ground-breaking mobile apps with a time-tested process and hand-picked app makers.

Choose from a pool of rigorously vetted mobile app developers for hire and get your app built remotely through seamless collaboration.

Results speak louder than promises:

View case studies

• Think to Write: Significantly improved handwriting skills for children in 200+ schools.
• BibleForce: Transformed a world-famous illustrated bible into an intuitive mobile app.
• Succeedin: Improved physical education experience for students & teachers with an eLearning app.
• Parcel Direct: Improved business efficiency and customer satisfaction with a seamless app experience.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How much does it cost to make an app?

The estimation of app development costs boils down to your needs and the demands of your end consumers. Determine the features you need in your mobile app to solve the pain points of the target audience. Some of the basic features include login & signup, chat, navigation, push notifications, and so on. And some of the complex features include geolocation, payment gateway integration, analytics, media streaming, and more.

2. What are some of the most downloaded apps?

Here are some of the most popular apps in the world according to Forbes:

1. TikTok: 656 million
2. Instagram: 545 million
3. Facebook: 416 million
4. WhatsApp: 395 million
5. Telegram: 329 million
6. Snapchat: 327 million
7. Zoom: 300 million
8. Messenger: 268 million
9. CapCut: 255 million
10. Spotify: 203 million

3. Which industries must have a mobile app?

In this mobile-first era, almost every industry requires a mobile app to streamline business processes, improve brand visibility and engage with the audience. Here are the top 5 industries that must have a mobile app:

1. Retail
2. Travel
3. Shipping
4. Banking
5. Healthcare

4. Does my business need a mobile app?

In order to answer this question, you need to ask yourself the following questions:

• Do you have a target audience that embraces mobile?
• What unique value would a mobile app provide for your business and its audience?
• What are your competitors doing? Do they have an app?
• Do you sell products or services online?
• Can you support a mobile app in the long run with regular maintenance and updates?