Blogs » How Much Does It Cost to Make a Mobile App in 2024?
Gone are the days of turning on your PC just to check your email or ping a friend on Facebook. These days, people are spending more time on their mobile phones where they can check out items, chat with friends, or browse through an online catalog. Thanks to those mobile apps that you can sneak quickly and are super easy to download from Apple Store and Google Play Store.
There are no-code mobile app development frameworks available that may be good for initial POC, but real mobile apps usually involve a lot more complicated flows and require solid development processes.
There are many factors to consider in determining the mobile app development cost, which include deciding between getting a few in-house mobile app developers and outsourcing to a firm or using a freelancer. But regardless of whether you are outsourcing the project to a development company or building an in-house team, there are some factors that will definitely trigger the fluctuation in the costs of the app.
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How Much Does It Cost To Build An App?
A Kinvey CIO study suggested that the average cost to develop an app for an organization is $270,000. VDC research puts that number closer to $140,000. We’ve built amazing apps for as low as $10,000, and we’ve built them for over $200,000. So the real answer regarding the cost is that it entirely depends on the scope of the project and the complexity of its features. Keep in mind, however, that that is just the cost of the initial version of the app. App maintenance carries another price tag. An old Forrester survey showcased the app maintenance pricing way back in 2012 wherein the cost to build an app at that time was between $50,000 and $100,000, which was only a third of the overall cost. App maintenance, updates, upgrades, and future iterations are all needed to factor in the cost breakdown. Contrary to what many people may think, it is quite difficult and challenging to come up with the accurate cost to build a mobile app. The cost of app development can get even more expensive depending on the complexity of features. In fact, it’s actually one of the most difficult questions you need to ask yourself if you consider outsourcing an app development project.Factors that Affect Mobile App Development Costs
There are factors that influence the cost of mobile applications, which is why it is important to review and determine a few core aspects that will have a major factor in the overall price.- Native Mobile App, or Cross-Platform Hybrid Mobile App
- Apple iOS and Android
- Compliance Requirements
- Standalone Mobile App or Backend Integration
Native Mobile App or Cross-Platform Hybrid Mobile App?
One of the most important questions and considerations to consider is the type of platform. Should it be a Native iOS, a Native Android, or a Cross-Platform Hybrid mobile app? This decision is primarily driven by the type of app, type of business, audience, budget, and time to market. Mobile app development cost will significantly change depending on your preference. A Native Mobile App is a type of app that’s been developed for specific mobile operating systems using the language and tools preferred by the device and OS manufacturer. For Apple iOS devices, Swift or Objective-C, along with Xcode for code build. Native Apps are usually preferred for cases when performance and pure native experience is required, such as games or apps that may need hardware interaction or custom design effects. Felt Card, handwritten greeting cards mobile app is one such case where writing smoothness was so important that it had to be a Native Mobile App. On the other hand, a Cross-Platform Hybrid Mobile App is the type of app that follows the “write-once, run anywhere“ approach. Hybrid Apps may look and feel like Native App but they are created using a common language such as JavaScript and deployed on different devices. There are many different types and ways of building Cross-Platform and Hybrid Mobile Apps. You can check out the Cross-Platform Hybrid Mobile App Development service page for more information. Hybrid Mobile Apps are generally cheaper to create and are easier to market, but there are challenges in building this type of app. Native Apps, on the other hand, provide a better experience but are more expensive.Apple iOS, Google Android, or Both?
Choosing between Apple iOS and Google Android devices can be really challenging. Sometimes, you will have to consider having a mobile app running on both platforms but you’ll get caught up in whether to build both apps at once or one at a time. You need to build a user profile, and here are some things to factor in to help you decide:- Who are these target app users?
- What devices do they frequently use?
- What are the features that they want to experience in the app?
Compliance Requirements (HIPAA or PCI)
Certain apps need to comply with specific laws and regulations, especially if they provide services for industries such as the health industry (HIPAA) or the financial industry (PCI). Depending upon the geographical area of your app users, some apps may also need to comply with GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) which helps protect the personal data of EU citizens. Those operating their apps outside of Europe may also need to comply as there is always the chance of an EU citizen giving out information to the company through their website and apps. HIPAA and PCI compliance app development have many requirements that include data confidentiality, caching, encryption and tracking. Here are a few Things You Need to Know in Developing HIPAA-Compliant Healthcare Software. These requirements can increase the cost of development significantly. Over the last few years, our team has developed many HIPAA compliant web and mobile apps, and we understand the complexity and challenges that come with it. If your app requires HIPAA or PCI compliance, check out one of the recent articles where we talked about the Cost of Developing a HIPAA Compliant App.Standalone Mobile App or Backend Integration
Is your app a stand-alone app that has no back-end connectivity? Or does it rely on the data from the back-end server? All these business applications require some kind of connectivity for loading and storing the data, though many games or simple applications may not require back-end connectivity. In one of our recent projects, we had an app that provided a guide that could technically be on the app only, however, we decided to keep the data on the server to make the changes easier in the long run. Cost of any app changes and publishing to the app store may eventually cost more, but backend-less apps may work for the proof-of-concept in some cases.Other Factors That Can Influence The Development Cost
While everyone has a development budget, there are a number of factors that inflate the production cost of an app: the platforms and devices it supports, offline support, third-party integrations, Bluetooth or hardware integration, custom designs and features, development restrictions, security requirements, compliance requirements, among many others. Here are some of the other factors that can influence the app development cost:Offline Support
Does your app need to be functional when there is no Internet connectivity? Some applications require live data but many applications need not have a last-minute change. For example, a video in your app should be playable even if there is no connectivity, a book already downloaded should be readable (audible), a document should continue to be editable (notes app such as Evernote), and many more use cases. In one of our recent projects, we created a bi-lingual mobile app that allows users to buy books in PDF or ePub3 format, and read on the phone. Offline support is important in an app like this, so users can read the book even when there is no connectivity. Offline Support requires data caching and storage on the local phone device, syncing and merging at a later time when there is internet connectivity. Apps can have full offline support, or sometimes even some certain parts of the app can have offline support. Note however, that these requirements can impact the development time and cost and should be considered when evaluating the scope of the app from the cost perspectives.Third-Party Integration (which one, and how many will make a difference)
Similar to compatibility with devices, integration with third-party apps is just as relevant when it comes to determining app cost. Third-party apps are usually used within apps to help with their functions and processes such as payment processing, analytics, lead generation, and funnel marketing, among many others.Payment Processing (Credit Card, ACH, or more)
If your app requires payment processing, integration with a payment gateway is required to achieve that. Most payment processors such as Stripe, Braintree Payment Systems, and the likes provide more or less the same integrations. More importantly, what kind of integrations are important for your business. Here are a few payment collection options to think through as you are working on the requirements and scope of your app.- Credit Card
- Bank Wire
- ACH
- Google Pay
- Apple Pay
- PayPal
- And few more
CRM, BackOffice, and Other Business Applications Integration
Depending upon the type of business, you may need to push the data to your CRM, or marketing software, to support your customers. Additionally, your app may need some kind of integration with your back-office applications that are being used to support your business. These may be proprietary software or external cloud-based applications that may be integrated via API or Zapier-type of tools.Bluetooth or Hardware Integration
Many apps will make use of the device’s hardware elements such as Bluetooth, NFC technology, camera, voice recorder, motion coprocessor, GPS navigation, fingerprint scanner, and many others. These features will require extra skills from the app developers, racking up a higher cost of app development.How Many Features?
Having a custom-made app may require more features that will surely bloat the costs. Complex apps such as enterprise mobile apps will require certain functionalities that cannot be found anywhere else. So before you hire mobile developers, make sure that you have the list of the features that you need first. The more complex and custom the features are, the higher you will need to compensate for the developer time.Custom or Standard Design?
Apple and Google recommend that apps follow their design guidelines. It is possible in some aspects, but it gets challenging if you decide to build a Hybrid App. All these apps designed need to be consistent with the brand, including the colors, fonts, images, and style. People nowadays are not only concerned with how easy they can accomplish things through an app, but they judge based on how it looks as well. So without the visual element and branding, an app may not be all that successful. There should be a balanced approach to provide users with the best experience from your app. It is highly recommended to review your app’s design because this is one of the important things that people are looking for in a mobile application.Security Requirements
Like any other service that stores user information, it’s imperative that the app should have some security features. Every app has specific needs for this depending on the type of app being developed. Among the many requirements that every app must have are secure code, encrypted data, authorized API integrations, high-level authentication, least privileges, database, and file security, data portability, and many others. Additionally, your mobile app may need to support Face ID, Touch ID, or other authentication mechanisms.Restrictions On Development Resources
Depending upon the type of app and timeline, you may need multiple mobile app developers to build your app. The cost of these developers will vary depending upon many factors that include the experience, location, and whether the developer is an employee or a freelancer or an outsourced developer. In any case, this is the biggest expense you’ll have to pay for during the app development process when you work with highly-skilled developers who will get the job done. As shared in one of our recent articles How to Spot A Good Software Development Partner, here are some of the possible options that you may take to develop your new app:- Existing in-house resources if you have app development capabilities in your team
- Assemble your internal team if you have the time, capacity, and budget
- Employ freelancers as long as you have the ability and capacity to manage
- Outsource to an external company that are experts in the software development
- US-based only
- Offshore / Nearshore
- Hybrid (a combination of local and off-shore/near-shore)