How Much Does It Cost to Develop an App in 2024? Cost Breakdown

If you have to name one invention in the last decade that has completely changed the world, what would it be?

For me, it would be mobile apps. Just look around and see how mobile apps have changed the way we live today. You can play games online, you can order your food, shop, consult a doctor, and also find your partner online.

It is not like we did not have these facilities before. For example, there are food ordering websites, but mobile apps bring more convenience and comfort.

You can pay easily, track your order, and write down cooking instructions as well.

If you have an app idea, it is the right time to monetize it. Just hire an app development company India and they will do the rest.

The first thing that comes to your mind while thinking of mobile app development is how much it costs to make a app?

Well, if you too have this question, this post is for you. We have discussed all the possible cost aspects of mobile app development in this post.

However, before we delve into mobile app development costs, let’s check out some interesting mobile app development statistics:

• A report by Businessofapps revealed that app usage grew more than 36% from 2020 to 2022. 
• Another report reveals that mobile apps will generate revenues of up to $935 billion in 2023. 
• A report from Influencermarketinghub declares that the usage of business mobile apps increased by 90% in 2020 alone. 
• Another report from Statista revealed that Google Play Store receives 100,000+ new apps monthly. The number for the Apple Store is 30,000+. 
• People turn to mobile apps throughout the day when they are looking for something. It is a fact. Various studies show that 88% of mobile time is spent on various business apps. 

How much does it cost to develop a mobile app? On average, you might need to spend $50,000 to $100,000 to develop a simple app with basic and medium-range features.

However, if you want to add advanced features and functionalities, the total app making cost might go up from $300,000 to $500,000. It depends on what features you want to add.

For example, if you want to add features such as Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, Artificial Intelligence, and others, costs of creating an app might go up.

You might get random answers for app development costs, but most of us don’t know how the total mobile app development cost is calculated.

This post will have all the answers you are looking for. We will cover the following points in this post:

• A complete mobile app development cost breakdown
• Factors that influence the price of mobile app development 
• Various development stages and how they affect the cost of app development 

How much does it cost to develop a mobile app?

As we have discussed earlier, there are many factors that influence the total cost to create app. However, if we have to sum it up roughly, it will be like this:

• If you want to build a simple app with minimum features and functionalities, it will take 5-11 weeks. The average cost would be $30,000 to $50,000. 
• If you want to build a complex app with some highly popular features and functionalities, it will take 10-20 weeks. It will cost around $50,000 to $100,000. 
• If you want to build an advanced, high-scale app with state-of-art features, it will take 25-50 weeks. It will cost you as much as $100,000 to $200,000. Sometimes, the cost might go up to $300,000 as well. 

What if I decide to make an app by myself?

If you want to develop an app by yourself, it is possible too! However, you must have the necessary technical expertise and tools to develop an app.

However, the fundamental truth is developing an app is not one person’s cup of tea. You will need a team of front-end developers, back-end developers, UI/UX designers, quality analysts, project managers, etc.

They can, together, work in sync to develop a fully functional, feature-rich, and secure app. The best thing is to hire an in-house team or professional mobile app development services. In this manner, you can reduce app building cost.

Now, we will discuss how much it costs to develop an app. 

Factors That Influence the Cost of Mobile App Development

This is the fundamental thing to understand to determine the cost of developing an app. 

Let’s check out the factors first. 

• Outsourcing the project or in-house app development
• Location of a development team
• Feature and functionalities
• Android or iOS
• Native or Hybrid 
• Visual design complexity
• App Maintenance Costs 

Outsourcing the project or in-house app development

This is the first thing to determine whether you want to develop an in-house team of developers or you want to outsource the project. You can hire a professional mobile app development company. 

It can save you from headaches such as recruiting the team, interviewing them, buying licensed tools and software, training, monitoring the progress, etc.

On the other hand, when you establish an in-house team, you can have one direct advantage. You can have direct communication with the team and personally monitor the progress.

Also, you can have face-to-face meetings, a deep level of involvement, and great control over the team.

However, the cost of establishing an in-house team might be a huge one. Also, you will have to be satisfied with the local talent that might not possess great skill sets.

When working with an outsourcing company, you might have time-zone differences and a lack of personal control, but you can get a high level of expertise, lower costs, flexibility, and almost no investments.

This is the reason why companies hire outsourcing mobile app development agencies for projects. It reduces the app development average cost by a great margin.

Location and Structure of The Team 

If you have decided to hire mobile app development services, the next step is to choose the country for the same. India, Ukraine, Germany, and Central Europe countries are some of the most preferred outsourcing countries worldwide.

You will see huge cost gaps when you outsource the project to a firm located in another country.

For example, if you hire an American software architect, you might have to pay $200 to $250 per hour. So, the answer to how much does it cost to make an app is a lot of money.

On the other hand, if you hire an Indian software architect, you just have to pay $50 to $70 per hour. Similarly, a software architect from Eastern Europe will charge only $45 to $60 per hour.

If you have budget constraints, outsourcing your mobile app development project is the best solution.

India, Ukraine, and other countries are full of talent. You will get a great quality of work from there at a very reasonable price.

Native Vs Hybrid App Development 

Do you want to build a native or hybrid app? You need to answer this question to get an actual mobile app development cost. 

Native app development is all about developing an app for a specific platform such as Android or iOS. If you want to target Android or iOS audiences, you have to develop two separate apps. It might end up at a huge cost. 

On the other hand, hybrid app development is all about developing an app that works and functions on multiple operating systems such as Android, iOS, and Windows. 

It will reduce the overall cost and the app-to-market time to a great extent. 

However, there are some issues in hybrid app development. The main issue is performance. Hybrid apps don’t perform as excellently as native apps. Also, the user experience of native apps is far more significant compared to hybrid apps. 

Android Vs iOS Development 

Android and iOS are the two leading mobile operating systems. Though Android’s market share is 85%, you cannot miss iOS as iOS users are very loyal and trust the Apple store and apps added there. 

You can develop an app for both platforms separately, but if you are reluctant about your app idea, you can first target a single OS and then develop an app for the other OS. 

The mobile app development cost for both Android and iOS doesn’t have much difference. The app development timeline is the same for both platforms. 

If you don’t have any budget issues, you can go for native Android and iOS apps simultaneously and launch them in the market together. 

Visual Design Complexity 

Your app’s design is the first aspect that users will come across when they open the app. The app design will be a deciding factor for a user whether to use the app or not. 

Don’t mess up the first impression. Instead, lure your users by providing an intuitive, impressive, and user-friendly design. 

The total app building cost of designing the UI and UX for your app will be $5000 to $7000 for 10-15 app screens. 

However, it depends on other factors such as visual design complexity, custom elements, illustrations, branding, and others. 

App Maintenance Costs 

Even when you deploy the app and launch it in the market, you will keep spending money on your app maintenance.

How much does it cost? Well, as per a study by GoodFirms, the annual app maintenance cost is up to $21,000. 

Another research reveals that 50% of the app development cost will be spent on app maintenance in the first year. In the 2nd year, it would be 25% and in the third year, it would be 15%, and so on. 

App maintenance has aspects such as performance improvements, bug identification and address, quality assurance, upgrade to the latest OS version, and third-party latest version support.

Features & Functionalities 

The features and functionalities that you want to add to your app will determine the app development cost to a great extent. 

If you want an app with simple features, costs of creating an app will not be much. However, if you want to add advanced features and functionalities such as AR & VR support, AI & ML, and Internet of Things support, you might have to spend more. 

For example, adding a push notification budget, alone, can increase the app development average cost to a great extent. Hence, it is very crucial to list down features and functionalities before starting the app development project. 

Let’s check out some of the popular mobile app features and the cost of developing these features:

(Note: These above-mentioned hours and costs are estimated. It might differ from project to project. Also, it depends on the type of app you are developing.)

App Development Cost Breakdown (Stage-Wise)

There are various mobile app development stages that complete the whole process. Each stage has its own costs and while estimating costs, you need to take into consideration all that. 

Here is a list of stages 

• Research and Discovery
• UI/UX Design 
• Mobile App Development 
• App Testing and Deployment 
• Ongoing Maintenance and Updates 

We will check out each stage and the costs associated with it. 

Research, Analysis, and Discovery 

This is the first stage and it is also called the analysis and planning stage. Most companies start with analysis and project planning to ensure that everything goes as smoothly and seamlessly as possible during the actual development stage.

Here, the stakeholders are software architects, product owners, UI/UX designers, and business analysts. 

Some of the tasks performed at this stage are

• Market research and competitor analysis
• Identifying target audience, their pain points, and solutions 
• Prototype development for app visualization 
• Planning of each stage of mobile app development process 

The cost of the research, analysis, and planning stage goes up to $5000 to $25,000 depending on the scope and size of the project. If you have hired an app development company in India or Ukraine, the cost might go down due to the availability of cost-effective resources.

UX and UI Design 

This is the next step where user flows and user interactions with the app are determined. Having a user-friendly app design is crucial for the app’s success. This is the reason why this stage is very vital. 

The cost of the UI/UX design stage would go up from $5,000 to $50,000 depending on the number of screens and the app’s complexity. 

Mobile App Development 

We have already discussed the number of factors that influence the cost of mobile app development. If you have a simple app with basic features, the cost would be $5000 to $10,000. However, if you want to add more advanced features and functionalities, the cost might go up from $50,000 to as high as $300,000. 

Don’t worry about the cost as long as you believe in your app idea. Hire the best mobile app development services for the project. 

App Testing and Deployment 

This stage is very crucial as you cannot launch an app without testing it from all the quality aspects. Ensure that the app is error-free, bug-free, and runs fine on almost all the platforms it is made for. 

Furthermore, there is a wide range of testing methodologies available for app testing. Ensure that your app passes each of these methodologies to give a stunning user experience to your audience. 

The estimated cost of the app testing and deployment would be up to $5000 to $10,000. 

App Maintenance and Updates 

This is the final stage of the mobile app development process which starts once the app goes live. You have to constantly monitor the app’s performance and keep releasing new versions to be compatible with others. 

The annual cost of maintaining an app is around $5000 to $25,000 depending on the updates and released versions per year. 

Some Key Hidden Cost-Driving Factors 

There are some hidden cost-driving factors you need to know of. Some of them are

Multi-platform support: if you have a native app and you determine to reach out to an audience using other platforms. You need to analyze and evaluate all the possibilities and conduct research to ensure that you go in a planned manner. 

3rd-Party Integration: Mostly, 3rd party APIs and plugins are integrated into the app to facilitate users with more features. It might increase the app development timeline and the overall cost as well. 

Marketing Costs: Yes, if you want to market and promote the app once it is launched, you need to have a separate budget for it. Generally, the marketing budget is not added to the mobile app development cost. You can discuss this with your marketing team and design a strategy. 

Conclusion 

Developing an app is a great idea, but planning is a crucial thing. When you have planned things in advance, you would be ready for any hurdles or issues during the process.

Cost is a major influence when it comes to making the right decisions. Having a next-to-accurate mobile app development cost estimation can turn things in your favor.

We hope that this post will help you plan your app development project in the best manner. We have covered almost all the aspects of app development cost in this post. 

If you are looking for the best mobile app development company in India, Think of World Web Technology, one of the top-notch and certified mobile app development companies in India.

We have the best technical brains and state-of-art infrastructure to cater to your custom mobile app development requirements.