It’s 2022 and business is facing rough times to survive without a mobile app.
In the forthcoming years, it would be nearly impossible to survive without developing a mobile app.
But what makes mobile apps that necessary?
According to tech crunch, Mobile users are now spending 4-5 hours per day in apps.
Since you’ve decided to make an app the question that you really want to ask is “How much does it cost to develop a mobile app”.
Read our blog here: How Much Does It Cost To Create An App In 2022?
But unfortunately to this date, no one has ever quoted figures without understanding the requirements.
On top of that, there’re a plethora of critical factors that determine the cost more than anything.
Let’s find out what those factors are and how they influence the cost of mobile app development.
Factors Influence The Mobile App Development Cost
Here’re the 11 factors that determine the mobile app development cost.
Third-party Integrations Are Commensurate With App Development Cost
The most important factor that influences the cost of mobile app development either android or iOS, is the number of third-party integrations.
Simple put, API stands for Application programming interface. It is a language that enables the communication between different software.
If your application needs to communicate with other services, you can either build your API which can be time-consuming and nerve-wracking.
The second method is using third-party integrations. You can have access to both free and paid APIs. If you enable more paid third-party integrations the cost of mobile app development will increase.
We’ve listed examples of third-party integrations for a mobile app.
- Payment gateways
- Google maps
- Social media integrations
- Camera and video
E-commerce and In-App Purchases Apps Comes With Higher Development Bil
Applications that involve the transfer of money and credentials related to payment gateways take more time to develop.
But why is that?
Such apps that hold important information when in under developing stage integrate security algorithms. Also, testing such apps take months and require more effort. Thus the cost of development increases rapidly.
More Solid and Strong Security Means Higher Development Bill
The majority of application developers undervalue the security and protection of the app. Because they dont consider it as important as other things.
But in reality, the security of the app not just retain the existing customer but engages new ones too.
A mobile app is developed to perform various functions that might include gathering and storing user information such as name, contact number, card numbers, etc.
Any violation of hacking activity that results in the hacking of data will lose all the hard work. Also, you can face trouble and permanent damage to the reputation of your business.
To protect user data, you should ideally employ multifactor authentication.
Furthermore, if your app stores sensitive data like passwords, a robust cryptography approach must be used.
Additionally, establishing threat models and doing data sanity checks would be expensive. These are some essential recommended practices for app security that demands your attention and money.
Read More: App security best practices
Cost of Developing a Mobile App For Android vs iOS
The cost of mobile app development cost varied from platform to platform. According to Statista, 90% of the total smartphone either operates on Android or iOS.
Depending on your target customer you’ll decide whether it is best to create an iOS or Android app. You may plan which platform to target with the help of the thorough market and user analysis data offered by the mobile app development firm.
Nevertheless, which platform you choose or recommend by the app development service, the mobile app development cost will slightly differ.
The tiny gap between the cost of Android vs iOS app development cost is mainly due to the programming language.
The developer who knows the programming language used to build iOS apps such as Swift and Objective-C costs 15% more than the Java developers.
Apart from the programming language, device fragmentation is another factor to consider. Android has numerous devices. Whereas, iOS has only 20.
Thus, the cost of developing an Android app will be a little higher, because you will need to alter it to various fragmentations.
Lastly, if you want to target both operating systems, the development cost will double. However, you can reduce it by 30% by making apps for both platforms via hybrid apps.
Features and Functionality
The factor that influences the cost of mobile app development more than anything is the feature you want to add to your application.
If you’re interested to make an app with fewer and very basic features. The development team has to put in less effort and fewer hours.
Hence when the development is quick the cost of development will be less.
Contrastingly, if you want to develop an enterprise-level app with advanced features it will require more time to develop. Thus, the development bill will be higher.
What are the features that create a simple mobile app?
The simple app included all those features which are indispensable to engage users. These are the fundamental features and can in integrated into the app with very fewer effort. Plus, if an app lack all these features it is not a user-centric app.
- User registration/log in
- Profile Completion/editing
- Search
- Basic customer support chat
- Basic admin panel
- Analytics.
An app with all these features can be developed in less than 6 month record time. And if the team is professional and committed it can be done in 3 months’ record time.
What are the features that create a complex mobile app?
Features included in complex mobile apps are not necessary but can drive user experience to the next league. However, such features take a lot of effort and time. Following are the features that are integrated into complex mobile apps.
- Push notifications
- Geolocation
- Ads
- Audio or video streaming
- Payment gateway
- Personalization based on user data
- Offline mode
- Chatting
- Advanced analytics
- Connectivity with external devices
App Maintenance Costs Increase App Development Cost
If you’re thinking once the app is developed and published to the target you’re free of everything.
You’ve been misguided!
As long as the app is accessible to the target market it needs continuous maintenance and upgradation.
Remember no app is ever complete or free of bugs. That means at some point you’ll realize that your app isn’t offering the same experience as before.
At this point, you’ll need an app developer that can fix the bug and put the app back on track.
You should add the following factor to the app budget when calculating the cost of developing a mobile app:
- Enhancing the mobile app to the latest OS versions
- Improve the third-party integrations (used for app development) to their latest versions
- Discover and fix bugs.
Complex Animation and Visual Aids Add Figures To The Bill
The cost of mobile app development will increase considerably if the app interface is consist of highly engaging and attractive elements such as video or any other interactive animation.
On the other side, if the app only contains simple visuals and functions that dont consume time and effort. It might not cost you much.
Prototyping Is Safe But Expensive
The most annoying and maddening moment thing for any app developer is when he ferreted out that things aren’t moving in the right direction in the middle of the process.
At the same time, all the investments made by the client (app owner) are wasted.
To avoid such happening, design a prototype. Create a simple prototype with only the most essential functionalities and no aesthetics.
This allows you to produce what your clients genuinely want. Your app development process will be more effective if you create a prototype.
Comprehensive Application Testing Shoot Up The App Development Bill
Testing is not important! Think again!
Gone are those days when app developers used to say that a lot.
Now app testing is as important as any other thing.
With more features integrated into the app more comprehensive and rigorous testing should take place.
Testing becomes even more necessary when the app detects bugs.
If you think that testing is only important before submitting the final product.
No! To keep the app functioning and updated, testing should be done frequently. The price of this phase relies on how much money you have to spend.
Location Of Your App Development Partner Matters The Most
Which region your app developer or the development team belongs; plays a vital role in determining the cost of mobile app development.
Simple put, not all regions have the same standard of living and per-hour rate.
For instance countries like the USA, Canada and other first-world countries have the highest standard of living. That means, if you choose an app developer there from there he’ll be quite expensive.
On the flip side of the coin, if you choose an app developer from India or other third-world countries you can get your app developer on a relatively less budget.
Read Our Full Blog Here: What Is The Cost Of Mobile App Development By Region?
Type of Development Team
One of the most influential factors to consider when determining the cost of mobile app development is the type of team you choose.
If you think that this might not be that important; you’re wrong.
The greatest benefit hiring the right team means lots of benefits in form of lower cost and superior final product.
As a start-up, choosing the appropriate team becomes even more important. Since you’re on a shoestring budget and looking for the best application. Invest more time looking for the right team.
You’ve four options when hiring a development team.
Hire a Local Agency
Hiring a local team can be very expensive. If you’re residing in a first-world country then this can be out of the budget.
Build an In-House Team
Building a full-time team is only the best option when you want clear communication and interaction with the team. But when it comes to the cost of building an in-house team then it’s the most expensive option.
Hire Freelancer
Hiring freelancers is the most economical way of developing a mobile app. But there is a downside to it. When you hire freelancers there’s always a lack of communication. Also, you might not get what you aimed for.
Outsource App Development
The greatest alternative to hiring a freelancer is to give your project to outsource app development team. If you want to develop a large-scale and complex project with many stages this is the best option you can consider.
Read Our Full Blog Here: How Much Does It Cost To Hire An App Developer?