You’ve been thinking about this idea for a while now. It’s exciting. You can see the potential.
But here’s the thing — should you invest in mobile app development to bring it to life?
Building an app isn’t just a cool add-on anymore. For many startups, it’s the main way to reach customers, solve problems, and grow fast. But it also takes time, money, and a clear plan. So before you jump in, you need to know if it’s the right move for you.
In this blog, we’ll talk about what mobile app development really means for startups — the good, the risky, and how you can make a smart decision without wasting your time or budget.
Let’s figure it out together.
Is It Worth It To Build A Mobile App For Your Startup Business?
We all know that today people are dependent on their mobile phones for everything, which is why businesses find it crucial to create their brand value and a loyal audience.
Mobile apps aren’t just for giants like Amazon and Walmart anymore. These days, more and more startups and growing businesses are jumping on the trend, too.
However, deciding whether your business needs an app or not depends on several considerations.
Below are a few considerations that may help you to make an informed decision.
1- Target Audience:
When planning to create a mobile app, determine your customer base and their probability of using the app.
Let’s have a look at the statistics to understand the significance of considering the target audience when developing a mobile app for the startup.
According to Statista, the number of downloads is forecast to experience significant growth in all segments in 2027. This reflects the overall trend throughout the entire forecast period from 2019 to 2027.
It is estimated that the number of downloads is continuously rising in all segments. In this regard, the Games segment achieved the highest value of 176.1 million downloads in 2027.
Key Mobile App Statistics for 2023
There are 2.87 million apps available for download on the Google Play Store. 21% of Millennials open an app 50+ times per day. 49% of people open an app 11+ times each day. 70% of all US digital media time comes from mobile apps.
- In 2023, mobile apps are projected to bring in over $935 billion in revenue.
- There are 1.96 million apps available for download from the Apple App Store.
- The Google Play Store offers 2.87 million applications for download.
- Of Millennials, 21% open an app more than 50 times a day.
- 49% of users open an app 11+ times each day.
- Mobile apps account for 70% of all digital media time in the US.
- The typical smartphone user downloads and utilizes 30 apps daily, or 10 each day.
2- Free Vs Paid Downloads
When you are opting for mobile app development, first figure out your monetization strategy. Of course, you are building an app to make money, right?
But will people download your app if you charge them for it? Let’s have a look at the stats to see the numbers of free Vs paid downloads.
The greater number of global downloads is free. Even 98% of mobile revenue is generated from downloads of free apps.
Only a chunk of people are inclined to pay for downloads. But remember! It all depends on the idea you are creating, as there are benefits to both strategies.
Mobile app users don’t want to pay for downloads, this is the reason that the majority of the apps on the Google Play Store and App Store are free.
If you are launching your app as an entirely new business. You can still earn money by offering it for free download. There are multiple ways of monetization, for example, offering in-app purchases.
3- Unique Selling Proposition
For building an app, it is also necessary that your app provides something unique to the customers or solves their problems better than others.
If your app can benefit users from certain features like offline access, push notifications, and enhanced personalization, then your app might be valuable.
4- Competitive Analysis
Perform a competitive analysis, as the Google Play Store consists of millions of apps, which makes it more competitive and difficult for your app to be noticeable.
As there may already be a huge number of similar apps, your app must contain something unique and attractive that gets the attention of the maximum users.
5- Cost Vs Benefit
Starting with a mobile application for a new startup can be quite profitable compared to other companies.
The mobile application can be built for a price as low as less than $ 2000, compared to a restaurant’s configuration that requires an investment of $ 50,000.
Have a look at some of the crucial metrics given below:
- Lifetime Value
This value gives you an idea of how much profit you can expect from a single user. It shows the financial growth of your app.
- Customer Acquisition Cost
Customer acquisition cost is an important indicator that provides an estimate of the cost per install for apps or CPI.
You need to utilize some industry benchmarks to calculate the CPI precisely. As a result, it helps you get an estimate of how much money you can expect to spend pursuing high-value users.
- Burn Rate And Runway
Your burn rate, which determines how much money you must spend each month, should be modest. The runway is also described as the sum of the funds divided by the burn rate.
6- Outsourcing
Outsourcing projects is the sensible choice for a startup because it is not easier to hire in-house companies if they have a low budget.
On the other hand, hiring a dedicated mobile app developer would not cost that much to the startups and will also provide flawless mobile app development for their startup.
This is a cost-saving approach with many business benefits for startups. When you hire a developer, they will be solely responsible for everything, ranging from choosing an app.
UI design to launch it on the Google Play Store or App Store.
For that, you need to choose one of the best mobile app development companies to hire a developer.
7- Mobile App Marketing
There are millions of users of mobile phones, so to market your app, you must identify the target audience.
A narrower target segment results in higher conversion rates. It can also provide an excellent customer experience and increase customer loyalty.
Furthermore, there are different channels to advertise your app, such as social media ads, partnerships, retargeting campaigns, organic installs, content marketing, app store optimization, event marketing, and push and in-app notifications.
Without marketing the application, your mobile app will not become popular. Thus, you must take major actions to introduce your app.
How Profitable Is Mobile App Development for Startups?
Mobile app development is generally profitable, but you need to consider several factors as they can impact the overall outcome.
To find out whether your business is profitable or not, you need to earn more than your expenses in more than 12 months.
However, certain factors can affect the profitability of mobile app development for your startup.
1- Market Saturation And Competition
The mobile app market is becoming highly saturated, so create an app that has something unique.
If your app is similar to others, then it will be difficult to stand out in the market.
2- User Behavior And Preferences
It is crucial to understand the behavior and preferences of your target customers. It will help you create an app that users will find useful and engaging.
There are things that you must keep in mind, like the pain points of your target audience.
What are their interests and preferences? What type of content do they like? So once you understand your users, you can easily make your app according to their needs.
3- Monetization Strategy
There are many ways to monetize your mobile app. You can charge users for the app, offer in-app purchases, or generate revenue through advertising.
However, the best monetization strategy depends on your target audience and the type of app.
4- Technological Advancement
The mobile app market is continuously growing, so it is also very important to stay informed about the latest technological advancements.
Things like software development tools, new mobile hardware, and new mobile operating systems must be kept in mind.
Along with these, many other factors contribute to the profitability of a mobile app.
These factors include the app design’s quality, its marketing and promotion, and the overall user experience of the app.
Carefully considering these factors might impact the chances of your app’s profitability.
How Much Does It Cost To Start Creating A Start-Up App?
The cost to start creating a start-up app may vary depending on several factors such as the complexity of the app, platform (iOS, Android, or both), your location, and the expertise of the development team.
1- Development Team
The largest piece of your cost cake will go to a development and design team. Moreover, if you choose to opt for outsourcing the development team, then you will have to choose the country for it.
The following options are available:
Nearshore Outsourcing: This means working with a company in your country or near your company with a time difference of only 2-4 hours.
Offshore Outsourcing: Working with companies from anywhere in the world. The time difference exceeds 4 time zones.
If you choose the second option, then you might have to face several challenges, like time zones can be a hurdle in your communication with the development team.
However, there may be some financial advantages to choosing this option, that why many companies choose this one.
2- Native Vs Hybrid App
It’s not possible to answer the question How much does it cost to build an app? Without knowing which type of app you are about to create.
Native App Development: It means the app is created for a specific platform, iOS or Android. Similarly, if you want to target both platforms, then you need to make two separate apps that will, in turn, increase the final cost of app development.
Hybrid App Development: It creates an app that is functional on multiple operating systems. Creating such apps is beneficial as they require a lower cost to develop.
At the same time, such apps have some disadvantages as well, which encourages companies to opt for native apps.
3- Android Vs iOS App Development
As we all know, Android and iOS are the two leading mobile operating systems in the world. You might want to create the app for any one of the platforms.
Also, you can create the app for each platform, but if you just want to test your app idea first and do not want to risk a lot of money, then you can start with an application for only a single platform, Android or iOS.
How much does it cost to build an app?
There is not much difference in prices because the timeline is almost the same for both types of development.
On the other hand, if you have a bigger budget, you can work on both of them simultaneously.
4- Customization of Visual Design
To leave a good impression of your app, your app design must be intuitive, as it is the first thing people notice after opening the app.
The cost of designing the screens depends on the number of screens, the need for custom elements, visual complexity, branding, and complex illustrations.
5- App Maintenance Cost
Remember that the app expenses do not stop with the app formation and launch to the market.
You must keep in mind how much it costs to maintain an app.
Finding out the exact app maintenance cost can be quite difficult, as several factors can increase or decrease the final price.
Whereas the average app maintenance cost in the first year after launch can be 50% of the initial app development cost, later on, yearly app development cost may be 15% to 20% of the initial cost.
App maintenance may include work such as bug fixing, quality assurance, stability and performance improvement, code optimization, implementation of new features, upgrade to the latest OS version, and support of the latest version of 3rd party services.
So, while planning your budget, divide the cost accordingly.
6- Features and Functionality
The features you are going to offer to your users contribute a lot to determining the cost of developing the app.
Features are the most important cost drivers, so it is difficult to say what the cost will be to build an app without knowing the exact features and functionality.
The average price of the app can be altered completely based on the number of features and complexity of the app.
Some of such features include push notifications that can consume about half of your app budget and can reach hundreds and thousands of millions in their implementation.
7- Backend Development
If your app requires a server, database, and a backend infrastructure, then you will need to keep a budget for backend development and hosting costs.
8- Third Party Services
Licensing third-party tools, services, and APIs can also add to your cost. It can include cloud services, payment gateways, analytics tools, and more.
9- Marketing & User Acquisition
You will also need a marketing budget to bring your app in front of the users. This marketing budget may include activities such as app store optimization, advertising and user acquisition campaigns.
10- Legal and Compliance
Also, there is the cost related to legal compliance, such as privacy policy, trademark registration, and ensuring compliance with data protection regulations. These costs are often overlooked but are very important and need to be considered.
11- Testing And Quality Assurance
Testing is an essential step to make sure that your app is bug-free and functions properly. So, keep in mind the budget for the testing and quality assurance process.
12- App Store Fees
Both the Apple Store and Google Play Store charge fees for listing and distributing your app. These fees are charged annually and depend on the platform as well.
13- Post Launch Expenses
Apart from initial development cost, factor in ongoing expenses like server hosting, marketing, customer support, and potential feature enhancement.
So, in conclusion, we can say that the cost of developing an app may range from a few thousand dollars for a simple app created by a freelancer to several hundred thousand dollars or more for a complex app created by an experienced agency in a high-cost region. Remember, the cost must be balanced with the potential return on investment and the long-term sustainability of your app.
How Many People Do You Need To Run A Startup App?
Are you done with the innovative app idea and now looking for a team for yourself? A question might pop up in your mind: how many people do you need to run a startup app?
This is a valid question with different possible answers. The size of your team depends on the type and scale of your app.
A development team generally consists of software developers, quality assurance testers, business analysts, and a project manager.
Number of Developers
In the software development industry, startups with small cross-functional development teams have a maximum of 2-3 developers.
On the other hand, large corporations have large development teams. A minimum following developers must be required for your startup.
A Project Manager who is responsible to assign and manage the work of each team member. He/ she will be responsible for implementing the appropriate development methodology and supporting frameworks and tools.
Designer to help you create an interactive user interface meeting UI/UX requirements.
A backend developer is needed to write the backend code of your software.
Mobile Developer to develop mobile app codes for iOS, Android, or Hybrid apps.
App Tester to perform various quality assurance and security test routines on your software application.
It means that the size of your App development team depends on the resources as well as the development approaches you plan to adopt.
You cannot expect a single individual to perform multiple tasks such as building, testing, deploying, and managing the entire project, especially if it is built on various platforms using different technologies.
Various software development methodologies require varied skill sets. Thus, different developmental approaches can impact the number of developers in your startup.
How Quanrio Can Help You
At Quanrio, we believe innovation shouldn’t come with a crazy price tag. We’re here to turn your app ideas into reality with smart, affordable solutions. Whether you’re building from scratch or growing an existing idea, Quanrio is the trusted partner you need for top-quality mobile app development that fits your budget.
FAQs
Q1: How much does it cost to build an app?
The cost of developing an app typically ranges from $5000 – $500,000 or more. It all depends on the complexity, features, platform, location, and experience of a development team. Simple apps with basic features on a single platform will be on the lower end, while complex apps with advanced features and multi-platform will be expensive.
Q2: What is the timeline to develop an app?
The timeline to develop an app can vary depending on multiple factors, but we can provide you with a rough estimate.
- Simple Apps: 2-4 months
- Moderate complexity apps: 3-4 months
- Complexed apps: 6 months to a year or more
Q3: Is mobile app development profitable for startups?
Mobile app development can be profitable for startups, but the success depends on different factors. Success stories like Uber and Airbnb demonstrate the potential, but competition is fierce. It is also very important to continuously adapt to the latest trends and user feedback for long-term profitability.
