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What is the price to develop an iPhone app? Or rather, how much does mobile app development cost? Well, Kudos to you because you've just requested the world's most frequently asked questions !

You're looking for an honest answer, but what you get is a harsh response, something like, 'It depends,' or 'you get what you pay for, raising more questions than before.

There are two primary concerns on your in mind:

• The total cost of native or hybrid app development
• Factors deciphering iPhone/iOS app development price

While browsing through the top websites ranking on the mobile app development query, you might find a section estimating the cross-platform mobile app development costs. That is simply a marketing gimmick aimed at attracting your attention and getting you at the table.

However, prices of app development generally vary from $20,000 to $200,000.

Such a vast gap, isn't it!

In truth, there is no magic formula to determine the cost of building a mobile app for iOS and Android platforms and systems. For a mobile app development company, providing you with a final price for an app is not easy. They need to consider dozens of factors that will affect your app's cost and its end look and feel.

In this blog, we'll discuss all those factors that decide the final tag of your app and a bunch of other topics that'll clarify things for you.

So, let's not waste any time and talk right about the subject.

But first, do you need a mobile app?

A big concern for you is., 'my website is doing incredible for me. Do I really have to invest in mobile app development service?

The mobile revolutions have ushered some big waves in the market. Websites and social media rightfully endorse the idea of a perfect organization, building brand equity in the process.

However, custom mobile app development is a great way to fan the fire your brand is.

And, it's no surprise, but mobile apps are top-rated in the market. In 2020 alone, there were more than 218 billion mobile app downloads. The numbers will truly skyrocket in the coming years. It might seem that investing in mobile application development a little off-budget, but, in time, it will be worth it. More so, once you find the right mobile app development company, experiencing your app idea come live will feel wonderful.

A worldwide analysis on how much does it cost to build a mobile app

Now that you know the importance of mobile app development let's review its global-wide costs. As per recent research by the Good Firms,

• Average mobile app coding costs somewhere between $38,000 to $91,000
• A complex mobile app costs around $90,000
• An overcomplex mobile app costs $91,000 to $211,000

So, roughly answering how much does an app cost., it would be around $91000. Now, this ultimately depends on the platform, complexity, and app developer’s skills and expertise.

There are thousands of companies worldwide, all vouching for their talented app development, persistence, and eye for innovation, guaranteeing that they can deliver the best product.

Then, there is a vast arcade of well-established, recently founded, experienced, ambitious, local, foreign, large, small, high priced, cheap, etc., companies to consider. No wonder you feel so confused with such overwhelming options.

And then we have a common misconception like high price equals good quality, or startup application development companies are not experienced enough to handle massive mobile application development projects, or big companies might charge more. This way, you won't find even one android app development company. Keep an unbiased opinion about exploring the right company that codes a superior app for your business.

It is no wonder that the mobile app development cost varies from one geographical region to the other, depending on the resource pool available, the technologies mastered, the average cost per employee, company size, and further details.

Below is a list of some countries and their average iPhone/iOS app development cost. It stays tandem for iOS and Android app development services, with minor fluctuations in the Indian and South American regions.

Considering time and money parameters in mobile app development

Every app is different in platform and complexity and in the time taken to code it and total price. To develop an iPhone app, you need additional code, plugins, third-party frameworks, and development time than an Android app.

A developer might spend extra time while coding an iOS app to implement app features than they did for its counterpart. Even so, the time and money spend on Hybrid mobile app development are entirely different.

The following details the classification for simple to complex app needs.

• A simple mobile app takes 500-600 development hours.
• A moderately complex app takes 800-1200 development hours.
• A complex app takes 1200 development hours.

When we say a simple app, it means a product with simple features and not so user-impressive layouts. However, complex apps consist of a tough backend and loads of app features.

Factors that affect the mobile app development cost

If you are someone on the lookout for a mobile app development company, you cannot expect them to give you a final quote right off the bat. They will have to analyze, study, and understand your initial requirements before providing you a paper quote. Once you connect with them regarding your needs, a team of developers estimates how much time will be spent on this project and if they can implement your ideas and product specifications.

Every mobile application development company considers several aspects before providing a final price. It is how they differentiate one mobile app development service from another. It is essential for clients and app development companies to consider several aspects before giving out a final tag.

Essential factors that go into an app's pricing strategy are:

• The type of project and app required
• Its features and functionality
• Customizations needed
• Platforms for the app
• Backend and app setting
• Location of the team and the developer types
• App maintenance costs
• Additional services
• In-house team or an outsourced company
• Hourly rates

App functionality and features:

If you wish to know how much it costs to develop an app, you need to review its complexity or rather how complex you want your app to be. Functionality and complexity are two cost drivers for an app. Assess the screens, buttons, fields involved, navigation style, the logic required for the app. And most importantly, its complexity. The more twisted utilities you add to your app, the higher will be its price tag. More so, developers might have to access third-party apps or APIs to implement the complexity you need in an app.

Some features an app always needs are:

User and social involvement:

User engagement is the bread and butter for every app. Every app requires features like authorization, networking, notifications, navigation, and more. Adding functionalities like solid passwords, information storage, emails, integration with social networks, in-app payments, third-party framework integrations, libraries, usage history is apparent.

In-app support and location-based services:

The top payment portals like PayPal, Google Wallet, Credit cards, UPI, etc., require extra time for app integration. More so, if you offer location-based services, then an app must detect and map a user's current location and provide choices in that order. Then, implementing modern technologies like geofencing and iBeacon is a very time-consuming process. All such integrations will drive up its cost.

Using a mobile platforms' features:

An app should be compatible with the device's native functionality. If your app needs integrations with dialing, the network running, Bluetooth connectivity, accelerometer, camera, location accessing, etc., you'll have to use platform-specific APIs. They allow an app to access mobile device features to run specific functions in their app.

Additionally, you might experience unexpectedness during the mobile app development process like logic not working, third-party API integration issues, etc. That's why you need to consider some overhead costs and plan the budget keeping such expenses in mind.

Added customizations to the app:

Want your app to do something that no other app does?

Apart from creating a unique user interface design, you might need different third-party app integrations and APIs to allow extra customizations. All such customized features increase the android application development cost.

App platforms:

Do you want to code an iOS app?

Or perhaps, your app is meant to work on both Android and iOS platforms. In such a scenario, look for Hybrid mobile app development services.

In a nutshell, you must know the platform you want to run your app on. Deciding its platform will help you take other critical aspects like its market share, device fragmentation, app infrastructure, and more. The thing is, the mobile app development process differs too much in both these platforms, from the programming language and SDKs to different tools. And, if you want an app that runs on both the platforms, that is an entirely different scenario.

Now, you might be thinking, what's the price difference in coding iOS and Android apps?

In reality, none!

If you create an app for a single platform, there is no significant price difference. However, if you have a hybrid app in mind, get ready to spend more on app development.

There was a time when cross platforms apps needed two separate teams to code an app, doubling the total cost, but with Flutter in the picture, a developer can write one code and run it on both iOS and Android OS. Moreover, by choosing Flutter mobile app development, you can reduce the total mobile application development costs by 30-40%.

A stable backend and app administration:

A backend is an OS that allows data exchange between an app and a database. It does all the complicated tasks like tracking user activity, maintaining their app history, assessing app performance, personalizing your feed, and analyzing app performance. Depending on parameters that need tracking, app cost varies.

For application administration, you need an admin panel. An app's admin panel is where you manage its content, statistics, users, performance, updates, notifications, and everything else. And, it would be best if you had an admin panel to meet your business requirements.

Location & Structure of the Development Team:

Native or Foreign?

It is probably one of the most challenging questions there ever is!

The location and structure of your team play an integral role in deciphering an app's final price. The cost of creating an app in India differs from that in the US or the UK. The more developed is a country is, the higher is the hourly rate of their employees.

Then you need to consider a development team's structure.

You need a Business Analyst, UI/UX Designer, Mobile App Engineer, QA Engineer, Project Manager, Developers (Senior, Junior, Lead, and Mid-Level), App Architect, etc. Each of these positions handles different tasks in a mobile app development project, and you need all of them to ensure smooth and seamless development.

An Outsourced or in-house team:

In-house or outsource?

Both have their pros and cons.

You need a mobile app, but it might be possible that you don't have a team. Or, you have a team but still need employees for specific mobile app development skills. An app idea can only make a difference if an energetic and tech-savvy team backs it. And, you can create one in-house and find one to outsource. The only point in favor of an in-house team is that their proximity makes for simpler and faster communication. However, in the wake of the current pandemic, even that is not a heavy argument.

You can find similarly skilled coders and developers across the ocean in a foreign country. As long as they have the right skills, speak your language, and acquire a team that knows how to code, you're good to go! And guess what, outsourcing mobile application development to developing countries costs way less than in your own.

The general steps to follow for both in-house and outsourced development team is:

• Explore the various tech vendors
• Find the right mobile app development company
• Study their portfolio
• Question their rates, specialization, and team size
• Gather feedback
• Schedule a meeting with their project managers and discuss your requirements

Remember, the quality of the app and its cost changes from one place to the other.

App Maintenance costs:

One last thing to consider here is how much does it cost to maintain an app?

In general practice, you must allocate 15-20% of your budget to such fixes. App maintenance includes bug fixing, adding new features, updating new OS versions, solving downtime issues, scalability issues, improving stability & performance, supporting the latest third-party services, etc. It also includes components you need to add in-app every year and their complexity.

App maintenance is like a must-have. If you don't consider app maintenance, you can't scale up your app for more users, new OS, and incorporate new features. Such costs keep on adding up as your app gets more complex.

So, mobile app development doesn't end with the app's release in the market, but it is a continuous process. App maintenance readies your app for everyday struggles and market trends. It is an ever-continuing process that's take full form post the release of an app.

Conclusion

 

Hybrid mobile app development goes through several stages: planning, design, development, testing, and deployment. Depending on the requirements of a mobile application development project, the total cost will vary. And so are the developers you hire, the admin panel created, the backend framework, and the process workflow.

So, answering your question., there is no fixed price for a mobile app development service. However, when you find the right mobile app development company, they will quote a price that works for you.