When thinking about developing a digital product, either a mobile app or a web app, two main questions pop-up in everyone’s mind “how much does it cost to make an app?” and “how much time will it take?”.
At Digitalya, we receive questions about the cost of app development very often, so we decided to create a guide about software development pricing that will help you choose the best solution for your needs. We gathered a series of questions from our clients and answered them below. We will explore topics like development prices in different regions, cost of app testing, prices for core features, cost of app maintenance, how to choose the right software development provider, and many others.
Eager to find our more? Let’s start.
1. How much does it cost to make an app in 2024?
As you might know, software development costs vary based on the region, software provider, features, and other factors. Though it’s difficult to estimate the final price of an application, we can make some high-level estimations. A rough estimate of the cost of app development in 2024 would start from $20,000 and reach $500,000, depending on the feature set, where $20,000 would be the cost of an MVP (minimum viable product) and $500,000 the cost of a complex app.
While a study conducted by Clutch in 2017 states that “the average minimum project size is $5,000 – $10,000”, a more recent one driven by Goodfirms affirms that:
- The costs of a simple app start from $24,000 to $60,000.
- The costs of a complex app start from $36,000 to $85,000.
- The costs of an advanced app start from $59,000 and reach $137,000.
The app development costs did grow in the past four years, but apps built nowadays are more qualitative, user-centered, and better looking from the UI/UX point of view.
In the following chapters, we will analyze where these differences in prices are coming from and how much your app will cost.
If you want to know faster the answer to “how much does it cost to make an app in 2022?” you can use our app cost calculator. You will find out the cost to build an app within minutes.
2. How much does it cost to make an app in different geographical regions?
One factor that determines the cost of app development is the geographical region. This one brings the most variability regarding the software prices. The costs of building an app vary from $20 to $300 per hour.
A rough estimate of the global average hourly rates are the following:
- The hourly rates in Central Asia vary from $15 to $25 per hour.
- The hourly rates in South America vary from $20 to $55 per hour.
- The hourly rates in Eastern Europe vary from $25 to $60 per hour.
- The hourly rates in East and South Asia vary from $25 to $60 per hour.
- The hourly rates in Australia vary from $100 to $190 per hour.
- The hourly rates in North America vary from $150 to $200 or even 300$ per hour.
The following infographic sums up the hourly rates of development companies across the Globe.
3. How to choose the right software development partner?
a. Software development company
The easiest option to choose from, taking into account the quality perspective and the management effort, would be a software development company like Digitalya. We’re saying “the easiest option” because these kinds of companies usually put a lot of effort into recruiting the best talent, from app developers to UI/UX designers, project managers, business analysis specialists, and quality assurance specialists. Besides the laborious recruitment process, team members usually have a growth plan for constantly developing their skills, so they deliver high-quality results.
Apart from a highly skilled app development team, a software company offers full-cycle product development services, covering UI/UX, architecture, development, project management, and quality assurance. This means that you share with them your app idea, and they take care of the rest.
The hourly rates of these kinds of companies vary based on the location, the team size, the tech stack, the seniority level of the developers, the code quality, the experience on the market, and other factors.
Based on the size and the seniority level of the developers, the price might vary as follows:
- Software development enterprises (100+ employees): starting from $250 000 per product.
- Software development agencies (10-100 employees): starting from $20,000 per product.
- Software development shops (5-10 employees): starting from $10,000 per product.
Pros:
- Your mobile app or web app will be developed from start to end: from architecture to design and maintenance
- The company usually has extensive experience, and they will offer you a consultation in making the right choices, not only development services
- The team will have a project manager who will ensure that your vision is implemented on time and within budget
- Generally, this solution is the most cost-effective one if you take into account all the factors involved in developing an application.
Cons:
- There might be some cultural differences,
- In some cases, constant follow-up is needed,
- You might have a different time zone than your app development company.
b. Freelancers
The hourly rates of a freelancer depend on different factors as well, like his previous experience, the coding language that he uses, and his location. The hourly rate of a freelancer can vary from $15 to $300 per hour.
Pros:
- Freelancer services can get relatively cheap, so you might save some money,
- You can talk directly to the person developing your software product,
- Freelancers have more flexibility in their schedule, so you might communicate with them during the weekends too.
Cons:
- Usually, freelancers have their expertise limited to one central area like front-end, back-end, design, or a specific coding language,
- To develop a complex app, you will need to hire freelancers with different areas of expertise. Therefore you should take care of the project management,
- Usually, there is no recourse if they drop a project, so you have limited warranty and liability.
c. In-house developers
Hiring in-house developers is justified mostly when your business has stability and the product represents your core business.
Pros:
- The in-house developers will better understand your company culture,
- The availability will be increased,
- You can discuss face to face regarding the company’s objectives and monitor their outcomes.
Cons:
- In the tech field, finding the right people and hiring them is very expensive,
- You need to invest time in recruiting talent with specific skill-set for your project and make sure they’re constantly up-to-date with the new technologies,
- You might not have previous experience in managing the app development process.
d. App builders
An app builder might be the right choice for an app idea that doesn’t need customization and the app architecture is simple. The app builders usually have a pricing plan, and it can vary between 0$/mo to 800$/mo, depending on the features you need.
Pros:
- Less pricey than a development company.
- You have a wide range of plans that you can choose from.
- You can start for free and then move to a subscription plan.
Cons:
- Usually, you work with predefined templates and features, so it’s almost impossible to scale,
- You are the one developing the software architecture of the project,
- Even though you don’t need prior coding skills, you should understand how the software works and what makes an app successful.
Now that you figured out what solutions are out there and you have a complete overview of the software development market let’s get into more details. Further on, we will help you understand better how you can make a rough estimate of your app, so you will be prepared when negotiating with your software development partner.
4. Mobile Apps vs. Web App vs. Both — What’s the difference in price and functionality?
The first thing you should decide upon is what type of app would best suit your users’ needs: a web app, a mobile app, or maybe both. The costs to develop an application vary based on the platform you want to build on.
The key to making a good decision regarding the platform is to identify your buyer personas and your user personas (if they are different). Start a research to fully understand their expectations and how you can fulfill them. Here user interviews and competition research come in handy. You can check information like what are their primary needs when deciding to use an app similar to yours, what are the main app features they’re searching for, when they use it, from what device they prefer to access it, and so on.
Depending on the end goal of your app, you should decide upon the following variables:
a. Web Application
Your app can be accessed from a desktop, laptop, or mobile device by using a web browser. If the users have access to the internet, they can use it without downloading it.
b. Mobile Application
Your app can be used on one platform, like iOS, Android, or both. To use it, users need to download and install it from the app store. It can be a native app or a cross-platform app.
c. Both
Two separate applications. One that will run on the browser and one that people will be able to download from the app store.
In the following image, you will find the differences in prices for the two types of applications. The price of the mobile application development usually is 5% to 10% higher than web development, and the hourly rate of mobile designers and developers is more pricey. So, the rate of a mobile app developer is going to be, on average, 7% higher than that of a web app developer.
Cross-platform development is less pricey than native app development on iOS and Android, and iOS mobile developers have a higher rate than Android mobile developers. The mobile app costs vary based on the operating system. Therefore, android apps will be slightly cheaper than iOS apps but more expensive than a cross-platform app built in React Native.
5. User roles – How do I get users to use my app?
The next step, after deciding if you’re going to build a web application or a mobile application, is to start defining the types of users that will access your app. This will influence the app development budget.
Understanding how your app will be used and what is the purpose of every user when logging into it is essential for two main reasons: security & privacy – not everyone should have access to the personal data; the overwhelming amount of features – having access to features that you don’t need, and don’t use might be distressing.
Usually, you will find the following user roles within an app. You might need all of them, more or only one.
I will take an easy-to-understand example of a business page on Facebook. Let’s take, for instance, Digitalya’s.
- A Visitor is an anonymous user or guest that has limited permissions to access the features of the application.
As a visitor entering a business page on Facebook, I can only see the content, but I can’t interact with it, like leave comments, like pictures, and upload content.
- A Registered User will need to log in and have a user profile. Each registered user will have access to all content types of different users based on their subscriptions. You usually find these types of users in social networking apps.
As a registered user, I can create a profile and personalize it. I can interact with the page’s content, like other pages, and invite friends to like them.
- A moderator can perform administrative tasks like approving, creating or publishing content and adding or deleting sections.
As a moderator on a business page, I can schedule posts, view page insights, create ads, and send messages as the page.
- The Administrator can assign application-specific roles, give different permission to users, and make changes to the app.
As the administrator of the page, I have all the above permissions, and I can manage page roles, edit the page, create and delete posts, and publish and manage jobs.
These are the basic roles in an app, but you can create many more depending on your needs and assign them different permissions. Get a sneak peek at the complete business page roles for Facebook, so you will understand how they defined them.
The cost of developing an app will vary based on how many user types your application will need.
6. Cost of custom app development
Custom features are priced by the hour, so it is crucial to choose the right ones. There are software development companies that work with the fixed price model, where you decide from the beginning how much your app will cost, but you won’t have any flexibility if you want to change a feature.
Below, you can find a table with the prices of the most common custom software development features (with an hourly rate of $40).
| Feature | Description | Approx Time | Approx Cost $ (based on $40/h) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dashboard | Display essential metrics Display activity status Display key action | 30-40 hours | $1,200 – $1,600 |
| Media | Display images, audio, and video content Interact with content | 40-100 hours | $1,600 – $4,000 |
| Messaging | Access conversation details Check online/offline status See typing status Read/sent status Send media files and documents | 80 – 160 hours | $3,200 – $6,400 |
| Activity Feed | Display recent activities Interact with content shared | 30 – 60 hours | $1,200 – $2,400 |
| Maps/Geolocation | Detect the user’s location Search on the map Set pickup point on the map | 40 – 70 hours | $1,600 – $2,800 |
| Rating System | Give grades Leave reviews Integrate existing reviews platforms | 30 – 60 hours | $1,200 – $2,400 |
| Advanced Analytics | Tracker user behavior Make predictions Generate recommendations | 80 – 150 hours | $3,200 – $6,360 |
| Booking | Display activities and events | 30 – 60 hours | $1,200 – $2,400 |
| Invitation System | Invite other users to the app Emit vouchers | 40 – 70 hours | $1,600 – $2,800 |
| Calendar | Plan activities and events | 50 – 90 hours | $2,000 – $3,600 |
| Events | Design and plan different events Invite users to participate and interact Generate recommendations | 40 – 80 hours | $1,600 – $3,200 |
| CMS | Modify the content inside our app | 30 – 40 hours | $1,200 – $1,600 |
| E-learning | Display the curriculum Access online materials Display e-books, videos, audio files | 40 – 100 hours | $1,600 – $4,000 |
| Video Streaming | Start/stop broadcast Record live videos Save and download video content | 90 – 150 hours | $3,600 – $6,000 |
So, how do you choose the right features while developing an app? After you have defined your platform and the user roles, you can further establish the main app features. Taking into account that in this stage, you want to define your Minimum Viable Product (MVP), try to stick to the necessary app features.
Here, your software development partner should be your best friend. With extensive knowledge gathered from building different web and mobile apps, he can help you figure out how to define the main app features.
A software development secret is to create demand for your digital product. And the only way to do that is to make it as intuitive as possible with great UI/UX design and the right app features. Let us explain what we mean by this.
Think of an application that you use daily or weekly. Why do you use it? What particularly do you like about it? How often do you use it? Is it a habit for you to use it? What is your role when using it?
When defining your requirements, first put yourself in your user’s shoes. Why is he/she using your app, and what features do they need to consider the in-app experience a successful one?
Before deciding upon the main app features, try to identify the app category in which your product would fit: travel, healthcare, transportation, aviation, social media, dating, management, gaming apps, and so on. Then research to get inspiration from already-existing apps like Airbnb, Blabla car, TripAdvisor, and others.
Now you’re ready to choose. Take into account what you have discovered from the new research, and check which app features you want to integrate into your application.
1. Dashboard
The dashboard screen provides a full overview of the metrics tracked by your application.
2. Activity Feed
An Activity Feed can provide your users with a list of the most exciting and recent activities performed by other users or freshly published news.
3. Advanced Analytics
With Advanced Analytics, you can discover more in-depth insights about your users, make predictions, or generate recommendations.
4. Calendar
The Calendar feature lets users plan activities/events and have a complete schedule overview.
5. Media
Integrating the Media feature in your app allows your users to check and interact with images, audio, and video content.
6. Maps Geolocation
With the Geolocation feature, you can identify the geographic location of a user or a computing device. You can integrate it with Google maps or another existing map provider.
7. Booking
The Booking system can offer a complete analysis of your resources and will help your users prevent overbookings.
8. Events
Design and plan different events, and invite users to participate and interact with your content.
9. Messaging
By integrating a messaging feature in your app, your users will be able to chat inside the application.
10. Rating System
Users can give grades or leave reviews based on their experiences.
11. Invitation System
Increase your user base by implementing an invitation system where your users can share your website or application by inviting their friends and colleagues.
12. CMS (Content Management System)
With the Content Management System, you can modify the content inside your app without a developer’s help.
13. E-learning
By integrating an e-learning system, your users will be able to view their curriculum, get in contact with their teacher or trainer, and access other online materials like e-books, videos, and audio files.
14. Video streaming
By incorporating the video streaming feature, your users will be able to record live videos or save and download video content to watch/rewatch it later.
The app development pricing for each of these features varies based on the number of hours needed to implement it, the coding language, and the seniority level of the developer. Other factors that influence the cost of building an app are: if the feature is developed from scratch or integrated with an already existing platform and if the code written is reusable or not.
7. How much does it cost to integrate in my app Artificial Intelligence (AI), Virtual/Augmented Reality (VR/AR), Internet of Things (IoT) or Robot Process Automation (RPA)?
Now that you’ve decided upon your main app features, you should see how to differentiate yourself from your competitors. A smart strategy is to integrate one of the cutting-edge technologies and create a unique selling proposition based on that.
The latest technologies can provide your users with the opportunity to have a complete overview of their devices, analyze data based on complex algorithms, automate tasks, or offer enhanced experiences.
You can choose from the following based on the purpose of your app:
1. Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Integrate AI advanced algorithms to understand and interpret your user’s needs by using technologies like Predictive Analytics, Speech recognition, Computer Vision, Language Understanding, and others.
2. Virtual/Augmented Reality (VR/AR)
Enhance natural environments and offer enriched experiences to your users by integrating VR/AR technologies.
3. Internet of Things (IoT)
Allow your users to have a constant overview of their devices by enabling the advanced technologies of IoT.
4. Robot Process Automation (RPA)
Empower your users to automate repetitive tasks by implementing RPA technologies.
The hourly rates for integrating these technologies are 10% to 20% higher than the usual global hourly rates. Pay attention cause the total cost might get pricey.
8. Cost of App Release
The cost of app release varies based on the app store (Google Play or App Store). To publish an app, owners need to pay a fee to the app store to make them available for download and installation.
In 2021 as in 2020, Apple’s App store fee is $99, paid annually. The Google play store fee is $25, and you need to pay it once.
9. How much does it cost to maintain an app?
Another factor influencing app budgeting is the cost of maintaining an app. Most of the apps are in need of this service after they reach a certain point. Maintenance means troubleshooting, modifying, maintaining, and enhancing existing web and mobile apps. The cost of app maintenance usually reaches about 15% to 20% of the total app cost.
10. How long does it take to build an app?
Now that you’ve gone through all the steps of calculating your app development cost, you probably would like to know how much time it will take to create your application. This is the second most common question we receive at Digitalya from our clients.
The development time is directly dependent on the number of app features you want to have (the technical complexity) and the team consistency. With a higher budget, you can hire more developers to create your application so that it will take less time. Another factor to take into consideration is the competency of the team. If your team consists of senior developers, the time will automatically be shorter and the budget higher.
The minimum well-functioning development team consists of a front-end developer, a back-end developer, and a project manager. In this setup, developing an MVP will usually take from four to six weeks of implementation.
After the product is launched and tested in the market, the next phase starts, meaning the scaling part. This step consists of implementing new features on the product, and it can last from months to years, depending on the product’s success.
11. Conclusion
App budgeting is challenging, not only for startups but also for established businesses. Prices of building an application vary based on the development solution you choose, the location, the app features, the user experience, the team skill set, and the new technologies you want to adopt. Hiring an app development partner is a journey, and we hope that the information from this article will help you make the right choice.
The most important thing is to conduct extensive research in the software development market and to choose the solution that fits your needs best, be it a software development company, freelancers, in-house developers, or app builders. Make sure you carefully consider every factor – code quality, experience, price, communication, and business model.
We hope that our guide helped you estimate your app development costs and understand what factors to take into consideration when choosing your software development partner. We also hope that you have a clear image of how much does it cost to make an app in 2024.
If you want a rough estimate of your app development costs, feel free to use our app cost calculator.
