How Much Does It Cost To Make An App?

These days, mobile apps are another communication channel for any business. This means that it is important to provide a high-quality product. If you want to build your own app the first question is “how much does it cost to make an app?”

An app development price is a very important issue because there are so many options to choose from and you need to understand which of them is reasonable for you and why. There is a lot of information on this topic and here you will be provided with a detailed explanation of everything that makes up the cost of creating an app and a few up-to-date app price options for you.

There is no precise answer to the question “how much does it cost to develop an app?” because the price depends on various factors:

• Type of vendor you choose
• Vendor’s location (country)
• Complexity of features
• The platform (or platforms) you choose
• Design complexity

Freelancers vs. App Development Agency

Freelancers and agencies are the two main types of vendors that can create an app for you. Both of these types are good, but the choice depends on the project and your expectations.

You will receive the following advantages if you decide to work with freelancers:

• Cheap app development
• Constant communication with the developer only

Although don't forget the risks:

• The need to find freelancers for all required services
• Flexible working times of freelancers
• Quality of services
• Limited accountability and transparency
• Team management

If you choose freelancers you will pay less, but more often the quality of work will be worse. And the inconvenience is to manage a freelance vendor because you will have several different people with their own experience, schedule, and communication skills. Such project needs teamwork but for people who work alone it can be an issue.

On the one hand, working with freelancers, helps you to get rid of a lot of paperwork, but on the other hand, this requires less responsibility and creates more room for deadlines and issues with quality.

If you decide to work with an app development company, you will enjoy the following advantages:

• Trustworthy relations
• Quality of deliverables
• All or the majority of needed services in one place
• Schedule and discipline
• Project management
• Accountability

Drawbacks of working with companies that make apps:

• Higher rates
• More bureaucracy

App development companies provide you with a sense of security and confidence that is worth the cost. They have all types of professionals to cover the full development cycle and give project management services to organize communication and ensure transparency and timely delivery.

The following table shows the overall experience of cooperation with freelancers and agencies

To be honest, everything depends on agencies and freelancers because you can find great agencies and bad freelancers, but it can also be vice versa.

In general, good development companies will not charge less than $25 per hour for their mobile application developers. Don't forget that they need to pay salaries, utilities, other office expenses and still be profitable. As far as freelance app developer rates are concerned they vary significantly and can even reach the rate level of companies. On the other hand, it is very possible to find a skilled freelancer for up to $25 per hour and be completely satisfied with him. Everything depends on the risks you are ready to carry.

App Developers' Location

The next main factor that influences the cost of developing an app significantly is location.

Among the most popular app development destinations are North America (mainly the USA), Latin America, Eastern Europe (Ukraine belongs here), and Asia (India is in this group). In every region the app development cost varies and you should take that into account when calculating your budget.

The cost of app development in India, Pakistan, and other Asian countries is usually less than $25/hour. South America is considered to be another popular outsourcing destination, where the rates are between the ranges of Western and Eastern European rates.

That is why, if you choose vendors from the US, you will get the highest development costs, while the cheapest option is with Asian app developers, and Eastern Europe (this is where Ukraine is) where you can get a more average cost for app development.

On the one hand, cheap app development is better in terms of saving money, but it is not always good in terms of quality. On the other hand, very expensive app development usually means that you pay not only for services but also for a company’s popular name. Eastern Europe is somewhere in between and you get good quality for a moderate app development price.

Simple Features vs. Complex Feature Set

An app’s complexity defines how much time you will need to build it and thus, how much it will cost. This means that simple mobile apps require smaller budgets, while more complex apps will be pricier. If your budget is limited, think about prioritizing features to fit within that price range and release your product on the market as quickly as possible.

Platform: iOS or Android

Your choice of a platform also influences the cost of app development. The main factor that determines whether you need to make an app for iOS or Android is the audience you would like to reach. Android and iOS platforms are different in terms of market share, a variety of devices and OS versions, and in terms of their technical implementation.

There are fewer devices that run on iOS than on Android. This is why it is much more complicated to make an Android app that will work equally well on all Android devices. In this case, an additional decision you should make is what group of devices to target. A good market analysis will help you choose the best options.

If you need to make an app for one platform only, there will be no difference in app cost, be it iOS or Android. However, if you decide to build a mobile app for both platforms, be ready to spend more money.

How Much Does It Cost To Build an App: Cost Breakdown

If you want to develop an app, you should understand that it includes much more than application design and coding. This process has other important stages your app idea should go through before finally meeting its users.

Expenses for Business Analysis

Frequently, business analysis is underestimated because some people don’t see the value of it for the app development process. Actually, this stage is compulsory for those who don’t know how to make an app out of their idea.

These are key activities a business analyst performs during business analysis:

• Identify a problem
• Identify and define project value
• Define, understand, and verify business scope
• Analyze (mind map, competitor analysis, etc.)
• Produce a business solution
• Conduct a workshop (requirements elicitation and management, documentation development, testing, support)
• Produce the best possible solution based on market needs
• Work on enhancements (change management, support)

It is a lot of work and further app development is not possible and effective without it.

In Ukraine, taking the average hourly rate ($30/hour), to make an app strategy may cost anywhere from $2,000 to $10,000+ depending on requirements and app complexity.

Here you will find out full information on the cost of app development and elements that make it up.