Audio: App Development Cost

How Much Does It Cost to Create an App in UK?

The usage of smartphones is increasing at a rapid pace and not merely limited to calling. From taxi booking to food delivery, mobile applications have touched each and every aspect of our lives. 

When it comes to businesses, then to continue their services it is important for them to meet with the modern trends. Presently, for startups to large enterprises, it is imperative to market their presence on the play store and App store. 

According to Forbes, “ In the first half of 2020, worldwide spending across app stores netted $50.1 billion — an increase of 23.4% from the first half of 2019. First-time app installs are up 26.1% year over year in 2020, reaching 71.5 billion downloads. While mobile was poised to set new records in 2020 ahead of the onset of Covid-19, uncertainty has leaders using this moment to reevaluate their operations.”

But before taking a plunge in mobile app development services  for your business, you must be thinking about mobile app development costs, so, here we bought the detailed guide about the how much does it cost to create an app?. 

How Much Does it Cost to Create an App?

You probably have two questions in mind:

1. How much does it cost to make an app UK?
2. What does the app development price depend on?

You have already searched for the answers on the web. On the internet, you may come across a few different websites aimed at approximate mobile app development costs in the UK, but they are nothing more than a marketing move to attract your attention with brief questions about your app development requirements. The app development cost estimation you receive will not show you the real scenario.

It is important to understand the cost of mobile application development depends on several factors such as type of mobile app, platform, design to a number of pages. For instance, an app requiring no API integration, no back-end or simple-to-implement features such as email subscription, social login, or calendar will not need a mammoth budget.

On the other hand, custom features, multi-language support, or real-time updates require more resources in terms of the development budget. Every app is unique in itself and the cost of creating an app is based on the time and effort required to build an app. Different mobile app developer rates and project complexity have a direct impact on the app development cost UK of making mobile apps.

The Average App development cost in specific regions & countries by platforms.

How much does it cost to create an app UK? has been the most common query we have received from prospective customers for a long time. Mobile app development be it iPhone or Android app development is an expensive affair and requires gigantic monetary investment – this is an overstatement. Not all types of mobile apps require handsome money or a budget.

On the other hand, custom features, multi-language support, or real-time updates require more resources in terms of the development budget. Every app is unique in itself and the cost of creating an app is based on the time and effort required to build an app. Different mobile app developer rates and project complexity have a direct impact on the app development cost of making a mobile app UK.

Infographic: Overview of Different Factors Determining, How Much Does It Cost to Make an App UK?

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The Major Factors That Determine How Much Does It Cost to Build an App UK.

1. Scope, Features and Functionalities of App

So how much does it cost to make an app UK? The app’s price is going to depend on what you’re trying to accomplish. What is the core purpose of building a mobile app? The answer to this question would give some sort of clarity on the scope of this project. If businesses are looking forward to a broader scope and returns from an app, it has to be extensively developed with a lot of many functionalities.

However, if the purpose to develop a mobile app is to have a mobile presence and create another channel to connect with end-users, an app with limited features would also be fine.

As per the recent survey by a leading analysis and research agency GoodFirms, the scope of a mobile app in terms of features and functionalities is the major factor driving the cost of developing an app UK.

The discovery phase requires a deep understanding of business flow, its goal, and overall business purpose. Only when these things are clear to the development team then they can estimate the cost of creating an app UK and proceed ahead to lay out a plan for an app and decide how simple or complex the app would be required to serve the business purpose.

2. Deciding the Platforms and Devices

The platform and type of mobile app also play an important factor in deciding the app development cost UK. For example, the total cost of building a native app for a specific platform is different from building a hybrid app that runs on multiple platforms and devices.

App development cost UK is also dependent on the type of device for which the app is developed. Building app for devices running iOS, Android, Windows, Blackberry or iPad is different, as it requires different sets of integration. Supporting different generations of the same device can also be an additional app development cost factor that increases the cost of developing an app.

3. Number of Screens in the App

This is yet another important factor determining the cost to create an app. More number of screens require an extensive amount of work from designers and UX experts. Further, more screens mean higher interlinking of pages through the app. This requires adjusting more conditions in order to access any particular in-app page.

The higher number of screens means the development of the complex mobile app. Such complicated and complex mobile apps demand more time and effort of designers as well as Mobile app developers.

4. Database

Apps with user-driven content that allow end-users to upload photos, videos and submit reviews or comments take more time in development compared to the ones without a database. This would again increase the complexity of the app to set up a database where the user’s information would be stored and available for retrieval for future use. The development time and app development cost UK for the database-driven app would obviously be more than simple ones.

5. Type of App Development Team

Based on the complexity of app development project, it is about time to formulate a core App Development Team team comprising of a project manager, a UI/UX designer, professional developers, and a quality assurance engineer. You can opt for a basic or extended team consisting of a backend developer to develop an API, admin panel designer, iOS or Android developer. 

6. App Features or Elements

• Third-party Integrations

Mobile apps often require integration with third-party libraries, frameworks, and services. Real-time chats, as well as social media, can be accomplished with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social network APIs.

• Backend Development

Top App developers providing APIs to enable the exchange of data between a mobile application and a database. The backend implements the app’s business logic.

• Hardware Components

Identifying the right approach for communication between hardware components such as gyroscopes, accelerometers, NFC, Bluetooth, GPS, and software can communicate may determine the pricing.

7. Devices and OS

When it comes to an iOS app, it should ideally be compatible with the latest and the previous versions of iPhone, and support the latest and previous iOS versions. When it comes to the fragmented world of Android, there are several factors such as the size of the market share of Android device manufacturers, client’s preferences, and the OS you decide to support. Considering the complexity of the Android market, an Android app development cost UK may exceed the cost of iOS App Development.

8. Post Release Expenses

The total cost of mobile app development UK does not only include the money spent on actual programming but also enlists the budget required for post-release maintenance and updates such as backend server maintenance, cloud hosting, app marketing, and promotion.

9. App Type

Having great mobile app ideas for a product or service is one thing and making it accessible to mobile users is another critical task. After building a thorough business model, you will come across various technology trees on which your mobile app development project will be based upon. Choosing an application for the project will have a major impact on the overall cost to build an app.

Based Upon the Complexity Level, an App Can be Categorized as Follows:

• Web App

A web app is a mobile version of a website and not a mobile application. Build on the principles of ‘mobile-friendliness’, web app uses responsive design for a fluid and smooth user experience across varied screen sizes and operating systems – from tablets to smartphones. However, web app comes with limited features and low performance as compared to native apps

• Native App

Large applications provide an excellent user experience. Native apps fully optimized to leverage the operating system of a given device like iOS, Android, Windows – Swift or Objective C for iOS platform and Java or Kotlin for Android platform. Built with language native to the operating system, native apps are optimized for high performance for a specific platform. Native apps fall under the expensive side.

• Hybrid/Cross-Platform App

Hybrid/cross-platform run across different OS like iOS, Android, Windows. This approach is best suited to cater to the needs of a large audience across different platforms with the combination of web and native technologies. Development and maintenance cost is low as compared to other approaches but they are not considered best in terms of capabilities because of its limited access to smartphone’s hardware. 

10. Legalities & Licenses

The factors which are often overlooked when developing a mobile application are Copyrights, Patents, and Trademarks. Many businesses often overlook the cost pertaining to legal licenses and copyright protection. If the information on your app is vital, it is important to patent it and prevents people from profiteering from the unique features of your app. 

Whether it is unique content, logo, technical functionality, it is worth protecting your apps. Several mobile apps is developed on templates that have to be licensed for use. 

And to deploy apps on the Android store or the App store of Apple, the license has to be bought. 

The license service is a secure means of controlling access to your applications and protecting it too.

11. Support and Maintenance

Technical support is pivotal for the seamless performance of the mobile app. Mobile app maintenance involves different aspects such as managing updates, APIs, user profiles and data and even making technical changes based on users’ feedback. Your mobile app will not be able to do what it was developed for without a proper maintenance strategy. New features will cost you and a significant amount will be spent refining existing features of the app.

This is an on-going process and with every change in technology, new updates are required to make your app frictionless.

12. Research & Analysis

To build a successful app, it is important to do proper research and analysis regarding the same first. For making a successful information analysis, research of the potential market, and the existing market is required as these factors decide the target market as well as research for end-users, their reviews, expectations, etc.

In this cutthroat market of app development, R&D is a very important factor in success. Developers need to be clear about what their users want, and what they’re trying to achieve. They also need to understand their target market and work out when it is best to launch an app (for example, there’s no point in launching a Christmas-related app in March). It’s about finding the perfect formula that gives the app uniqueness, and a defined USP. Market analysis should also be carried out to understand the intended audience, and what audience demands are likely to be. Many apps need demographics or other research-based surveys to identify the target audience.

13. Prototyping

The following are the fundamental reasons for using prototyping before creating a layout:

• The prototype gives the customer a complete idea of ​​how the site will look in the final result.
• Prototyping allows you to streamline the design development process, focusing on important interface elements.
• Rates for mobile application development differ according to the country of residence of the agency you are working with. In the US and Canada, the cost is around $40-$240 per hour, in Western Europe, it is $40-$180, in Eastern Europe $25-$70, and in India – $5-$70. Also, apps with more screens can cost higher. Moreover, different interface designs for assorted screen sizes need to be considered for the cost factor.

14. Visual Designing

Visual communication is a way to communicate ideas graphically in ways that are efficient and help to convey more meaning. It’s a critical element of any content marketing strategy. This is because visuals can help to evoke emotions in your audience, provide stronger examples for your message and so much more.

In app design, visual design takes approximately 80-200 or more hours. It depends on the app’s complexity. It requires the use of different software that makes the designs stunning and realistic. Visual designing includes the look and feel of an app. The cost of app design can vary from $3000 to $30,000. This is a quite wide range that depends on a few factors: the complexity of an app idea, the type of team, and the team location.

15. Complexity Factor

For deciding the cost of an app, the complexity factor plays a vital role.

Simple App – Apps such as on-demand apps, for instance, Uber, need around 100-150 hours and start at $5000 based on an hourly average price of $50.

Average Complex App – Such an app needs several screens, appealing user interactions, and content. Such an app needs around 200-250 hours and the estimated cost will be $10000 considering an average hour price of $50. The most popular chat app, Whatsapp comes under this category.

Highly Complex App – App supporting multiple platforms and comprises several rich features cost higher. Designing a complex app requires more than 400 hours and costs $20000 and more with an average price of $50 per hour.

16. Location

The company’s location plays a major role in determining software development prices. Depending on the service provider’s location, the development cost can vary greatly.

Countries located in the Global West (US, UK, and Canada) and Scandinavian nations (Finland, Norway, and Sweden) are considered expensive locations for software development. Whereas countries in the Global South such as South America and South Asian nations like India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, have considerably cheaper custom software development pricing.

The main reason for this is the low cost of labor, inexpensive infrastructure, and low value of the currency in these locations which makes the development services cost half of what app development costs in the UK.

17. Type of Service Provider

Software development pricing also depends on the type of service provider you opt for. In the UK, there is an option to hire freelance developers or find a software development firm. Freelance developers charge lower hourly rates, but if one decides to go with a freelancer some drawbacks should be taken into consideration such as low-quality work, lack of responsibility by the freelancer, miscommunication, and mishandling of the project.

Experienced software development firms although costlier are a safer and more popular option because the risks are much lower.

18. API integration

Application Programming Interfaces is a language to enable communication between software products. Thus, if your application needs to connect and communicate with other services, you can either develop an API/s or use third-party ones. Integration with 3rd party services dramatically reduces development time. It offers ready-made solutions and saves the time of writing code from scratch. It is necessary to choose the external source carefully.

The buggy tool can harm the app and negatively affect the user experience. However, the trusted service can enrich your app features and grow clients’ trust, especially if it is a well-recognized brand.
Using a third-party application programming interface (API) also provides other benefits like better usability, unique value, and augmented analytics.

For example, Facebook, Google login or Instagram API for quick registration or payment API like Paypal facilitates in-app purchases.

But developing APIs will increase the development time and cost as well. In contrast, integrating third-party APIs charge you per integration.

Technologies for Mobile App Development

Related Post:Hidden Brains has build food delivery app for one of their client: Restaurant food Ordering App

Who can develop my app idea?

It is important to understand whether to partner with a mobile app development company UK  or freelance developers for your project. Hiring a professional company offers you’re the much-needed reliability as a development team would work to transform your app idea into reality. You will have access to a pool of skilled resources such as designers, programmers, project managers, QA, and more.

On the other hand, hiring freelancers may come across as a cost-effective solution compared to companies. However, there are several problems such as the absence of a project manager to coordinate the project and achieve milestones. Lack of skills or communication gap can also hamper the development process.

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