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What is the cost of making an app in 2021?
Being able to answer this question is very difficult because there is no set price in the industry. With that said, there is a standard cost approximate that you can expect from quality developers.
It’s important to consider that everything we will mention here is based on quality services and not on subpar Development that may be cheaper, but with very limited results. There is too much to consider to be able to determine the cost of making an app in 2021.
There is a huge difference in costs that can come from the development of an app. This can range between $20,000 to $200,000 or even more. That price difference is huge, but many factors are going to come into play.
Cheaper App Development is available, but anything that costs less than $1,000 or $2,000 is probably going to be a very bare-bones Application that offers nothing of value and is done with generic features.
Keep in mind that there are application-making platforms that can create very simple and basic apps. Most professionals in this field do not consider these apps to be part of the development world. The reason is that they are made with software that creates simple apps with basic drag-and-drop features that allow people with no programming knowledge to create simple apps.
Important note about costs:
It is crucial to consider that all the costs that we mention in this publication are just rough numbers that you can use as a basic guide for development costs. Many factors will alter the cost of a project, but we have provided a rough approximate of the most common expenses in the application development industry.
Average worldwide costs of application development
After plenty of research and statistics from several sources, we can safely say that the average prices of app development can range between $35,000 and $90,000 for a relatively simple app.
Keep in mind that when we say simple we don’t mean generic or basic. Simple means that the app is developed from scratch for a specific business or purpose, but it has a small number of features that are not extremely demanding or complex.
An app with a medium level of complexity is usually going to cost no less than $50,000 and it can go as high as $130,000 or even more. This is an application that is going to have all the required basic features, but it will also offer more complex and robust options that are developed for a particular purpose.
Then you have the high-end apps that are going to be extremely complex and they will provide a large number of complex features. These apps can range between $100,000 to $200,000. They usually require a larger team of developers and they are developed at corporate levels.
The hourly rates of the average quality developer are going to range between $40 to $160. This is a very wide range when you consider the sum of money in each scenario. A simple custom app could take around 2 to 6 months to develop, while one of medium complexity could take 6 to 10 months and a complex app could be in development for over a year.
It’s also important to consider the location of the development team. The rates of a professional developer in India are not going to be the same as those of a North American developer.
The rates for developers in different regions are as follows:
| Region | Android Hourly Rate | iOS Hourly Rate |
|---|---|---|
| North America | $150 to $160 | $150 to $160 |
| Eastern Europe | $30 to $40 | $30 to $40 |
| United Kingdom | $60 to $70 | $60 to $70 |
| South America | $30 to $40 | $40 to $45 |
| India | $20 to $30 | $25 to $35 |
| Indonesia | $30 to $40 | $30 to $40 |
| Australia | $90 to $100 | $90 to $100 |
It is very evident based on the chart above that the costs of developing an app are going to be very different depending on the region of the developer or development team. India has the lowest rates with the United States having the highest rates.
The cost of living and many other factors are also taken into account, so it’s not about education, lack of skills, or higher skills for that matter, it’s usually about the regional differences in expenses and salaries.
The cost of living in the United States is astronomical when compared to the cost of living in India. This is the most compelling reason why the costs of development are so different. It has nothing to do with the abilities of the developers in each region. Development teams in India have proven to be extremely efficient and equally skilled to those in the USA.
What are the main factors that are going to affect development costs?
Region and country aside, there will be a set of factors that are going to determine the cost of the entire project regardless of the hourly rates they charge. There is a long list of possible application development needs that will require more time to be done.
The following are the most relevant factors that will determine development costs:
- The type of project
- The functionality and features
- The operating system
- The infrastructure of the backend
- The app maintenance costs
- The hourly rates of the vendor
While these are not the only factors, they are some of the most relevant and most commonly seen during app development. This is the main reason why we are mentioning them and explaining them in detail.
The type of project
Defining the type of app you are planning to get is very important and it will play a role in determining how long the project takes. The cost and the timeframe to create a customer relationship management application are not the same as those of creating a learning management system or a Marketplace.
The functionality and features
There are many types of functionalities and features that most applications share, but there are also others that are more intricate and customized. The following is a list of some of the most common features and how long it usually takes to develop each one. App development cost depends on the sum of some of those features in many cases.
| Feature | Time to develop it | Cost Based on a $40/45 hourly rate |
|---|---|---|
| A basic login system | 24 to 48 hours | $1,000 to $1,600 |
| A search system | Around 12 to 16 hours | $500 to $700 |
| File uploads | About 24 hours | $8,000 to $1,300 |
| Profile customization | 25 to 30 hours | $900 to $1,200 |
| Messaging system | 150 to 180 hours | $6,000 to $7,000 |
| Admin control panel | 60 to 90 hours | $900 to $1,800 |
| Push Notification | 25 to 30 hours | 1,000 to $1300 |
| Admin payment management | 30 to 45 hours | $1,200 to $1,400 |
That list of features can be expanded in many ways within each of those functions. For example, the admin control panel could be extremely complex depending on how many specific activities are going to be required.
You may also see a huge increase in the payment gateway system depending on how many payment methods you plan to allow. This can be a time-consuming process due to the security measures that are needed for the system to be safe and successfully implemented without issues.
Other features such as being able to stream within the application or make video calls, and audio calls can take upwards of 350 to 400 hours depending on the complexity. When this happens, you can see prices escalating to the tens of thousands.
Note: Always consider the possibility that you will request unexpected changes to the application as it is developed. This could add several days of development time and this is going to generate a very substantial increase in your app development costs.
The Operating system
Most developers will work on Android and iOS and developing apps for each of those operating systems can be tricky in different ways. With that said, developing for Android is a bit trickier due to the number of devices and models that use this OS. In contrast, the number of models that use iOS is smaller and this means it’s easier to optimize an app, but this does not mean that the development process is any easier.
The development team
When you are developing an app, you are going to have to hire a team that has all kinds of different professionals. From a project manager to a graphic designer and a lead developer, you will need to consider the hourly rates for each one.
Hourly rates are determined by several factors and the chart below gives you some insight into the expected costs of hiring each member of the team.
| Profession | United States | Asia | Eastern Europe | Latin America |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Project Manager | $130 to $230 | $35 to $45 | $42 to $62 | $50 to $65 |
| Junior Developer | $100 to $110 | $18 to $25 | $25 to $45 | $50 to $65 |
| Mid-level Dev | $130 to $140 | $25 to $35 | $35 to $50 | $30 to $45 |
| Lead Dev | $170 to $180 | $30 to $40 | $45 to $60 | $45 to $55 |
| Junior QA | $75 to $85 | $15 to $25 | $25 to $35 | $30 to $35 |
| Mid-level QA | $100 to $110 | $20 to $30 | $30 to $40 | $35 to $45 |
| Senior QA | $140 to $160 | $25 to $35 | $30 to $45 | $40 to $50 |
| Business Analyst | $120 to $180 | $30 to $42 | $40 to $60 | $45 to $60 |
| UI/UX Designer | $80 to $150 | $25 to $35 | $35 to $56 | $40 to $50 |
Project Manager Functions
This is going to be a very important part of the process because this person is in charge of coordinating every group within the team. This is essential to achieve the desired outcome within a specific timeframe.
The role of the project manager is crucial for any app development project. It is the actions of this individual that will determine if everything is finished within schedule. This means that the project manager needs to understand the intricacies of app development to be able to lead the team properly.
Business Analyst Functions
The business analyst needs to be able to identify everything that is required before the development process starts. This means that they need to gather the requirements, they have to provide insightful competitor analysis, they need to define the project value and they have to identify the problems and tech issues the business is currently handling. This job also requires a constant presence in the development process
UI/UX Designer Functions
This person needs to be in charge of creating the interface and user experience for the applications. This means that the user pains and preferences all need to be considered to create a final design that benefits the application.
The designer is also going to need to be in constant communication with the team to obtain feedback and make any required changes. The user experience needs to be optimal for any application to succeed.
Development Team Functions
The Junior, mid-level, and senior developers all have key roles in the process of generating the programming codes that will construct the application functions. One developer handlers the code, while another developer fine-tunes it and a third one supervises the whole process and analyses the results of each beta release.
It is very important to keep this in mind and avoid just hiring one developer. When a single developer is working on a project, it is more likely that several programing errors and bugs will be present when th e ap p is released to the public.
The QA Team Functions
The QA team needs to be involved in all kinds of testing and performance monitoring for the application as development takes place. This means that the team has to be testing beta releases of the application constantly.
Choosing the right team
This is going to be extremely important because it will determine many aspects of your development process. For example, given that the cost of development is so different between certain regions of the world, a business could choose a more affordable team that is not local.
Hiring an offshore team can help the business save thousands of dollars, but the distance between the development, the business owners and their team is going to present several challenges.
This means that your team needs to make a decision based on several factors such as distance and all the communication obstacles that can arise. The good news is that communication through digital channels has become extremely easy and development teams can have virtual meetings with detailed analysis and smooth conversations online.
This is also going to require some specific scheduling and software to be implemented by both teams on both locations, but it is not an issue that should prove to be overly challenging.
It’s also important to ensure that both teams can communicate efficiently. The best way to do this is to use the English language as the common ground for any communication. This is why you should always verify that any team that is not a native of an English-speaking country can speak fluent English.
This is going to be essential if you want this process to happen efficiently. The last thing you want is to be dealing with overtime issues because the people you are working with are unable to communicate and get their point across effectively.
The process of choosing the right team is quite complex in itself, but there are several specific things you should keep in mind.
The most relevant factors to consider when looking for a team to develop your app include:
- Check their portfolio of past work
- Look for affordable rates without sacrificing quality
- Schedule a video meeting to discuss the project
- Get a quote for an approximate cost
It would be a good idea to do this with at least 3 different options to evaluate each one and see what would be the best fit for your needs. Having several options is always going to prove to be a great way to handle this kind of situation.
Keep in mind that you are going to be spending tens of thousands of dollars in most cases, so you don’t want to rush into your decision. The more time you take to choose the right team for your app development needs, the better.
The costs related to app maintenance
Once your app is ready for launch and initial testing has been done, you can be sure that users will find more bugs and issues for you to fix. This is a very natural thing that is expected to happen 99.9% of the time.
It is safe to say that no application in existence is 100% bug-free on their initial releaser. Even if an issue with the app is not an actual bug, there are always rough spots with features that don’t work exactly as intended when certain variables come to place.
The process of maintenance for apps includes:
- Fixing bugs and errors
- Improving performance
- Developing new features
- Optimizing code
- Adding support for new OS versions
These are all very important aspects of the process of maintaining an application. The costs of these updates will also go into hourly rates and they will depend on how many bugs are found and how many updates are needed at any given time.
This can be an ongoing process as operating systems are constantly getting updates and this means that you have to be prepared for more expenses as your app is developed. This may sound like too much money is involved, but the benefits of a highly efficient app are going to be enough to validate the expenses.
Development costs of popular applications
Now, we are going to be reviewing some of the development costs of a few of the most popular applications available today. This is going to give you an idea of the kind of money that had to be spent for many modern apps to be as successful as they are.
Snapchat
Initially, Snapchat managed to raise findings of close to half a million dollars ($480K) to get their application to the public. This ended up becoming one of the most popular social media networks in the world.
Tinder
The famous dating application raised $485K to boost its development process and create a truly effective and efficient app. It is now widely known as the fastest and most popular dating app on the planet.
While their initial development process was relatively inexpensive, they raised 500K to fine-tune the application to create the existing and highly popular app that we know today. Instagram is a robust and efficient application and this is thanks to the budget that they had for the development process.
Uber
Their funding efforts provided an initial 200K that gave them a powerful boost to upgrade their efforts. They are now the most successful company in their industry.
Note: these are just a few of the countless examples of successful apps that started with funding that went over the 100k mark. This is not to say that all successful apps have been that expensive. Many others with relative success had costs that never went over 50K and even less. Some applications can be very basic but they can be very useful.
Final thoughts
The costs of developing an app are always going to depend on several factors that we mentioned earlier. The locations of the development team, the size of the application, the number of features, and the depth of those features, as well as the costs of maintenance.
Now you have a better idea of how much the development of an application is going to cost you. This is very important as it will allow you to get a good idea of what you should be expecting based on your application requirements.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us!
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