How Much Does it Cost to Make an App for Your Business in 2023
Over the last decade, the mobile app development market has experienced a constant upswing. According to the statistics, as of the third quarter of 2022, Google Play Store and Apple App Store have over 3.55 million and 1.64 million mobile apps. Surprisingly, this goes without saying that ‘there’s an app for everything.’ Mobile apps for businesses are becoming necessary as we enter the fourth industrial revolution.
With its immense potential and popularity, it’s no surprise that every digital business is looking to invest in mobile app development. According to Statista, total mobile app market revenue will reach $430.90 billion in 2022. It is expected to reach $614.40 billion at a CAGR of 9.27% by 2026.
As we enter 2023, the technologist’s excitement escalates as they prepare for new tech, the evolution of the old, and discovering new opportunities in mobile app development trends. It leads us to one of the most critical and urgent questions of mobile app development- how much does it cost to develop an app?
In the current mobile era, every appreneur clamoring to bring their business to mobile devices often gets surprised by upfront costs to make an app. The truth is one can only anticipate the iOS and Android app development cost. But in the end, the price tag will come to a different amount. It’s majorly because the mobile app development process is complex and involves a lot of engineering, planning, designing, and testing to a very high degree. In simple terms, the cost to make an app depends on several factors and variables.
Let’s uncover these factors in detail to help you make the right decisions when it comes to an understanding the cost to make an app. The factors listed below will also help you understand how to create an app that matches international market standards.
Mobile app complexity
The app complexity can be divided into three segments- simple, medium, and highly complex. A simple app offers basic UI and MVP functionality like a login system, dashboard, and limited administration. Next, the medium-complex app has several sophisticated features and a custom UI. Last, the highly complex app includes high-level advanced features, two platforms, bespoke UI, and a full-scale product.
The simple app development cost lies between $5000- $50,000. The medium complex app development cost lies between $50,000- $120,000. Lastly, the highly complex app development cost lies between $100,000- $300,000. Highly complex applications are integrated with the latest technology, like machine learning, AI, and cloud computing, and offer multiple advanced features.
Features and requirements
The answer to how much does it cost to create an app depends on the features you integrate into your mobile app. For instance, the base application cost to build an app increases as we add new features. Thus, it is advisable to focus only on the core features in the app’s initial version. MVP development is the best option, which helps you get a scrutinized picture of a fully-developed app.
MVP saves time and money and helps garner valuable feedback. A few basic features you can include in your MVP are user login, profile completion, messaging, push notifications, and a user management dashboard. Next, you can move to advanced features like payments, maps, calls, search, social sharing, and more.
App Category
As aforementioned, the answer to how much does it cost to build an app depends on several factors. App category is among the top factors that shift any iOS or Android app development cost. Many things change when we move from one category to another, like stakeholders, functionalities, security, usability, and more. It ultimately leads to varying costs to build an app.
A few top categories of mobile app development are eCommerce, healthcare, social media apps, media streaming apps, dating apps, on-demand apps like Uber, and many more. These categories include various types of functionalities, which makes them distinct from each other.
App design and animation
App design and animation are other factors that contribute to how much apps cost to develop. To ensure that your users love the app and invest more time into it, you need to divert your focus to mobile app design. Generally, there are two options available- standard UI and customized UI. A custom UI is better than a standard as it offers a better-personalized customer experience and integrates well into your overall app look and feel.
Moreover, an enticing app design and animation are known to increase conversion rates as well. However, while considering the costs, you can also go with standard UI as it is less expensive than customized UI.
App platform
The next factor that adds to the answer to how much does it cost to make an app for your business depends on the platform you choose. Depending on your target audience presence, you can choose to build an iOS, Android, web, or cross-platform app. If you’re an early startup with a limited budget, it’s better to go for one platform initially. Later, you can shift to multiple platforms.
Maintenance
Creating an app for your business and maintaining it are two different things. App maintenance is another well-known factor that adds to the answer to how much does it cost to get an app developed. Fixing app bugs and maintaining design changes are essential in app maintenance. App maintenance is ongoing, and businesses must continue changing their apps to keep up with ever-changing market trends. Also, the cost to maintain an app is near about 20–30% of the overall app development budget.
Code reuse
Most appreneurs are still figuring out how to develop an app with a minimum budget. You must use code reuse for the best efficient results. It is one of the factors that slashes down development time and costs. Code reuse is when businesses decide to reuse the code of an existing app in their own app and just change the branding elements. The overall difference in the cost development varies between 20%-30%.
Size and location of the development team
The size and geographical location of the development team also add to the app-making cost. You can partner with a reputable development company, build an in-house team, or hire freelance developers. However, the size of the development team and geographical location directly affects the cost of developing an app. For instance, how much does it cost to make an app in the UK is entirely different from what’s charged in Asian countries?
Wrapping Up!
We hope with the above information, you have the answer to how much it costs to develop an app. If you’re unsure how to make an app and still want the accurate app-making cost and the proper support, we suggest you find the best mobile app development companies. These companies are the best app cost calculators and give you an estimated cost along with the entire timeline and milestones before starting with app development.
