Smartphones have been outweighing any other devices in our lives for a decade, and during this time, the presence of different applications has increased several times. Moreover, this trend doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. According to recent data, the demand for app development specialization will grow for a quarter until 2031, making app creation one of the most promising spheres of the upcoming decade.

Therefore, many business owners looking forward to unlocking the promised land of app development ask, “How much does it cost to create an app?” However, the answer to that question requires careful consideration of various factors that will influence the project’s final cost. No worries, though, because by the end of this article, you will clearly understand the app cost calculator in 2024.

How Much Does It Cost to Build an App?

This question has no universal answer since app creation depends on various factors. Of course, extensive research can provide a global understanding of the average app development prices by region.

For instance, when searching the request “How much does it cost to develop an app in the UK, “you will get average data regarding the budget expenses, but, unfortunately, they will not include precise data regarding the budget expenses for each stage of the development. Companies remain confidential with their cost estimate template due to the high sensitivity of the mentioned documentation. Moreover, direct competitors can easily use this data, and it should be known only by yourself and your team.

App Development Cost Breakdown

So, how much does it cost to get an app created? We know you can’t wait to find the approximate numbers to help you gather your thoughts and start the process. The total development of any application consists of the following factors: project complexity, type of the app, size of the team, experience of the developers, etc. These factors overlap each other and create the total amount of expenses your project will get. Of course, let’s remember the unexpected expenses that may also influence the cost of your development process. Therefore, we suggest you continue our conversation in the next paragraph, where we will reveal the main factors that will shed light on how much it will cost to develop an app.

Factors Influencing the Cost of Developing an App

Let’s examine the main criteria determining your development process’s overall budget. We have collected those factors in the list below for your convenience.

• Application complexity. If you are asking yourself, “How much does it cost to create an app for my business?” then the first thing you have to understand is that the complexity of your future program is the first thing that will influence the final cost of your product. The more complex concepts require more time and, accordingly, more money for their realization. For instance, price tags for complex apps that will include integration with any third parties, sophisticated features, and options for user iteration will start from 100k dollars;
• Type of operating system. The price tag for your application development will also greatly depend on the type of operating system that is intended for your application. When discussing the IOS and Android development process, it’s also worth mentioning several points that influence the development prices, such as the hourly rates of coders. Java specialists who are primarily involved in Android projects will charge you less than Swift or Phyton coders;
• Marketing costs. Let’s also not forget about marketing costs when answering the question, “How much does it cost to develop an app?” Besides the developing expenses, much of your budget will include marketing expenses. It’s not a secret that your application will require a promotion to attract the necessary audience to your product. And let’s not forget that the marketing part can sometimes be even more challenging than the actual development;
• Features. You may think that this section belongs to the overall app complexity, but we wanted to write it separately due to the high influence of the included features on the project’s cost. For example, the use of AI or virtual reality, which became a recent trend last year, will add a few zeros to your project’s overall budget expenses.
• Security costs. We already discussed the influence of marketing and development expenses on the general price tag of your app development. But besides that, let’s remember the security expenses. Security expenses greatly depend on the type of your project and the complexity of the app’s architecture. Therefore, be ready to spend a significant amount of your budget on multifactorial authorization and security testing.

This list has collected the general factors that compose your application development price tag. However, the question, “How much does it cost to create an app?” is far from closed. We will make sure to provide you with a more specific understanding of the price formation so that by the end of our journey, you will have a clear vision of your development expenses.

How Much Does It Cost to Create an App With Outsource App Development

Outsourcing is a unique way of developing your application that does not involve the in-house team in the product creation process. Of course, involving the outsourcing specialists may be difficult and should be based on a thorough analysis of the current budget situation. However, if you and the stakeholders have already decided to start outsourcing, we would like to reveal some insights on “How much does it cost to create an app for a small business” by sticking to external expertise.

Location and Structure of a Development Team

The first thing that influences the price of outsourced developers is their location and size. For example, if you consider yourself a startup company with a limited budget, we recommend sticking to an outsourcing team of approximately the same size. Unfortunately, a famous and large company may not be suitable for a complete rookie in app development. Therefore, companies may outsource development teams from Eastern Europe due to the high expertise levels of their developers and lower price tags compared with the teams from the UK, Canada, or the US.

Native vs Hybrid App Development

The type of developed app is another significant point that should be considered when determining the price tag of outsourcing development. But first, let’s distinguish the main differences between native and hybrid apps. In simple words, native applications are built with a single programming language.

For example, native apps are built using Java for Android and Swift for iOS. Hybrid apps are created using technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript because their backend base can easily be used as browser versions across multiple platforms. When discussing prices, hiring the relevant team will cost you less if you plan to build a hybrid app, while the native developers will ask for higher rates.

Android vs. iOS App Development

Making a native app for each operating system will cost your company 100k dollars. However, when discussing hiring an IOS or Android outsourcing team, it’s worth noting that the IOS development process is more complex and challenging. It requires a better knowledge of the IOS-oriented languages. Meanwhile, Android developers operate with Java, one of the most common languages. As a result, outsourcing the team of IOS developers will cost you slightly more development expenses. Still, in defense of Android, it includes various successful projects worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Customization of Visual Design

As you know, the backend is an integral part of your project, but it’s not everything your project consists of. When answering the question, “How much does it cost to create an app in 2024? “Let’s not forget that the pillar of successful app development is a unique and catchy design. The fact is that, nowadays, to make your product successful, you have to create an app that solves current needs and entertains your audience. And that’s when visualization and design integration comes into play. The good news is that when you hire an outsourcing team, you can find options for full-stack development that will already include the design specialists. This option may cost a little more, but the necessary specialists will cover all your project stages.

App Maintenance Costs

We do not want to disappoint you, but your expenses will not end after your project’s release. That’s connected with the fact that the maintenance of your application is another critical stage that will need constant budget infusions. In this case, you have two options. Firstly, you can hire a team that will engage in the application maintenance or continue your cooperation with the same outsourcing team. That doesn’t mean you must cooperate with outsourced specialists daily; however, your product will require additional help if any malfunctioning, bugs, or technical errors appear. It’s also challenging to name the exact numbers for these service types since the rates for that kind of service will depend on your project and the hired team.

Features & Functionality

The outsourcing team will be able to answer your question: “How much does it cost to create an app?” once you provide them with an approximate outline of your application and its functionality. The complex features and multicomponent functionality will require much more time and resources from the development team. Furthermore, the team will have to spend much more time on implementing those features and running the necessary tests to ensure the correct functioning of the final product version. Therefore, everything comes down to the overall app complexity. The more complex the product you are trying to develop, without or with outsourcing help, the more fundraising you will require to realize it.

How Much Does It Cost To Build An App Based On Your Business Needs?

When entering the application development sphere, you must consider various factors that will form the basis of your financial expenses. It’s necessary to research the current market and future audience, thoroughly analyze your direct competitors, and include many other variables before making the final decision. Therefore, in this section, we’d like to present the main factors that should be considered before taking action regarding your app development process.

• Market need. You may ask us, but what is the connection between the question of the cost of an app and the market need for the particular application development? The truth is that these two variables are very closely related. The more your potential audience is interested in your services, the less finance you will have to spend on your project’s promotion and marketing. Of course, it doesn’t mean that if the demand is high, your marketing expenses will be close to zero, but they will be less;
• Possibility of fundraising. For instance, when considering app creation in the UK, the question of “How much does it cost to build an app in the UK?” can be solved with the presence of fundraised budget costs, which will create the general base of your project development. Therefore, if your company can not satisfy your appetites, it would be better to attract the attention of possible investors, who might be interested in investing significant funds into your product;
• Monetization strategy. Monetization should be considered at the very beginning of your project development. In the case of a proper monetization strategy, the question “How much does it cost to make an app?” will no longer cause any apprehension since the team’s budget will be self-replenished shortly after the release date.

Those are the main factors that should base the core of your business needs on app development. Of course, we cannot cover absolutely any variable that the business analyst team should consider. However, the factors above should be used during any business strategy creation for the successful launch of the app development process.

How Much Does it Cost to Build an App: Calculation Techniques

Calculating the app development process includes various techniques that can drastically simplify the sum up of the approximate development expenses. Therefore, in this section, we have collected some of the actual methods that will help you calculate the costs of creating your product. Allow us to present you with the best development calculation techniques.

• Fixed price model. According to this calculation model, before the beginning of any development processes, your financial department and the stakeholders agree to a certain amount that can be spent on creating your product. For example, if you agree to the fixed sum of 75k dollars, all development expenses can not exceed the mentioned amount. In case of unforeseen costs that are not included in this amount, it’s necessary to calculate all risks that may occur if you decide to attract additional financial investments;
• Feature-based estimation. It’s another common technique that companies use to create a financial strategy that is built based on the separation of the feature expenses from other application components. For instance, you can ask your outsourcing team to calculate all the feature expenses that will accompany creating the necessary features. This method is especially applicable to complex products with various features. As a result, you will receive formed documentation with a precise price tag for each future component of your project;
• T&M Model. Another calculation model regularly used for app development calculation is called T&M, or the “time and materials” model. It is not difficult to guess that in its core lies the principle of calculation of the exact amount of time that has been spent by the developers on the creation of the app, multiplied by the hourly rate and adding some specific expenses like the purchase of the necessary tools or paid development environments that are required by the developers’ team.
• Suppose you are planning to build an app in the realities of the British digital market before searching the data on “how much does it cost to make an app in the UK.” In that case, conducting thorough internal research regarding the financial scheme that could be applied in your company is necessary. From the very beginning, you have to present to the stakeholders the precise plan you are willing to use and the approximate expenses you received based on any of the three mentioned methods.

Any of the data found in the open-access section must be subject to careful analysis because the numbers received may not apply to your current financial situation. Therefore, they can threaten the outcome of the whole project.

App Development Cost Breakdown: Stages of Development

Any founder should be aware of the precise stages included in development expenses. To create an accurate financial plan, each expense should be documented, accounted for, and assigned according to a specific development phase. This would help avoid any unforeseen budget expenses and even save some amount of your budget.

Of course, we are not forcing you to decrease from the necessary budget spending, but if you can cut costs without losing quality, it would not harm. In any case, let’s stick to our plan and examine some development stages from the financial side..

Discovery Stage

The discovery stage is a pre-development stage when your team has to thoroughly research your future audience and possible development approaches. Usually, this phase does not require a massive investment in funds. Still, it’s a crucial step on which the future of your project will depend. Firstly, your team must analyze the current market and your future audience. For that matter, your team can use different types of surveys and questionnaires, it can also include observational research, when you will receive real-time data from specific actions that your audience will conduct. As a result, the received data can be easily used during the following stages: usability testing, MVP versions of the product, etc.

UX and UI Design

Of course, the central part of your UI/UX development expenses will consist of the salary of the hired specialists. It doesn’t matter if you resort to the expertise of the outsourced specialists or if you have a team of in-house designers; your financial department will have to separate a part of the budget for the salaries of your designers. The UI/ UX designers are the specialists who make your application look good. They create the outlines of your future app, conduct the audience research, create the A/B testing, analyze the hypotheses, choose the necessary design concepts, and communicate with the developers to successfully merge the chosen design solutions with the backend of your product.

Mobile App Development

The process of app development is something that takes up most of the budget expenses. It includes all the stages mentioned above along with the budget spent on the salaries of your backend developers. Of course, it’s also worth noting the fact that the more complex projects will require more specialists. Hence, it will lead to an increase in the budget expenses.

Moreover, let’s remember that the total price tag for app development will depend on the type of your product, the operating system it is developed for, and the sphere you are creating your application for. In summary, the overall sum spent during this stage equals half of your financial investments.

App Testing & Deployment

Testing and deploying your product is the final part of your budget expenses. However, even though it’s the final stage, that doesn’t mean your financial investment will decrease. Unfortunately, the latest development stages are notorious for technical issues and bugs that may cause significant difficulties for the users during the launch. To prevent that from happening, it’s necessary to conclude the required testing routines before the project’s launch. Those testing routines include compatibility, unit, security, accessibility, regression, and acceptance tests. And that’s not all. Therefore, you will also have to spend money on manual and automated testers to launch your project successfully and recoup it as soon as possible.

Hidden Cost Driving Factors

When we are talking about such large projects, we cannot just skip the question of unexpected costs because, despite how well you prepared your team for the process, those expenses will occur. However, in the case of proper management and cold-mindedness, this issue will not cause any significant damage to the development of your product, nor will it influence the release deadlines.

But what are those hidden expenses that we still haven’t discussed? Fortunately, there aren’t many, but you should prepare your budget for them. The hidden costs include scope creep, when your team unexpectedly develops new features after the app launch. Also, remember expenses for registering intellectual property to protect your product from plagiarists. Finally, we would like to include the fees for your use of any third-party services in the list as well.

How A-listware Estimates App Development Cost

Our service applies a complex approach when discussing the price tags for app development in 2024. Of course, our experienced crew, consisting exclusively of the senior and middle developers, will be able to calculate the approximate budget expenses for your project development. For this matter, we use some of the recent market data and thorough research of your direct competitors. But, the one thing distinguishing our approach is that we always know how to make it quicker, cheaper, and with the best possible quality. Therefore, if you are looking for a combination of those characteristics, you are welcome to the A-listware.

Want to Know How Much Does It Cost To Build An App?

So, let’s wrap up everything we have been talking about throughout the article. App development is one of the most promising and profitable ways to start your digital business. However, such a profitable business will also require significant budget investments.

When discussing creating a simple application without complex features, the price tag already starts from 30k dollars to 50k. Applications of medium complexity will cost you from 50k, whereas the most complicated app will cost you not less than 100k. Still, those investments are worth it, especially when you observe the implementation of your dreams by the people who know how to do that. A-listware is where exceptional quality meets the opportunity, and that’s what we are offering you. Reach out to us and turn your visions into an outstanding product with us.

FAQ

How much does it cost to make a mobile app?

The final cost of mobile app development depends on numerous factors. The key one is its complexity. One-page applications like calendars or weather forecasts will cost around $30.000. More complex programs with richer functionality will require an investment of $50-$70.000. Apps that have top-tier solutions like third-party integration start from $100.000 for project completion.

Can I create an app for free?

If you know how to code, you can create the app yourself. However, software development is not limited to coding. If you want a successful product, you have to care about the marketing side, testing, and maintenance of the app throughout the way.

Is it cheaper to build an app or website?

Building a website is comparatively cheaper than the application. Template-based websites cost from $1000 to $10.000. But creating a web page tailored to your needs can reach even $100.000. So, it all depends on the project requirements.

How much does it cost to make an Apple app?

iOS app development costs range from $40.000 to several hundred dollars. The formula to understand the approximate investment rate includes the price for these services: UI/UX design hours, development hours, and backend server hours. The factors influencing the final bill are app size, complexity, IT talent team wages, app categories, native vs. cross-platform type, API integrations, hiring model, and development stages.

Why does it cost so much to make an app?

This is an expensive investment because the app development process encompasses more than just the coding phase. Software development lifecycle (SDLV) requires hiring project managers, designers, quality assurance (specialists), and front-end and back-end developers. That is done alongside market and user research.

Is it profitable to make an iPhone app?

Even though app iOS development requires a large budget, the revenue the project can generate is quite promising. The statistics reveal that 25% of iOS developers earn $5000 monthly from the application. These numbers can be higher with the right marketing effort.

How long does it take to build an app?

On average, simple applications can be developed for several weeks, while complex ones take even a year to deploy the project. As with the cost, the timeframe for app creation depends on its complexity and functionality.

Can you make an Apple app for free?

First, to create an iOS application, you have to obtain an Apple Development Certificate, which is not free. Even if you know how to code, other fields like design and project management require investment. Therefore, creating even the most straightforward application will require a certain amount of investment, making cost-free app development a subject of science fiction.