Mobile App Development Cost - A Comprehensive Guide. Mobile apps have been a part of the daily lives of people easing their day-to-day activities by providing convenience at their fingertips. According to the reports from Statista, global mobile app downloads have been increasing rapidly and are expected to generate more than $613 billion of revenue in 2025, making it a major reason to consider investing in mobile app development.
But when you think about developing a mobile app for your business, one common question that everyone has is the cost of development. Although the mobile app development cost varies according to different business requirements, in this blog, we will be filling you up with the major factors that influence the costs.
Mobile App Development Cost
The cost of mobile app development can start from as low as $10,000 and can rise to $3,50,000 and even more depending on the factors that highly influence the cost of development.
Factors that Affect the Mobile App Development Cost
The primary factors that influence the mobile app development cost include -
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The Platform and Type of App
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Total Number of Features and App Complexity
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Design
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The Development Team
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Testing Levels
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App Maintenance and Updates
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Third-party and Security Integrations
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App Marketing
1. The Platform and Type of App
This is the first and foremost factor that helps in determining the mobile app development cost for your business. The cost of development highly depends on the platform for which you want the app to be developed i.e. whether you want to consider Android app development, iOS app development, or both.
Read more: A Beginners Guide to Android TV App Development
For example - if you want to develop either an Android or iOS app the cost of development will be less as compared to applications developed for both of the platforms.
Below is an estimate of the cost of developing apps for different platforms -
Read more: iOS vs. Android: What to Choose for Your Business?
Another factor that adds up to it is the type of app you want to develop, which implies whether you want a cross-platform app development or a native application, as the cost of developing a hybrid application is lesser as compared to developing native apps.
Below is a table that describes the cost of developing different types of mobile apps for your business -
Read more: How Much Does It Cost to Develop a Web Application in 2023
2. Total Number of Features and App Complexity
This is another important factor that influences the mobile app development cost because features are the USP of a mobile app, that helps it stand out in the market.
For example - if you want to develop a mobile app with basic features it would cost you less, as compared to apps with advanced features like real-time chats, customized offers, and many more. The increased number of features also requires an increase in the number of designs, which in turn increases the cost of developing a mobile app.
In addition, if you want to integrate augmented reality or other such technologies into the app it will also lead to a rise in the cost as integrating these high-end features will also require additional resources and development hours.
3. Design
Design plays an important role in determining the success of an application, and making it user-friendly and responsive according to different screen sizes is another important factor to consider when estimating the budget for developing a mobile app. As mentioned earlier, the increased number of features leads to a rise in the number of screen designs, which implies that these screens will require additional designs and other components that highly influence the cost of mobile app development.
In addition, if you want to integrate additional animations or any other customized design elements, it will also affect the cost of development.
4. The Development Team
Until now we were discussing the base factors that impact the cost of developing a mobile app, but now the major factor that highly influences the cost is the development team.
When developing an application for your business, the choice of the software development company should be made strategically if you want to save costs and develop a quality product for your business.
It is important to decide what kind of developers you want to hire to develop your project, like whether you want to set up an in-house team, outsource your project, hire a local team, or you want to hire a freelancer for your project.
Read more: In-house Development vs Outsourcing - What to Choose?
Furthermore, the location and hourly charges of the mobile app development company/team are other important factors to consider.
Below is a table that will help you decide better -
5. Testing Levels
Another important factor to consider is the testing of the apps to ensure quality products/services to your customers.
There are different types of testing that you can consider to test your mobile app with, as testing helps in providing the best features, and helps in ensuring that the app is performing seamlessly and is bug-free alongside maintaining the quality of the application.
Read more: 10 Types of Bugs in Software Testing
6. App Maintenance and Updates
App maintenance and updates are among the major reasons to consider that emphasize the cost of developing a mobile app. As long as there is a contract signed regarding the maintenance and updates of the mobile app the cost is calculated in the actual cost that you and the development team agree upon. Once the contract is over and the terms are fulfilled, maintaining and updating an app are also chargeable, which varies according to different company protocols.
7. Third-party and Security Integrations
Third-party and security integrations also play an important role in determining the mobile app development cost.
For example - if your app requires the integration of payment gateways or additional services like WhatsApp, or other social media additions, then the cost might rise depending on your requirements.
In addition, there are some third-party services and features that also charge licensing fees which also adds up to the cost of development.
Security integrations are also considered when you wish to integrate biometrics, multi-factor authentication, security pins, and other security provisions, which also lead to an increased cost.
Read More: What is Cybersecurity? Everything You Need to Know
8. App Marketing
It is one important factor that should be considered while estimating the mobile app development cost, but most businesses fail to recognize it which also leads to higher costs. App marketing plays an important role in making your app visible to potential customers, which includes app store optimization for different platforms alongside the content charges and other additional marketing requirements like social media marketing, YouTube marketing, content marketing, influencer marketing, and more.
Wrapping It Up
In conclusion, knowing and understanding what and how the factors affect the mobile app development cost plays an important role when considering the development of a mobile app for your business.
Although the exact cost can widely vary according to your business requirements, investing in such great ventures has become an essential part of businesses now.
So, connect with us and develop the best mobile applications for your business at affordable rates without any hidden costs.
FAQs: Mobile App Development Cost
How much time does it take to develop a mobile app?
Developing a mobile application typically requires 4 to 6 months depending on your business requirements and sometimes might even take a year based on the integration of additional features, continuous updates, and for several other reasons.
What are the different types of mobile app development?
The different types of mobile app development are cross-platform mobile app development, native mobile app development, and web app development.
How can I monetize my mobile app?
The different ways to monetize a mobile app are in-app advertising, in-app purchases, subscription models, and many more.