How Much Does It Cost to Build An App In 2021?

How much does it cost to build an app? In how much time an app gets ready? How does any top mobile app development company in India or Abroad charge? Is it on an hourly or a monthly basis? Is there any maintenance cost one needs to take care of once the application is fully developed and designed? 

All of these questions are only a google search away when a thought strikes you about developing a mobile app for your business. And you will agree, the answers to all of these questions are open-ended and somewhat skeptical and end with “it depends.”

Well because it does. It only depends on individual requirements that determine the potential cost of developing an app. It can be a native or a hybrid app resting on either iOS or Android operating platforms, so yes the cost varies. 

But there are multiple factors when. Once determined, you can have a clear idea of how much it will cost to invest in good quality and functional mobile application. We will be covering that in this blog shortly.

The Usual App Development Costs (Country Wise)

So to start with, let’s look at a ballpark number of the minimum every country charges. It includes everything from developing, designing, and as well as testing.

For you to understand the pricing better, below is a list of geographical areas that indicate what’s the minimum pricing benchmark looks like (on an hourly basis):-

• 1. India – $25 – $30 per hour
• 2. United States Of America- $50 – $150 per hour (Depends On The Region)
• 3. United Kingdom – $40 – $70 per hour
• 4. Canada- $50 – $150 per hour (Depends On The Region)
• 5. Australia- $75 – $95 per hour

Factors That Affect The Costing Of A Mobile App

To get an idea for an app might be instant but getting a quote to build it? Not so much! There isn’t any mobile application development company that gives you the final pricing right at the start of the project.

It depends on your business model, type of app you want to create, the platform you want it to go live on, the complexity to develop any app, turn around time to develop and design the application, and finally publishing it for the end-users to access it on their phones.

1. Business Model

First things first, if you are reaching out to a company that offers the best Mobile app development company in Noida and a Mobile app development company in Delhi, your first motive to even think of creating an app should be monetizing it attracts the most users.

To answer this big question, you need to dig into the specifics and answer the narrow set of questions first, for instance:-

• What is my app about? (This will evoke the intrigue within you to let you step in the shoes of your audience and get the most fulfilling answer).
• Who is this app going to benefit the most? (This will give you a clear picture of who your target audience is). 
• Why is this app helpful at all? (This will break through the dilemma of what features and benefits to add to make the app more valuable). 
• Where can my app be utilized? (How can this app bridge the gap between the problem and can offer a solution). 
• When do people need to use this app? (This will tell you what the potential of your app is and how it can be a go-to solution for its users to address the issues).  
• How can this app be of help to others? (Addressing the pain points of your potential customers and users). 

Once you answer all the 5 W’s and 1 H, you will know the exact pain points of your customers and will have a remedy in the form of an app ready for their disposal. So a business model is an accumulation of all the factors that will give you a strategy to channelize your and bring in more users to the other side of your application.

2. Types Of Apps To Choose From

Your great app needs to reach the largest audience possible. How widely you want people to access your app is up to you. It all starts with the most appropriate mobile technology and framework required in the backend to develop your dream app. It will also be a substantial contributing factor in deciding the overall cost of building the app.

There are a lot of Android and iOS app development companies in Delhi, Gurgaon, and Noida that suggest you determine what type of app would work best for your target audience.

It all comes down to the type of app you want to formulate from the three standard forms available. That will ultimately decide the kind of complexities that a team of programmers, developers, and designers need to consider to deliver what you are looking for.

i) Native App

You can call this a stand-alone mobile application built with the native language of its operating system itself. It ensures the highest level of user experience and smooth performance control. The technologies used to produce native apps are- Java, Kotlin, C, and Swift for android and iOS devices, respectively.

As native apps are built on their native technologies, the efficiency and preciseness of the app’s experience are top-notch and effortless. So, if you have already guessed it, getting a native app designed and developed is costlier than any other form of apps in the market.

ii) Web App

The name is a little misleading because a web app is designed exclusively for websites on your phone or tabs because of its responsiveness. So you can say a web app is first intended for the web and second for mobile.

So if you want your application to be accessible to everyone and do not care what devices they use it on, a web app is the best pick for you. Even though you won’t catch all the features like in a native app, it is good enough to let people access your services.

It will cost you way less as it does not involve any complex and out-of-the-box functionalities that a developer needs to perform. It’s also the cheapest option available from the lot of three primary forms of apps.

iii) Hybrid App (Cross-Platform)

If you want to reach the widest audience possible and do not want to stick to the limitations of a native app, hybrid apps are the way to go. It will let android, iOS, or windows users install and use your app with complete ease.

About the cost, it’s moderately priced as it’s a blend of complexities of native apps and a little less complex for building a cross-platform app.

3. Publishing The App On Desired Platforms

When your app is ready to go live and out in the market, a specific charge is levied to make it accessible on App stores and Play stores iOS and Android users, respectively.

App store follows a stringent process to install your app on their devices and charges you $99 as an annual fee. Play store charges expect a deposit of $25 to make your app accessible for those interested in installing the app. Thus, publishing an android app is much easier and cheaper than an iOS app.

What Is The Cost Of Maintaining An App

An app is never entirely developed, even if it’s out there in the market to use. Thanks to the evolving technological trends, developers, designers, and business owners are on their toes. Your app needs to go through multiple stages that help it stay updated at all times. Yes, the maintenance of an app is as essential as developing one.

It’s also a given that when you enter into digitizing your business through building apps, you need to dedicate around 15%-25% of the initial app cost to maintenance every year. Also, this percentage keeps rising as time passes and more and more developments happen.

Maintenance includes bug fixtures, adding new features to your application, keeping up with all the latest improvements, enhancing the app’s performance, and so on.

What Is The Turnaround Time Taken To Build An App? 

It usually takes between 3 to 6 months to develop, design, and test an app from scratch. But it all depends on the complexities and the type of application you wish to choose for your project. The top mobile app development companies usually work with an agile methodology and evaluate their success with sprints.

A dedicated team of software developers, software engineers, UI/UX designers, quality analysts, and project managers considers the deadline proposed by the clients to ensure the launch of the app does not get delayed.

A workflow typically looks something like this to ensure timely handover of the project (approximately):-

• Project Brief: 1 week
• Brainstorming and Research: 2 weeks
• Sprints For Designing Team: 4-6 weeks
• Sprints For Developing Team: 8-10 weeks
• Deployment Of The App: Up to 2 weeks
• Testing: On-going throughout the process
• Post-Launch Support: On-going throughout the process

Advantages Of Hiring A Top Mobile App Development Company

A team of technocrats proficient in each of their domains ensures you do not compromise on any element of building your app from scratch, be it developing, designing, or testing.

So the broad benefits of trusting your app requirements to a mobile app development company are as follows:-

1. Experienced and reliable resources to work with
2. No beating around the bush, clear communication at all times
3. Expert technical knowledge to assist you in the best possible way
4. Higher ROI for your app-building investments 
5. Maintaining long term associations for future projects

Winding It Up

When it comes to choosing the best mobile app development company in India that provides the best mobile app development services, it’s helpful to rely on a team of experts and specialists rather than individuals or freelancers.

Have an app idea you want to discuss? Please shoot us an email right now at letstalk@quokkalabs.com.

You won’t be disappointed with a company that got recognized as one of the Top Web & Mobile App Development Companies in India by Clutch and Good firms.