How much does it cost to make an App in 2018?
How much does it cost to make an App? If you ask this to a Cubix’ App Consultant, they will answer — “that depends”. Some websites offer to ‘guestimate’ the cost of developing your App, but they are usually marketing tools, used to ‘hook you’.
The price of an App varies enormously — anything from $50k — $750k.
As with any product, an App needs resources. But unlike material things, that resource is time and experience based. ‘Time is money’ as the old saying goes and this is certainly true with App development.
A basic App starts at $50K, increasing to $100k — $200k for one of average size. For a more complex App, you are looking at north of $200k.
Having established that the main cost of an App is based on the time it takes to develop it, we need to consider the volume and complexity of an App.
Features and functionality, such as screens, buttons, fields, plus amount of logic required will dictate development time. Complex solutions may require bespoke coding and/or third-party API’s. Standard features, on the other hand, can be cut and pasted in, or adapted from common templates.
Let’s look at some examples:
Features connected with the user and social involvement can add 40+ hours.
In-App purchases and payment support generate another 60+ hours of work.
Synchronization across devices — 100+ hours.
Location-based services — another 40+ hour.
If you want a customized visual design, that could set you back 200+ hours.
The wireframing of screens, plus UI and UX design all adds time, (and therefore cost).
An average App consisting of 7 screens requires approximately 70 hours for wireframing, 80 hours of visual design and a further 80 hours for the user experience design.
Backend infrastructure and web services will add upwards of 240–320 hours to your time bill depend on the complexity of scope and features.
Operating systems provide developers with API’s to provide data exchange between the App and a database. Tracking user activity and App performance requires analytics.
The number of parameters and amount of detail will determine the volume of work required.
Third party API’s demand on average is an extra 80–120 hours, while basic controls need around 40 hours.
An administration panel is one of the most effective tools for managing App content, users and stats. Adapting an existing panel template is possible — but finding a good one can be problematic. Creating one that matches your business needs may add an additional 320–480 hours.
Adding platforms adds cost — it’s that simple. It means twice the work, usually undertaken by separate teams working in parallel. This adds complexity and incurs further project management and testers costs.
You will need to consider post-release services such as;
App promotion On-going maintenance
Upgrades and future proofing.
The ‘Cost’ of making an app may vary with using a famed US company (Big Boys) can cost up to $250/hour.
While at the other end of the scale you can hire a team of freelancers. It’s a similar thing to an offshore firm entirely based in China, Russia or India. They will charge around $35-$40 per hour based on their location and team size.
You can hire a student or a friend, but the work will be probably much slower and the lack of experience will show, they will be happy with $20/hour.
A good example of a ‘median’ price based in the United States, at about $50-$75/hour. A company like Cubix lands on this line. For this, you get a very highly educated and motivated workforce, with all of the skills and experience you would expect from an experienced company — but without the overheads. And you don’t need to worry about other factors like, reputation, experience, on-time delivery and the ability to provide a holistic service that is right to make your app.
So here is a generic cost to make an app in 2018, I considering that app requires at least 1000 hours to finish from design, UX, development, integration, project management, testing, and deployment.
• Apps made by the largest app companies, the “big fishes”, likely cost anywhere between $500,000 to $1,000,000.
• Apps made by smaller shops or a team of freelancers, possibly with only 2–3 people, likely cost anywhere between $50,000 to $100,000.
• Apps made by companies like Cubix cost anywhere between $50,000 to $400,000. Cubix also offers free 60 days postproduction support too to all of their clients.
To sum up — does the saying ‘You get what you pay for’ apply to App development? Yes, of course, it does! But finding a realistic
Partner for your App is also of critical importance.
Remember that, in order to get the best ROI from your App, it should be well thought-out, well designed and professionally maintained — but at a price, you can afford.
