How To Calculate Mobile App Development Cost Globally

Adekunle Oludele
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Oct 28, 2021

Every business that wishes to shape a mobile presence often asks how much does it cost to build a mobile app? This is one of the frequently asked questions from aspiring business brands and developers. App development cost is definitely a concerning area for app projects.

There are several factors associated with the app ontwikkelen cost. For example, when you choose to build a mobile app in-house, it can definitely give you better control. But the entire responsibilities and long-term costs associated with in-house development may push you to embrace remote hiring.

As much as we would like to put a finger on the cost of app development, we can only come up with an estimate, simply because each app development process involves many factors that collectively influence a final cost figure. Luckily there are several app development budget-forming factors that will help you to shape the development cost of an app.

There are too many other factors ranging from the app features and functionalities to the supported platforms and devices to the cost of incorporating innovative technologies to long-term maintenance plans and several others. Whether you develop a mobile app from scratch or build it with ready-to-use app builders, the cost factors vary across all app projects.

Let's have a quick glimpse at these factors influencing the cost of development.

App features and functionalities: What the app is going to do for the users and how
Mobile platforms and devices: The supported devices and operating system platforms where the app will be launched. It can be two separate native apps for iOS and Android or just a cross-platform app or one single native app for one platform.
Third-party Integration: The cost of development will severely depend upon the choice of third-party integrations for the app project.
User interface: How complex and visually rich the user interface will be can also be a factor for development cost.
Use of innovative technologies: In case the app uses innovative features powered by cutting-edge technologies such as AI, Machine Learning, Blockchain, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, etc, the cost will further go up.
Long-term maintenance and support: How frequently you are going to release updates and make value additions and how often you need to botch up security flaws, can also make key factors for long-term cost.

So, app development costs us largely variable and there are so many factors involved in this that we cannot speculate any stagnant figure without sufficiently knowing about the app project. There are also variable factors like country or region of development, current market rates, etc.

App Development Cost: Grasping the Elementary Factors

As we have briefly pointed out, several different factors are responsible for influencing the app development cost. Here we are going to explain some of these factors in a little more detail.

Native or hybrid or cross-platform app

An app that is built for a particular operating system platform and by following the particular guidelines of that operating system is called a native app. For example, a native iOS app is built for iOS devices and follows the iOS guidelines. Similarly, there are native Android apps.

In contrast, we have hybrid apps that are developed once and are run across multiple operating system platforms including the web, iOS, and Android. While these apps save money by allowing developers to develop one single app for multiple platforms, they compromise on the user experience.

Lastly, there are cross-platform apps that allow reusing maximum code for apps running on both iOS and Android, but involve certain platform-specific coding and development efforts to meet the demands of particular OS environments. They ensure the ease and low-cost development advantages of hybrid apps and provide a similar user experience to native apps.

App Features and technical challenges

The number of app features and the involving technical complexities is major factor for increasing the development cost. Rigorous and complex features need a longer development time and accordingly involve higher development costs.

To reduce cost, app developers can also use ready-to-use templates or APIs from third-party sources. Some complex features and functionalities also involve considerable maintenance and updating cost.

Outsourcing vs in-house development

Anyone having serious interest in the app development cost breakdown will admit that without considering the cost of resources no estimate can be perfect. An app project way before any other considerations need to decide how it is going to employ developer resources for the project. Is it going to hire an experienced offshore app development company or going to hire developers for in-house development?

As we have already explained, the in-house development team can ensure more controls and better communication. But maintaining an in-house team is expensive and involves a lot of challenges. On the other hand, outsourcing companies can be hired with a focus on required skills and cost parameters. Outsourcing companies can give you complete freedom in respect of long-term overhead costs.

It must be admitted that both in-house and outsourcing development approaches have their respective pros and cons. But most companies choose to outsource app projects because they don't want to get mired in the technicalities and huge set of responsibilities associated with the maintenance of IT infrastructure. Getting onboard an expert development team at a highly competitive cost comes as an additional incentive.

Conclusion

So, can we give you an exact figure for the cost to build a mobile app? No, we can't simply because there are too many variable factors and it is really impossible to provide a clear reply to this question. But when you go deeper into all these major factors and parameters we discussed above, you can easily get near to an accurate figure as the development cost for your app project.