How Much Does It Cost to Make an App [in 2021]

“Is Mobile Application Development profitable?” “Should I create an app for my business?”

According to there were nearly 218 billion mobile app downloads last year in 2020. Besides that, on an average, a user spends nearly three hours and 15 minutes a day on mobile phones.

And, more to that, a user checks their phones 58 times a day with 30 check-ins during a working hour of 9 am to 5 pm. While Americans check their phones 47 times a day.

All these statistics show the importance of creating an app. It gives you a sharp concrete reason to take a plunge and hire a professional mobile app Development Company to build a seamless business application.

This is the best time to run ahead of your competitors. So, let’s get started right now!

But, How Much Does It Cost to Create an App Globally?

According to Goodfirms, the cost of making a simple application starts with a minimum budget of $24,000 and requires on an average 4.5 weeks with a counting of viable features.

Although for sophisticated mobile application development, you need to have a budget of minimum $137000 with an average time duration of 26 weeks.

However, these differences vary as per geographical location, selection of features, app complexity and other factors. Let’s discuss in detail with some statistics.

Which factors influence the cost of creating a mobile application?

Time and cost are the most important elements in creating a mobile application. So, when you decide to develop any application, you cannot anticipate any professional app development company to submit you an ideal quote instantly.

Obviously, they will consider and understand your business requirements first. And after that they will present you a quote with an estimated time and cost to get started on the project.

In a general sense, these are prominent factors that often influence cost and time while building a mobile app-

1. Project Type

Every project is different and so are its requirements. For instance, you might be looking for CRM, Online food delivery, LMS, marketplace ,Data Management or any. In that case, cost and time often varies with the type of project you have.

2. Selection of Features and Functions

‘How much does it cost to create an application in 2021?’ One thing is for sure –selection of features and functions often serve as the biggest cost drivers in any project. It includes- buttons, screens, fields involved, and many others.

Sometimes, implementation of features can be significantly lengthy. And, looking towards the difficulty level, developers will use third party code from the beginning to successfully implement all stated features.

To know more, give us a call and our support team will assist you.

3. Geographical Location

A few of the most popular mobile app development countries are USA, India, Ukraine, Canada, Australia, SouthEast Asia, America, and the United Kingdom. As discussed earlier, location often plays an important role in estimating cost and time.

4. Customization

Creating customization to your application with a unique visual design gives a bold standout from competitors. However, note that the level of customization often affects an app development budget.

On average the cost of designing for an app ranges between $2,500 and $25,000. This includes adding new screens, customizing data fields and modules, adding security validation and others.

5. Backend App Infrastructure and Administration

Backend App infrastructure includes app scalability, database set up, third party API integrations, Data Encryption and app security, data storage solutions and others. All these factors hold a major importance while estimating the cost of an app.

Besides that, admin tools are quite an essential tool for management of an app content, information of users and keeping track through statistics.

For this set of infrastructure, the cost would be $6,500 to $15,600 and could go as high as $195,000 for a single app. Companies generally take 100 to 240 hours for this kind of app development.

6. App Development Platform

Are you planning to create an app in the iOS version? Can it be compatible with the Android platform too? So, while planning for an app development, you need to calculate and evaluate the cost because it varies based on platforms you choose.

Like, a simple iOS application with basic functionality costs an average of $30,000 with a time duration of two months to build an app. While it may increase as per complexities in the development process. And, for android app development, it may cost around $40,000.

Above all, what do you think is preferable? Outsourcing or In House app development services?

Outsourcing V/S Local App Development Company: Which one is better?

When you are planning to develop a mobile application for your business, you would not only rest on an average cost. Let say if you do not have professionally sounded Mobile App developers, then certainly a question arises – whether to outsource or train developers for in house development

There is only one argument that favours in house app development – having closer, faster and transparent communication.

However, it really doesn’t matter if your team is working from any corner of the world. You just need to find the right people for the right job.

“If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.”

– Red Adair

When you outsource work, you can get the best and most professional developers just in a couple of weeks, not months.

It is really very important to delegate tasks to industry specific experts to get work done faster, and quicker with an exceptional quality. This in turn lets you focus on your core activities.

A few points to consider to hire the best tech vendor with the most realistic efforts-

Thus, with OUTSOURCING you get-

And, with Local Mobile App Development Company, you get-

How much Does it Cost to create an App in 2021: Type of Apps with Real Life Examples

Having a great idea for developing a mobile application to market your product is one thing, and making it accessible widely is another one. You need to finalize the category of your app before getting started on any project. It includes-

1. Web App

In simple words, a web app is the mobile version of a website. It contributes significantly in ensuring a smooth user interface across varied screen sizes by using mobile responsive designs

Since people spend a majority of their time on smartphones, it’s a good chance to build an app for your brand. So far, this is the cheapest and least complex of all the available options.

A few examples of Web Applications are- Google Apps that includes Slides, Google Docs, Microsoft 365 and Google Sheets.

COST: Ranges from $500 and $5,000

2. Native App

Native applications are the most complex of all although it can deliver a high level of performance. It is built with operating systems like iOS, Android, Windows – Swift or Objective C for iOS platform and Java or Kotlin for Android platform.

Native apps often make user experience more intuitive and interactive.

COST: On an average $1, 00,000 – $5, 00,000

Cost of Basic App: Starting from $1100

Cost of App with Web Server: From $6500 to $50,000

Cost of Android/iOS with rich features: From $2, 00,000 – $3, 00,000

Cost of Gaming App: $5100 to $2, 00,000 and more

3. Hybrid/ Cross Platform App

Hybrid or cross platform is a combination of web apps and native apps that runs smoothly on all OS like iOS, Android, Windows. However, the future scope of hybrid applications is quite wide and bright.

It has a quicker time to market and offers plenty of customization options for your app development. These apps are built in HTML, JavaScript, and CSS.

Applications build with hybrid platforms are-

COST : On an average $6500 – $1, 00,000

TIME : Approximately 250 – 5000 hours

“So can I create an app on my own?” “Will it require any technical know-how?”

How Much Does It Costs to Make an App by Yourself?

Do you want to create an application by yourself? Well, yes you can. There are two options to create an app by yourself. Like-

It is always believed that creation is quite easier than maintaining it. Same applies for app development. Initially, you may create an app by yourself but when it comes to applying technical knowledge, it may cost your time heftily.

Adding to it, an average fee of buying an app building tool or software starts from $10 to $160 per month and that’s way costlier.

For promising results and hassle free app development, it is suggested to hire a professional mobile app development company with decent years of experience.

These tools will ultimately require at least limited technical or coding knowledge if you want to work everything on your own. Therefore, it is advisable to upscaling on skills you are master in and let experts handle your app development.

The Conclusion

All these data and insights presented above are estimated and rough data that gives you an idea of how much it will cost to create an app in 2021.

You can take it as a base figure and start selecting features and functions, nature of app and technologies that suits perfectly to your business requirement.

The entire world is going online and now it’s your turn to spark your brand from competitors. We at Rentech Digital build applications for brands and surge their growth. So are you ready to develop your desired app? Give us a call to get started straight away.