At AppMuse, we’re in the business of connecting people with ideas for mobile apps with experienced app developers. In the process, we get lots of questions about app development. Probably the number one question we get is “how much does it cost to develop a mobile app?” If I had a nickel for every time we’ve had that question … well, I wouldn’t quit my day job, but I would probably make the baristas at my local coffee shop at lot happier.
So, what does it cost to develop a mobile app? That’s a lot like asking how much does it cost to buy a car or build a house – it depends on what kind of car you’re buying or house you’re building. That cool-looking Cube costs a lot less than an Italian sports car. A modest house in the Midwest costs a lot less to build than a modest house in Palo Alto. Still, it is possible to give some rough guidelines on app development costs.
Alex Ahlund, former CEO of AppVee and AndroidApps, and later an advisor to Appolicious, wrote a guest blog article about app sales on TechCrunch. According to that article, a survey of 96 mobile app developers showed the average cost to develop an app was $6,453. An article on OS X Daily about iPhone Development Costs reported that the development cost range for “small apps” is $3,000 to $8,000 and that “more complex or recognized brand apps” can cost $50,000 to $150,000. A well-written article on PadGadget.com explored The Cost of Building an iPad App and suggested the development costs (as compared to design and other costs) range from $12,000 to $150,000 or more.
That sounds like a lot. And it is. But if you consider that the average app developer in the US charges around $100 per hour, the time required to code even a “simple” app quickly pushes the cost up. Could you go offshore and get a developer for a much lower hourly rate? Sure. The problem is, like most things in life, you get what you pay for. We get several requests a month from people wanting a US-based developer to “fix” cheap code. We call these “shattered projects.” Others call them “distressed projects.” Whatever you call them, “saving” money on the front end could end up costing you more in the end.
The only sure way to find out what it will cost to get your app idea developed is to get some quotes from experienced app developers. They can discuss the details of your idea with you and give you a pretty good idea of what it will cost. Getting three quotes is helpful as it will give you an idea if a quote is too high (or too low, which can be just as bad). Whatever you do, Don’t Pay to Train an App Developer. For help on finding a developer, see our post on Finding a Developer for Your App Idea or fill out our quote request form.
[...] post on how much it costs to develop a mobile app has had more traffic than any other article we’ve posted. We noted there a blog post by Alex [...]
[...] (and maintenance) today. Are these figures in the ballpark? $100/hour for a mobile app developer? http://appmuse.com/appmusing/how-muc…-a-mobile-app/ __________________ John Carlisle Community Manager, Self-Storage Talk Associate Editor, [...]
Hi
How do I protect my app idea?
Cheers
Troy – that’s a great question. We’ve written on this subject a couple of times. Check out these articles from our blog:
How can I keep someone from stealing my great app idea?
Should you require an NDA to get a development quote?
What is a non-disclosure agreement?
Hi Mark,
You can ask the developer to sign an NDA first to protect your idea from the developer and once the NDA is signed your developer cannot share the details of your app idea to anyone .
Actually, I am also a iPhone/Android Developer and I do this on a regular basis as most of our clients want to sign an NDA before telling us their idea. NDA is a Non Disclosure Agreement so that I can’t disclose the info of the app to anyone else.
Mark, I hope you got your answers and If you have some other queries related to this then please contact me via my Email id.
Regards,
Akram
How much, roughly, would an iPhone app cost that involved E-commerce tracking software? Such as, an app that a consumer would go on and track their shipment…
Dina – development costs vary depending on complexity of the app. Although it may seem that some apps would be relatively inexpensive to develop, that is not always the case. For example, a tracking app such as you mention would require connection to one or more databases with the shipping information. Whether the databases exist or have to be created, how the connections are made, and other variables factor into the cost. If you’re interested in pursuing the project, we can get you three free (no obligation) quotes that will give you an idea of the cost to develop your app. Just fill out our quote request form and we’ll contact you.
Mark Stetler
Once social features are added or having a Backend, expect an increase of 4k – 8k (maybe more depending on the complexity of features). I’m talking about a workshop development, not a big software firm.
Thank you – this was informative. In addition to the information that you have provided I would love to get a better sense of the total cost – it seems like the article focused costing on just application development (developer). Were other cost included such as project management, requirements analysis, testing and graphics design work?
Chris – the article was focused on just development costs and not on the other costs in bringing an app to market.
[...] Stetler, M. (2011, January 11). How much does it cost to develop a mobile app?. Retrieved fromhttp://appmuse.com/appmusing/how-much-does-it-cost-to-develop-a-mobile-app/ [...]
[...] from $3,000 to $8,000. (More complex or recognized brand apps can cost from $50,000 to $150,000). [4] Beyond that, you’ll need to pay for regular hosting, and make sure the app is compatible [...]
[...] by virtually every cell phone manufactured since 2006. And all for a tiny fraction of the high cost to develop a mobile [...]
[...] problem with these and other similar estimates (like these and these) is that they are generally talking to an audience interested in developing consumer [...]
I think in 2012, with the fierce amount of competition that is about, you can get mobile apps developed for very little, but I guess you get what you pay for sometimes, otherwise you can get yourself a bargain!
Yep, I hired a developer overseas to develop my app which initially asked for 3500$, then two weeks later, I got an ‘ok’ app, even though I gave him the designs, and no way now I can get him to do important changes.
So now I’m without an app and short 3500$.
The best is to hire someone in your city, someone you can go and sit face to face, and talk with them about your expectations of the app.
Another thing to keep in mind is OEM model porting and app management/upgrade costs. Just because an app is written for Android for example does not mean it will work the same on every phone. So ask the developer for that. You will generally pay the same initial development cost for each OS.
Regarding app complexity, generally the more the app uses the phone’s hardware and local services the more complex and expensive porting and management will be.
[...] team a half-million dollars to develop a fitness app in an overcrowded niche? Developing an app can cost up to $150,000 USD, depending on how complex and feature rich the app is. If you’re going to develop a new app, [...]
[...] team a half-million dollars to develop a fitness app in an overcrowded niche? Developing an app can cost up to $150,000 USD, depending on how complex and feature rich the app is. If you’re going to develop a new app, [...]
hello,
the cost of mobile application developer vary according to the project need
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