Useful Information
How much does it cost to develop a mobile app?
If you’ve asked any app developers how much it costs to develop an app, you’ve probably gotten a few different answers, and I’m guessing you’ve heard “How long is a piece of string?” more than a few times.
Value, Benefit & Cost
Before we look at the costs of having an app developed for your business, it is important to remind you that, from a business perspective, it is always better to focus on the value of the service and the benefit to your business than to focus purely on the cost.
OK, I’m sure you all understand the value of the service, and the benefit to your business, so let’s look at the costs.
So, how long is a piece of string?
There are a number of reasons that app developers appear vague and non-committal when asked how much it costs to develop an app. Firstly, a large number of app developers feel the need to be very secretive about their prices, and secondly, it is difficult to provide a price without knowing the specific details of the app.
The type of app
The first factor in determining the cost of having an app developed is the type of app.
Data Driven App – This is similar to the simple app except that the data is dynamic, either stored in a local (on the device) database, or retrieving the data from an external source.
Games –Angry Birds! That is a game! Games can range from the simple “thinking man’s game” through to the very complex “action” games.
Device App – A device app is an app that makes use of the hardware to provide its core functionality, i.e. something based around the functionality of the camera, accelerometer, or GPS, etc.
Bespoke Functionality App – A bespoke functionality app is an app that is designed to provide a solution to a specific need or problem. It is an app that can include data-driven features, device features, and other bells and whistles. It can also include very dedicated and specific features that will only be relevant to provide the solution to the defined problem. For example, if you wanted a Distribution Management type of app, most of the features could be defined under the data-driven app type, but this app would also include very specific Distribution channel data feeds and functionality.
Design Costs
The overall production of an app is not just about the functionality that the app offers, the design of the user interface is also very important. A coder and a Graphic Designer may often have different opinions regarding which is more important, but an app that doesn’t have the functionality expected by the user, or an app that is not presented well, and therefore doesn’t engage the user, are both equally bad. The design and the functionality of the app should be given equal importance.
How much you should expect to pay will depend on a number of factors:
Scale of the project – Obviously, the bigger the scale of the project, the more graphic design work will need to be done.
The number of device types – if your app is going to be available on more than one type of device (i.e. Apple, Android, Windows Phone, etc.), there are different graphic requirements, and while there is some obvious design overlap, the production of the separate graphics for each device type will increase the costs.
The device types – Even within a single manufacturer device, there are different requirements between the individual devices, i.e. the iPhone 3gs and the iPhone 4 have different graphics requirements, there may be differences between the iPhone and the iPad because of differences in the app design. Similar distinctions exist on Android devices. Again, there is some obvious design overlap, but the production of the separate graphics for each device will increase the costs.
As a rough guide to the Design costs, you should expect to pay between $500 for a small simple app, through to $5000+ for a very large, complex and Graphic centric app. The graphics for a game are in a different league entirely and you could pay as much as $10,000.
For additional device type, you should expect the costs to increase by 25%-50% for each additional device type.
Development Costs
Again, many factors will determine the Development Costs, however, as a rough guide; the details below show what you could expect to pay for each type of app:
Simple App – $3,000 to 7,000
Data Driven App – $7,000 to 50,000
Games – $10,500 to 250,000
Device App – $2,000 to 250,000
Bespoke Functionality App – $7,000 to 450,000
Total Costs
All of the costs associated with the production of your app will be covered within the Design & Development costs. The only other costs will be for creating the app store account ($99 for Apple apps, $25 for Android apps), and the costs associated with marketing your app. However make sure that you agree on the warranty and maintenance terms (with the app development team) before proceeding.
Scale of the project
The scale of the project will have an impact on the costs; a small app project that can be entirely handled by a single developer will be cheaper than a larger project that will require additional resources, such as project management, and a team of developers.
Hourly Rate vs. Fixed Price
There is a tendency to attach an hourly rate to software development resources, which is fine when you are paying someone for their time as an employee, or pseudo-employee. However, in the context of getting an app development business to produce an app for you, you are paying for the skills, knowledge, experience, and professionalism of the business to provide a valuable service, and you are more likely to be given a fixed price for the project rather than an hourly rate.
Depending on the scale of the project, the fixed price for a project will encapsulate a number of separate resources, designers, developers, project managers, marketers, etc… with each having a distinct role to play, each committing a different number of hours to the project, and each earning a different amount internally. On a smaller project, the same individual may actually perform many of these roles, but each role will be given a specific value and earning rate internally. This makes it very difficult to provide an overall hourly rate for a project.
However, we know the market rates for the skills utilized by app development businesses, so we can provide a rough guide to the overall hourly rate that you should expect to spend on having your app developed.
You should expect to pay from $125 to $155 per hour for a good app development business to produce a very high quality app for your business.
Things to watch out for
There are a number of things to be aware of when negotiating the cost of having an app developed, as there are some aspects to what you are actually buying that may not be as clearly defined as you might think.
Will you receive the Graphics / Source Code?
There are essentially 3 possibilities here.
Some app developers will keep all of the design and source code to ensure that you will have to go back to them for any fixes and changes, regardless of how good or bad the experience has been.
Some app developers will negotiate a lower fee and keep hold of the graphics and source code to ensure that you have to return to them for any future changes and/or amendments to the app.
Some app development businesses will automatically include the graphics and source code in the price you pay for the overall service and rely on the service that they have provided and the ongoing business relationship that they are developing with you to ensure that you will always be their first choice when you want something changed or added to the app.
Will your app be exclusive?
An app development business can only guarantee that your app will be exclusive based on the graphics and source code that has been developed by them for your app. There is no guarantee that someone else won’t copy the design and the functionality.
Warranty & Maintenance
An app development business can’t guarantee that the app will be entirely bug free, but they can offer a guarantee of what they will do when a bug is discovered.
You should expect the app developer to bear the cost of rectifying any bugs that have arisen as a result of their coding.
You should expect the app developer to bear part of the costs for rectifying an issue that has arisen due to lack of detail or incorrect information in the initial spec, because this is something that a good app development business should have spotted before the development process began.
You should expect to bear the costs any changes to the app that are required, either because of any features that you want added or changed, or because the underlying device operating system has changed.
Bargain Price
One last warning; if something seems too good to be true, then it probably is. If you are given a price to produce your app that is significantly lower than expected, then you need to ask why.
There are some legitimate reasons that an app development business may offer you a lower price than expected, such as interest in associating themselves with a specific industry sector, to build up knowledge and experience in an area of the technology that they have had limited exposure to, or even as a favor to a friend, however they will be open about their reasons for offering a lower price.
Remember:
Focus on the value of the service and the benefit to your business, understand what you are getting for your money, and not just on the cost.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Developing your app
Here are a few things you need to consider for the development and deployment of your app
This may seem like an easy thing to have clarity about, but time and again, we see infatuation with a device (and what it is technically capable of), turn into a “boil the ocean” approach to development. You must make certain that you know precisely what it is that you want your mobile app to do. Your first conversations with an app developer should not be a brainstorming session; you should clearly define what you want out of your app, and be able to discuss any secondary and tertiary needs (content writing, graphic design, database management, etc.) that the app will require in order to be successful. Think in terms of phasing your efforts to achieve your end goals…Phase 1 to get initial functions in place, followed by additional development phases over time, to fine-tune your app, as needs arise and market conditions dictate.
Targeting various and multiple platforms (iPhone, iPad, Android, etc.) implies that your mobile app will be more sophisticated than most. Once you’ve isolated your needs, you’ll want to begin the hiring process as early as possible. Don’t hire anyone untried or new to the industry; it might cost a little more, but experienced developers, writers, and designers cost more for a reason.
In your first discussions with your development team, hammer out a schedule all the way to roll-out of the app and stick to it. Plan for regular meetings and conference calls so that you can monitor progress.
The lesson of all the natural disasters with which we’ve been afflicted lately is that no one can prepare for every eventuality. However, if you organize your budget (both time and resources) meticulously and make it both clear and available to all the members of your development team, you’ll be able to keep the consequences of any unwelcome surprises to a minimum.
