If you run a business, you must have wondered about the cost of developing a mobile app for your business. The cost of any project is the top priority for a business. With mobile app development, it is no different.
Setting a budget for your app development is a crucial step that should be thought out clearly and not taken lightly. When a business is deciding to develop its mobile app, they have two options to choose from. They can either choose to develop their app by hiring an app development company or they can choose to develop the app internally.
The app development cost can vary according to the size of the business. The price of an app can be very costly if the business is large-scale. On the other hand, the costs of creating an app for a small business can be comparatively low.
According to The National News, mobile app downloads rose by approximately 23% in the year 2022.
With these two options, there are different questions too. Businesses need to think about the cost of both options and then make a clever decision according to their requirements and feasibility.
Mobile app development is not an easy task and takes quite a lot of time, money, and effort to be accurately developed. The process of app development includes but is not limited to planning, setting goals, and the effective building of the app.
For that, let us take a look at the differences between both options.
Inhouse VS Outsource Mobile App Development
Deciding between internally developing a mobile app or going for an outsourcing company comes with its own set of advantages and cons. We need to be coherent in their differences to figure out the better option between them.
Choosing to go for app development internally will surely save you a lot of time and money. If you are equipped with the right set of skills and expertise, you can choose the option of building the app internally. This requires having professional and experienced developers onboard.
But developing an app internally will only work so far. When you encounter any crucial technical issues that cannot be fixed by your employed developers, you would need to outsource the solution.
This can cause serious damage to your monetary budget as constant updates and fixings will lead to more investment than ever before.
In comparison to this, if you opt for an app development company, you will be introduced to a world of expertise and skills that are unbeatable. App development companies have a varied portfolio of clients that are all developed with different skills and technologies. This way, an app development company seems like a far better option than the in-house development of an app.
The aforementioned comparisons explain the benefits and cons of both in-house and external solutions for app development. But you would not know the right solution for your app development until you know the salient factors that make up the whole project.
Here we are providing you with a comprehensive list of factors that can influence the cost of app development.
1. The Complexity of the Mobile Application
The features or tools that are going to be in your mobile application will determine the actual cost. A complex mobile application with advanced features will cost you more than an average application with minimum features.
Since the cost depends upon the complexity of the application, here is a breakdown of the cost depending on the features:
- A simple mobile application with generic features will cost you 91k – 165k (25k$ – 45k$)
- If you choose a moderately complex mobile application, you should have a budget of approximately 165k – 257k (45k$ – 70k$)
- A highly complex and technologically advanced mobile application will cost you about 257k – 400k (70k$ – 110k$)
This is just a basic costing. It can either go up or down depending upon the kind and requirements of your business.
2. Functionality & Usage of the Application
This factor includes all the functions, options, and usage that an application is going to have and work with. A good application should be able to accurately
- Process data
- Send and receive text messages
- Text manipulation
- Voice recognition
- Image processing
The above-mentioned features are some of the basic ones that are necessary for the development of a good application. These features may or may not be further accompanied by some advanced features that can make the application outstanding in its usage.
In addition to this, there are features like push notifications, customized filters, geolocation and map feature, integrations, offline mode, etc. These all features highly contribute to the great functionality of an application.
3. Integration Tools
Many times, the app development process includes the integration of any third party. This third-party integration can make the development process not only time-consuming but also a bit more complex than normal.
While it is indeed true that third-party integration tools can be a cheaper option in the development of an application, they come with their stipulations. For businesses, it can be difficult to effectively find the right third-party integration tools or a third party to collaborate with. You should conduct thorough research to know what would be most beneficial to your application.
4. Maintenance & Monitoring
No technical project is ever perfect. Even if it is developed successfully, it will need constant monitoring and maintenance that can make it continue to function effectively. The working of an application requires the same treatment. You need to regularly maintain the application to fix any bugs or if you want to make any modifications to the current features etc.
The Cost of a Mobile Application in 2023
The cost of building a mobile application varies depending on the features and technology it has. The more features you include in your mobile app, the more costly it will be to develop.
If we talk about the development of a mobile application in Dubai, the cost ranges from 150k AED to 1100k AED approximately. The cost can even go beyond this price range if you decide to include any modern or latest technology.
Knowing the Hidden Costs
The process of mobile app development is deemed complex because of the various hidden costs that can make the whole procedure quite complicated. These hidden costs occur while developing a mobile application. Without knowing and understanding these hidden factors, you will be shocked down the road both mentally and monetarily.
These hidden costs can vary according to the type and location of the business that is developing the mobile app. A prominent hidden cost can be the marketing cost. Marketing takes up a huge amount of share from the monetary budget of any project. This includes advertising the mobile application over multiple different platforms.
Social media marketing, app store optimization, Google reviews, promotional ads, etc are all part of the marketing process.
Apart from marketing, app patents can also be a hidden cost for your small business. When you are developing a mobile application for your small business, you may want to get a patent for it. A patent will give you autonomy over your mobile application and only you will be solely responsible for it.
The patent of a mobile app requires certain documentation that can be costly for your small business. You need to decide beforehand whether you want the patent or not. Getting the patent for your mobile application can be great for your small business as you can make necessary changes whenever you want.
Conclusion
We have summarized the necessities and costs of mobile application development for your small business in 2023 as clearly as we possibly can. By now, you must have a good grasp of the subject.
The aforementioned factors are all salient that you need to consider before diving into the development of your mobile application.
