How much does it cost to make an app? Likely, a price tag to build an app is one of the first pieces of information that app brands and developers need to know, when they launch an app development project.
An app development cost estimate is the most basic and yet crucial component of a project budget to create an app. Quite often, a company owner finds herself trying to answer these two questions – what is the cost to build an app for my business via hiring an app development company versus how much does it cost to develop an app internally.
Both approaches have their pros and cons. To shed some light on how each impacts an app development cost, let’s review both.
After operating a number of years on a market, app development companies can build the right set of skills to tackle multi-platform mobile app development projects efficiently, often app projects can be quite complicated, they may involve advanced mobile tech, including Machine Learning to power sophisticated computation behind such cutting tech as Generative AI, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality as well as Blockchain, IoT and more.
Leading app developer companies beat competition, quickly learning from their mistakes and so working with such an experienced team would protect you from repeating the same mistakes. App development is a multi-step process that involves careful planning with a proper timeline – again, based on a previous experience.
If you choose the path of creating a mobile app in-house, you can certainly decrease an app development cost, at least initially, because over time, going through fixing bugs caused by lack of experience, you can actually catch up with a price tag you would get from an app development company, should you decide to hire one.
As much as we would like to put a finger on the app development cost, 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 come up with an app development cost ballpark.
App Development Cost Influential Factors:
- App functionality and purpose – what an app will be capable of doing for its users.
- Mobile platforms and devices supported – whether an app will be developed for iOS only or has an Android version as well. What specific devices hardware will it support, e.g. iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone 12 Mini, Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus, and so on.
- Integration points – will an app be integrated with third-party apps that will be the source of its content.
- Use of visual objects – complexity of visual objects inside of an app will significantly influence the cost.
- Use of smartphone hardware features – whether an app will be using such smartphone features as GPS navigation, NFC technology, motion co-processor, Augment Reality tech, and other technologies that are packed into smartphones or tablet computers.
- Maintenance plan – once an app development project is over, certainly it will require technical support from its developer to provide updates that patch bugs or introduce new features.
Having said that, there are some typical or average benchmarks for app development project costs that we can apply to different types of apps. We’ve researched data from multiple app development companies, such as Appinventiv, Acrhopolium, Creative Onl, The Droids on Roids, Copper Digital, Quokka Labs, BlueWhaleApps, Topflight, Space-O Technologies and Thervo and put them together in a range for apps of different complexity.
App Development Companies Buyers guide
Download our App Development Companies Buyers guide to get a full list of the best service providers on the market to choose from. You will also learn about types of app developers, different app development platforms, app developer locations, app development costs, how to select the right one for your business, as well as the questions to ask any of those companies you will be evaluating.
App Development Price Benchmarks:
- Simple app development price tag – $5,000 – $50,000
- Medium complexity app development price tag – $50,000 – $120,000
- Complex app development price tag – $100,000 0 $300,000
- Cost of hiring a US app developer ~$100,000 – $133,000 / year
In the rest of this research, we also set out the available data on the development cost for apps using a range of different sources and methodologies.
App Development Cost Benchmarks
Since the inception of major mobile platforms, the app development cost for iOS and Android was significantly different. As of 2024, according to the multiple pieces of research, conducted by established app development companies, the app development cost of making iOS and Android apps is virtually identical. At this point, the major factor that defines the app development cost is its sophistication, which arbitrarily can be defined as – Simple, Medium, and Complex.
According to FullStack blog, Thervo, InApps, SPDLoad app development companies, it takes:
- 2-4 months to develop a simple app;
- 4-6 months to make a mid-complexity app;
- 9 months and up a year for a complex one.
Certainly, these are just estimates, because ultimately actual app development timeline also depends on the quality of coordination and level of productivity of an app developers team.
According to data from Arc.dev, FullStack Blog, and InApps, the hourly rates for app development in the US typically hover around $100 per hour.
For an app with a basic user interface and a set of basic features, the development cost ranges from $5,000 to $50,000. A medium complexity app development project costs between $50,000 and $120,000. Finally, a complex app project would require between $100,000 and $133,000 per app.
US App Development Costs ($k)
Source: Quokka Labs, BlueWhaleApps, Topflight, Space-O Technologies
Again, keep in mind that above numbers are just a ballpark, the calculation is based an approximate number of hours that app development team dedicates to a single app. They are meant to give you a bird’s-eye view on what would be the size of your app development budget based on the app’s complexity. These numbers don’t include costs of the app updates, that are part and parcel of any mobile app life cycle, and they significantly vary based on the app’s v1.0 and how significant is a particular update.
App Development Cost [stages]
Having a ballpark for how much different stages of app development may cost is what allows companies to allocate properly the venture capital they manage to raise along the whole cycle of the mobile app development.
A development of any mobile app for every platform consists of a number of well-known stages with a price tag for each. These stages are Discovery, Design, Development, and Testing & Deployment. The graph below presents the data complied from a number of app development companies data and represents a percentage for how much companies spend on one of the following app development stages.
As of 2024, on average the discovery stage costs around 10-15%, it involves market research, requirement analysis, and project scoping. The design stage of a mobile app costs companies 20-25% and it’s focused on UI/UX design, creating wireframes, prototypes, and mockups. The development stage requires 40-55% of a mobile app development budget. The bulk of the budget is allocated here, covering coding, backend infrastructure, and integration of features. This phase translates the design into a functional app.
The testing stage, which is a must for any mobile app development, costs 15-20% of a mobile app development budget. QA involves rigorous testing to identify and fix bugs, ensuring the app runs smoothly across different devices and conditions. This includes unit testing, system testing, and regression testing.
The deployment stage is the final piece of the puzzle and it requires allocation of another 5-10% of the budget. This includes the costs of deploying the app to app stores, ongoing maintenance, and updates. It ensures the app remains functional and up-to-date post-launch.
App Development Stages Cost, %
Source: Spaceo, Quokka Labs, FullStack blog, Arc.dev, Thervo, BlueWhaleApps, Shoutem
From percentages to actual costs, let’s look at how much each of these stages costs in USD.
Based on the latest research from Clutch B2B ratings and reviews platform and other sources, here are the cost brackets and corresponding percentages for the Discovery stage of mobile app development.
When it came to conducting the Discovery stage, companies spent between $5 and $10k and it constituted 10% to 20% of the total budget. The more expensive cost bracket was $10k t0 $20k and it constituted another 10% to 20% of the total budget. The next cost bracket of expenses on this stage was $20 and $40k and it constituted 10% to 15% of the total budget. The most expensive bracket – $40k+ amounted to 5% to 10% of the total budget.
The Discovery stage cost, $k
Source: Clutch
To address the Design stage we see a different set of cost brackets. The cheapest bracket was $5 to $10k and it represented 10% to 15% of the total budget. One level up, the $10k to $25k one that constituted 20% – 25% of the total budget, the $25k to $50k cost bracket amounted to another 20-25% of the total budget. The most expensive cost bracket to cover the Design stage was $50k+ one that constituted to 15% to 20% of the budget.
The Design stage cost, $k
Source: Clutch
Development is the major part of the whole mobile app development process, it’s about the actual coding of every feature that an app is supposed to have. Between 40% and 50% of the entire app development budget was spent on the development stage and the money spent are attributed to these cost brackets – $30k to $70k, $70k to $150k, $150k to $300k. In some instances, very large app projects with highly specialized features required $300k+ and this amount of money presented 35% to 45% of the total app development budget.
The Development stage cost, $k
Source: Clutch
It’s impossible to conceive any app development project without testing and deployment stages. So to make sure the app was bugs-free and deployed properly, companies’ spend ranged from $5k to $50k. Simple apps with basic testing requirements required between $5k and $15k, and it constituted 10-15% of the total budget. Mid-complexity apps required more extensive testing got $15k – $30k, and it constituted 10-15% as well. Finally, complex apps that need rigorous testing and a comprehensive deployment strategy got from $30k to $50k, which again constituted 10-15% of the entire app development budget.
The Testing and Deployment stage cost, $k
Source: Clutch
Obviously, the core factor that defines the app development cost is the app’s complexity. For example, whether there is a backend server that provides information for the app or not, whether an app has built-in user analytics, a backend CMS support or not, if it has a built-in shopping cart or social media sharing features, and so on.
The hourly rate for mobile app development varies in different parts of the world, it reflects a level of economic development in a particular country. On the graph below, we can see that among fifteen countries India and Vietnam have the lowest average rate – between $20 and $40 / hour and the UK is on the highest end with $ 150 and $400 / hour. Obviously looking at these rates, it’s tempting to always prefer hiring app developers with lower rates but money isn’t the only factor that define an app project success, you need to factor in cultural difference, different time zone between you and the developer you’re hiring, and more.
Average app development hourly rate ($)
Source: Salary.com
App Development Cost Calculators
The app industry is highly competitive, with several million mobile apps on the market, reaching your target users, meeting your ROI objectives are really tough. Businesses are eager to find a way to calculate an app development cost upfront. Aiming to address this important question, multiple online calculators were created by app development companies, but we’re going to highlight only the most popular ones.
This calculator will guide you through 12 questions to shape an app development price tag either for developing an app similar to apps existing on the market (Uber, Snapchat, Airbnb, and others) or create a mobile app from scratch, based on specific requirements. As you’re making choices, answering the questions, you’re getting development time estimates in hours. For instance, according to this calculator, developing an app similar to Uber, with all options included, may cost you up to $400 / hour,
It’s a seven-step calculator that guides you through several filters that define a price tag for mobile app development. These are Platform, Features, Users, Integrations, Monetization, Maintenance & Hosting, and Buildfire Services.
This calculator takes a different approach – all filters to shape a price tag are listed on a single page. The filters cover the app’s size, UI complexity, account features sophistication, user-generated content complexity, mobile-specific features such as Apple Watch support, Cloud Syncing and more, as well as dates & locations, social & engagement, billing & eCommerce, admin & feedback & analytics, External API and Security.
This calculator is designed to estimate a price tag for both desktop and mobile software. In a contrast with the calculators above, this one gives you a price tag estimate range on each step of the price calculation process.
The eight-step calculator with similar to the Inoxoft one feature to provide a price estimate on each step. The final screen provides a form to fill in with contact details to proceed with the app project development.
An easy-to-use intuitive calculator designed in a shopping-cart style, when all choices are made to define an app development price tag is displayed on the right, as purchased items would in a real shopping cart system. The calculator computes the cost based on Platform, Quality, Number of Screens, Custom Controls, Device types, Screen orientation modes, Security level, Supported OS versions, Number of languages supported, Deployment, and Special functions (such as in-app payments support, stats, Push Notifications and more).
A seven-step calculator that walks you through the set of 27 questions, starting with specifying an industry a mobile app needs to be built for. Along with an app development price tag building, the calculator provides a summary of all choices made. Once the cost calculation process is over, the tool provides a contact form to fill in to receive an app development price tag estimate.
A five-step calculator that provides both app development price tag estimate and time this development will take. A ready-to-use estimate is available in a .PDF format to download. The steps to build an estimate are web / mobile / both, the app user profile, features to add to the MVP, way to generate revenue (recurring payments/upfront fees/shopping cart system), and high tech features to include (AI, IoT, VR / AR).
Cost of Hiring App Developer
If a company decides to hire a mobile app developer(s), the question – how much does it cost comes up naturally. According to Indeed.com data, to hire a US-based mobile app developer, businesses need to pay her or him $110k / year (versus $120k in 2022). After converting from a local currency to USD, we see UK and France following the US with $85k and $70k respectively. In countries like India, it is actually way cheaper to hire an app development professional – only $12k / year, which we can attribute to the difference between North American, European, Australian, and Indian economies.
But again, the services price tag shouldn’t be the ultimate defining factor for a company to hire an app development team, other kinds of information like previous clients feedback, expertise in specific technical areas, how well a particular team meets deadlines and so on should be factored in as well.
Average mobile app developer annual salary, by country ($k)
Source: Indeed
Assessing an app development cost, one of the first considerations is from what specific location to hire an app development team to meet both app project budget limitations and yet meet quality standards. The following two graphs bring up data for the US cities that provide the highest paying jobs for both iOS and Android app developers.
Because of COVID-19 pandemic and necessity to work remotely, many app developers relocated to other states to save on rent and habitation in general. This trend has a tangible impact on average app developers salary in different states and cities.
As of 2024, in the US some of the top Android app developer salary cities are Seattle, WA, Princeton-Trenton, NJ Boston, MA, San Francisco, CA, Boise, ID, Austin, TX, Raleigh-Durham, NC. Seattle and Princeton-Trenton are on the most expensive end with $131k and $124k / year respectively, Austin and Raleigh-Durham are on the cheapest end with $116k and $113k / year respectively.
Highest paying cities in the US for Android Developers ($k)
On the iOS side, the 10 highest paying cities are different from Android. The list include San Francisco, CA, New York, NY, Chicago, IL, Madison, WI, Princeton-Trenton, NJ, Los Angeles, CA, Austin, TX, Dallas-Fort Worth, TX, San Antonio, TX, Philadelphia, PA. Hiring an iOS app developer in San Francisco would the most expensive and cost you $151k / year, on the opposite end is Philadelphia, PA where hiring an app developer to create and iOS app would cost you “only” $120k / year.
Highest paying cities in the US for iOS Developers, ($k)
App Maintenance Cost
Like any software, mobile app development cost has a maintenance component. The industry average accepted cost to maintain software is roughly 15-25% of its original development cost. The maintaining process cost can be broken down to the cost of hosting, monitoring, engagement, marketing, updating, and licensing apps.
Hosting
The decisive factor in a mobile app backend data hosting cost calculation is what kind of data the app deals with – text or media, such as photo, video, or audio. A media-rich app would require a higher CPU web-server with more RAM and disk space. Based on these factors, an app hosting web server may cost between $70 to $320 a month. The leading web hosting solutions to choose from would be Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud.
Monitoring
Mobile app monitoring is really essential for its success. To monitor an app’s performance you can sign up for mobile analytics platforms we’ve listed in this guide. Because each app has its unique audience and a vastly variable number of users, it’s not feasible to come up even with an estimate for a mobile app monitoring cost but once you get in touch with those companies on the list, make sure you’ll get a ballpark range for your expenses this app maintenance cost constituents.
Engagement & Marketing
A mobile app marketing cost, which includes activities to engage a mobile app user base, consists of multiple components. Any mobile app engagement begins with an app install, a price an app marketer pays for the app’s install depends on the country, platform (iOS/Android), and specific ad unit. In 2021 the iOS CPI (stands for Cost-Per-Install) was $3.6 / app install and on the Android side was just $1.22 / app install. As we go more granular, from a generic app install instance to a desirable action the app user is expected to take, we can talk about an average mobile app user acquisition cost. In 2020, the average app UA costs worldwide were the following:
- purchase made via a mobile app – up to $75
- subscription – up to $70.
App Updates
Every single mobile app ever released on an app store, either iOS, Android, Windows Phone, or other platforms needs to have subsequent updates to be released after its launch. On one hand, it’s simply not feasible to develop a perfect app with version 1.o, from the other – subsequent updates are a great tool for a continuous app user base engagement. An actual update release on an app store may take around one hour but the time that it takes to develop an update is significantly varied and depends on an app’s complexity.
Licenses
If a mobile app design incorporates one or more technologies that the developer should pay a license, it may significantly increase an overall app development cost. A license fee to pay depends on annual fees to pay, a number of devices, and, for instance, may reach $120k / year for 50 devices.
Final Thoughts
When businesses estimate a development cost of their future app, first of all, they need to factor in a development team location and an app complexity – both factors have a great impact on an overall development cost. Given that both iOS and Android platforms have a high adoption rate, it is a smart strategy for businesses that go mobile to develop an app for both platforms simultaneously. Because infrastructure is the biggest contributor to an app development cost, it’s quite logical for companies to do their best to save on things like data storage and scalability, third-party API integration, if there are several options available to choose from.
On top of that, the COVID-19 pandemic, because it’s triggered app developers relocation and forced them to work remotely, has a significant impact on how much it costs to develop a mobile app.