2. Cost of Developing an App
How Much Does it Cost to Make an App for Your Business? (You’ll Be Blown Away)
- Angry Birds cost anywhere from $125K-$180K to develop.
- Average cost to develop an iOS app is $27,463
- The most popular Apple App Store category is “Games”
First, the cost to develop an app depends on what devices you’re developing for.
To be clear and save a lot of headaches in the future, let your developer or development team know what you’re developing your app for – iPhone, iPhone 4, iPhone 6, or iPad, or for all of these devices.
Second, the cost to develop an app also depends on the type of project you want to build:
Types of app projects:
1. Simple (table-based) app:
It may cost you anywhere between $1000 and $4,000 approximately to build a simple app.
You’ll have to provide the content, instructions, and examples of apps you want to build to your developer.
But if you’re good at Photoshop, you can use it to create your own graphic design and supply it to your developer. This can bring the cost of app development down to $1,500.
Additional costs may arise if you want to include features such as social media integration, GPS locators, and others.
2. Database-driven (native) app:
The cost to build a database-driven app could range between $8,000 and $50,000.
Again, you’ll have to provide everything: content, image, sound, etc.
The cost will arise from creating logic for the app and architecting the gameplay and the usability.
Because the content has to be inserted in the database and then parsed accordingly, these app types seem to be front heavy. Data is what is driving the whole game and the framework has to be strong.
3. Game apps ($10,000 to $250,000):
The cost of game apps is very difficult to figure out, but the figure given above is the standard costs.
We heard Angry Birds cost $125k to $180k to develop!
After talking with some hardcore developers who are in the gaming industry, we found that many of the racing games that use gyroscope will cost you at least $125,000.
And that’s only for the code.
Even if your gaming app is hyper simple, it’ll quickly get sophisticated.
Hooking into game center, having top scores, and integrating with an online community can quickly get tricky.
But there’s a huge advantage of a game app: they get more downloads than any other apps discussed here.
As a marketer, nothing is more viral than a game that is totally FUN.
If you want high ROIs, ask yourself: How much do I need to spend to make a FUN game?
Additional features/functionalities you can add into your existing app:
1. In-App Purchasing ($1,000 to $3,000)
This feature allows your users to buy new content or full versions of your apps.
The cost is spread into the in-app purchasing, the complexity, and whether you’d like to build everyone into the first app or if you’re running it from a server.
2. Web services ($1,000 to $5,000)
This feature allows you to update content using XML files, rather than having to change the codes every time you make an update.
The degree to what you need can differ.
To save yourself a lot of headaches, we highly recommend you talk with your developer before getting too involved in this.
3. Game Center ($1,000)
This feature is easily integrated with the SDK, thanks to Apple.
4. Sharing Capabilities ($500 to $1,500)
This may include basic integration of social media (Facebook, Twitter) and emailing, as well as another type of integrations, such as WordPress website.
5. SDKs and like ChartBoost ($50 to $200)
The SDKs are vital tools that’ll help keep track of your apps and generate more ROIs.
Generally, you can easily integrate any SDK for a relatively cheap price, but as you become more specific to your needs, it can get pretty expensive.
Include these important SDKs into your app: Google Analytics, Applovin, Chartboost, AdMob, and Tapjoy.
Mobile App Design Costs
The app design plays a huge role on your overall ROIs and enhancing user engagement and experience.
The app design is what helps convert a casual viewer to download your apps and make them feel more engaged.
Therefore, investing in a good mobile app design is a sure-fire way to increase your profits.
You can easily hire a web designer, but we highly recommend you find a mobile app designer who understands both the user flow and space restrictions.
Just like app development, an app design comes in packages (includes all required icons and screens). You’ll purchase a set of “.PSD” and “.png” files that fulfill all your design needs.
When you open this package, you’ll be shocked to find so many different pieces there.
An icon alone requires around 4 different sizes for a universal app (that works on both iPhone and iPad).
Here’s the breakdown of your app design costs:
1. iPhone only ($500- $10,000):
You can easily get a base level design for your app.
But remember, this simple design will not be done for retina display (as found on iPhone 4), as they require high-resolution files.
You can send this design to your developer who will then add all the images in the code.
USEFUL TIP: To save time and headaches, before sending these files, ask your developer what they want the files named and do it for them.
2. iPhone 6+ Compatible (Add 25% Extra):
To make your app compatible with iPhone 6 plus, add 25% extra to the above cost.
All the images will be resized at 2208 x 1242px, which is more than 2 times the 640x 1136px sizes for iPhone 5.
3. iPad (Add 50% Extra):
For iPad, add an extra 50 % to the above cost, assuming the layout and user flow is very similar.
In most cases, you’ll also have to consider creating alternate functionality to accommodate for the iPad size and speed, which, of course, requires new designs.
USEFUL TIP:
- iPads often contain retina images, which are quite big in size. Be careful of your codes file size when implementing.
- The entire package should also include all the icons. If you need, ask for screenshots from the designers.
We’ll say it again – do not cut corners on design; you’ll have much difficulty recuperating your investments later.
So, the total costs of your app would be…
Although there aren’t any hidden fees, you’ll pay $99 to Apple as an annual fee to list your app on Apple Store.
And then, each time you make an app sale, they’ll take a 30% cut.
You’ll spend your money on three things: app development, app design, and app IT architecture (hosting your app on servers, etc).
The total cost of an app will vary based on all these variables listed above.
Of course, you can find a company that’ll do everything for you for $1,000 or so, but you’ll have to keep an eye on the quality and how much control you’ll have over the entire process.
For now, forget about how much you’ll pay to develop an app.
Instead, think about what strategies will generate the biggest ROI before pulling out your cashbook.
Even if you let your app sit in the store for a year or two, taking some time for light marketing and tracking your progress on a regular basis will help you recuperate your investment easily.
Take an app for example, that cost only $2,500 and drives about 3k new visitors to a website a month, with average time on site more than 400% than website visitors.
The above numbers are highly variable. They may go down or up, depending on many factors.
As the competition goes up, the cost of developing an app will come down.
Be careful of a high school teenager who boasts of building an app like Angry Bird for $1,000.
Also, be careful of companies demanding $250k to develop a simple database driven app, which makes you feel like paying a quarter million dollars for a site.
And remember, if you’re going to spend that amount of money, better be prepared to get something incredible.
What do you think? How much will it cost to develop and app? Please comment below.
